Event News

The event will bring together over 200 delegates, featuring more than 35 expert speakers. (Image source: SACEH)

TheRockGroup (TRG) in South Africa, the African Circular Economy Network (ACEN), and Sustainable Inclusive Business Kenya (SIB-K) have united to present the South Africa Circular Economy Hotspot 2024 (#SACEH24) which is scheduled to take place on 19 and 20 September 

Generously hosted at the vibrant Hasso Plattner d-School Afrika at the University of Cape Town, the event will bring together over 200 delegates, featuring more than 35 expert speakers, including: Professor Linda Godfrey – Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Hélène Rekkers – Netherlands Consul-general in Cape Town, among others. 

The event will showcase 25 exhibitors presenting sustainable and circular solutions in South Africa, and participants will also have the opportunity to engage with panelists discussing critical topics around circular practices. Interactive field trips to regenerative destinations will immerse participants in on-the-ground experience of best practices in circular economy solutions.

#SACEH24 is a call to action for various stakeholders from diverse geographic regions to foster a more holistic, inclusive, and effective approach to advancing circular economy principles in Africa. Media partners are invited to engage with leading innovators, policymakers, and changemakers shaping the future of the circular economy in Southern Africa. This is an unmissable opportunity to be part of the conversation driving sustainable change. 

The Young Farmers Day is the central meeting place for all those at the beginning of their career in agriculture and agribusiness. (Image source: DLG)

On 14 November, the DLG (German Agricultural Society) is organising the Young Farmers Day, which attracts young people from Germany and from countries across Europe

Young professionals, entrepreneurs, students and apprentices can benefit from EuroTier’s extensive information for young career starters. On 13 November, the focus of the exhibition will be on the next generation, with young breeders having the opportunity to meet and network at the cross-species Young Breeders' Meeting. In addition, the Job Wall offers a compact overview of current job advertisements in the agricultural industry. The day programme will cover talks, presentations and networking events, and will take place in Hall 13.

The Young Farmers Day is the central meeting place for all those at the beginning of their career in agriculture and agribusiness. The event caters to the needs of the entire young segment which includes young farmers, students, pupils and young professionals in the agricultural upstream or downstream industry. With the panel discussion: 'Increasing animal welfare, surviving globally - is that possible?' Rebecca Derstappen from the Thünen Institute, Germany; Verena Beck, Brand Fleisch; and Jörg Struve, Struve Agrar will talk about higher animal welfare standards and higher production costs, a situation that has led some producers and players in the meat industry to address their international competitiveness.

Three keynote speeches on the topic of direct farm sales will take place, followed by another panel discussion exploring how cows can be viewed as climate pests. Other presentations will focus on biogas plants and alternative housing options to the conventional animal housing.

Ideal for young career starters is another panel discussion titled: 'Herd management programmes - the foundation for your success in dairy cattle management,' which allows attendees to learn how a herd management programme can help them develop the skills they need for a successful future in dairy farming. 

At the last talk of the day, 'Junge DLG: Your springboard to the future,' young visitors will learn what it means to be part of the Junge DLG network and how to get involved. In addition, the Junge DLG is organizing a “Guided Innovations Tour” of the exhibition grounds in cooperation with the two German universities of Kiel and Weihenstephan. 

To celebrate the end to a successful day, the event will culminate in the Young Farmers Party which will offer young farmers a well-deserved break away from the hard day-to-day work. The party will take place on the evening of 14 November from in the Munich Hall at the Hanover exhibition grounds.

21st.BIO is supporting customers in upscaling their production all the way to full-scale ingredient production. (Image source: 21st.BIO)

Precision fermentation platform provider 21st.BIO has earned a self-affirmed GRAS status for its animal-free beta-lactoglobulin ingredient, BLG Essential+, which means customers can now launch in the US market

This breakthrough comes less than two years after 21st.BIO initiated its development of a strain and production process for its beta-lactoglobulin protein, BLG Essential+, demonstrating the power of the Company's approach, unique expertise and differentiated precision fermentation platform.

Through 21st.BIO's BLG programme, customers gain access to the world's most advanced production strains and precision fermentation processes - and optimisations over time. Furthermore, 21st.BIO is supporting customers in upscaling their production all the way to full-scale ingredient production. The Company's diverse global customer base spans food-tech start-ups to large food ingredients manufacturers. BLG Essential+ is the first food protein out of a portfolio of protein ingredients that 21st.BIO will take to the market via this model. 

With a strong track record and productive microorganisms licensed from Novonesis (formerly Novozymes), 21st.BIO is bringing solutions to market at an unprecedented pace, enabling customers to bypass years of development and market approval for direct entry into the US market and empowering customers to produce any food, materials, agriculture, or biopharma-related protein or peptide of interest, and scale production to industrial levels to ensure large-scale availability and cost-effectiveness.  

"We're not just a technology provider - we're a partner to our customers' on their product journey, ensuring their success from development to full-scale manufacturing. We make products, not projects," said 21st.BIO co-founder and CEO Thomas G. Schmidt. "Our ambition is to empower our customers to focus more on application, business development, low-cost production and innovation. And this shows all the way through our business model, which is designed such that our success at 21st.BIO depends on our customers' success in the market with a product; not just on project completion." 

The aim of the new deal is to foster economic opportunities by offering zero-tariff treatment to Least Developed Countries in Africa. (Image source: Republic of Kenya)

Chinese president Xi Jinping recently announced a 10-point partnership action plan for Africa for the next three years

During the opening of the ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in Beijing, President Xi Jinping mentioned that the 10 action plans will provide Africa with US$50bn of financial support. This will include a US$29.4bn credit line, US$11.2bn of various forms of assistance and at least US$9.8bn of investment in Africa by Chinese companies. Additionally, China will also encourage and support Africa in issuing Panda Bonds in China to enhance results-oriented cooperation.

President Xi said modernisation should put people first and strive to reduce poverty, provide jobs and foster inclusive growth. He further emphasised the need for open, win-win modernisation, noting that China and Africa together account for one-third of the world’s population and without it, there will be no global modernisation. 

He announced that China will elevate the status of African countries with diplomatic relations to a strategic level so that they join what he called 'the all-weather Chinese community'. He said the 10-point plan will be achieved through cooperation in governance, experience-sharing platforms, knowledge networks and leadership training programmes.

The aim of the new deal is to foster economic opportunities by offering zero-tariff treatment to least developed countries in Africa, expanding market access for agricultural products and establishing economic partnerships. The partnership actions also focus on industrial cooperation, enhancing digital technology and implementing connectivity projects like infrastructure development to support the Africa Continental Free Trade Area. 

The partnership will not only engage in improving the health sector by supporting Africa's pharmaceutical industry, but will also extend to agriculture. Some of the plans include emergency food assistance and development, people-to-people exchanges to strengthen vocational education and cultural programmes, and green development initiatives, including clean energy and disaster mitigation projects. Furthermore, China will provide military assistance, training and conduct joint exercises to enhance cooperative security efforts with Africa.

“China is prepared to implement 30 infrastructure connectivity projects in Africa, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and put in place a China-Africa network featuring land-sea links and coordinated development,” President Xi said. "We will give Africa US$140mn of grants in military assistance, provide training for 6,000 military personnel and 1,000 police and law enforcement officers from Africa, and invite 500 young African military officers to visit China."