
FAO, World Bank Give Helping Hand to Zimbabwean Farmers
September 18, 2009 |
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization announced that it will distribute seeds and fertilizers to farmers in Zimbabwe in a bid to boost the country's agriculture. According to a press release, FAO has procured 26,000 tons of seeds and fertilizers for distribution to 176,000 vulnerable farmers, or 10 to 15 percent of communal farmers in the country. These agricultural inputs, which will be distributed starting next month, will be sufficient for a farmer to plant a 0.5 hectare plot.
Jean-Claude Urvoy, FAO's Emergency Coordinator in Zimbabwe, said "With good seasonal rains, timely implementation and effective coordination, farmer's production in Zimbabwe could feasibly more than double this season, compared to the previous year's national average production level."
The World Bank and the Australian Agency for International Development will also provide some USD 7 million to help Zimbabwean farmers increase their harvest. The Zimbabwe Emergency Agricultural Input Project grant aims to reduce Zimbabwe's dependence on food aid and costly food imports.
World Bank senior agricultural economist David Rohrbach told Voice of America that the grant is covering the cost of 3,000 tons of a mixture of hybrid maize seed and open pollinated varieties which are targeted to 300,000 communal framers on the country. "These will be farmers generally that have difficulty producing enough grain to meet their consumption requirements in the previous year," Rohrbach said.
Read http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/35361/icode/ and http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,pagePK:34382~piPK:34439~theSitePK:4607,00.html for more information.
|
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- ISAAA Mourns the Loss and Pays Tribute to its Founding Patron, Nobel Peace Laureate Norman Borlaug, 1914 - 2009
- UN Report: World Falls Short on Pledges to Attain MDG Goals
- Degree Course on Biotech and Biosafety Launched at Kenya's Moi University
- Empowering the Seed Sector in Africa
- Media Coverage of Biotech in Kenya Inadequate
- FAO, World Bank Give Helping Hand to Zimbabwean Farmers
- Scientists Find Evidence of Casuarina Hybrids
- New Pest Found in Ohio Soybeans
- Insecticide-Free Control of Soybean Aphids
- Brazil Approves New GM Corn Varieties
- Pioneer H-Bred, Asoyia Expand Ultra Low Linolenic Soybean Agreement
- Chinese Research to Benefit Pakistan's Agriculture Sector
- Hybrid Rice Training Center Launched in China
- Origin Agritech Gets Glyphosate Gene Deal
- BCPC Welcomes New BBSRC Strategic Plan
- Halophytic Micro-algae: New Source of Biofuel
- CIRAD To Complete Banana Genomic Sequence
- GMO Crops Can Help Climate and Environment
- Unapproved GM Linseed Found in Germany
-
Research Highlights
- Disabling Instead of Adding: A Novel Way of Breeding Disease-Resistant Plants
- Scientists Closer to Drug-Free Cannabis Plants
- Chlorophyll Breakdown Products as a Tool for Studying Plant Cellular Processes
-
Announcements
- GCARD- E-consultations
- Interdrought III Conference in China
- New Journal: GM Crops
-
Resources
- US Wheat Growers Orgs Publish The Case for Biotech Wheat
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (February 12, 2025)
- Gene Editing Supplement (February 12, 2025)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet