THE CUMMINS QSK19 ENGINE will power the largest self-propelled forage harvester ever built by John Deere. The new 7950 SPFH utilises the 597kW (800-hp) rated output of the 19-litre engine to significantly increase harvesting productivity with a wider working width and reduced working time.

SOUTH AFRICAN FARMERS are considering concessions in the DR Congo, the Chinese have expressed interest in the biofuel potential of Angola’s run-down eucalyptus plantations, and the sovereign wealth funds of the Middle East are snapping up large parcels of high-potential land wherever they can find it, Sudan being a prime target.

HARSH WEATHER, GLOBAL economic meltdown and the negative effects of the post-election violence have hit hard this vital lifeline of thousands of Kenyan farmers. Reduced demand for horticultural products- particularly in Europe has seen exports plummet by 7.4 percent in the first half of 2009, according to the Central Bank of Kenya estimates.

ACOMMON TRAIT in many African countries seems to involve a reduced emphasis on agricultural training when the country achieves independence. In Nigeria an excellent system of teaching farming and gardening in primary schools was abandoned soon after an independent state was created in 1960.

By Dr Terry Mabbett

The recently elected new Government in Ghana is steaming ahead with free thinking and free market policies for agriculture with the ultimate aim of food self sufficiency.