Infrastructure

The Zambezi River Basin project is expected to benefit millions through advancements in agriculture, fisheries, and dam operations. (Image source: AfDB)

With the aim of bolstering environmental sustainability and resilience across Africa, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has secured more than US$18mn in funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for two major projects 

The first project, 'Strengthening Zambezi River Basin Management towards Climate Resilience and Ecosystem Health,' which has been allocated US$10.57mn aims to improve the collaborative management of water, energy, food, and environmental resources within the Zambezi River Basin, which spans eight southern African countries: Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. 

The second project, the 'Global Electronics Management (GEM) programme (Horn of Africa Regional Child Project),' has received US$7.83mn to address the growing challenge of electronic waste (e-waste) in Somalia, Djibouti and Ethiopia. The project aims to significantly reduce e-waste generation and increase circularity in the electronics sector of developing countries.

"Through these projects, the African Development Bank continues to lead the way in promoting environmental sustainability and resilience, driving positive change for both people and the planet," stated the director of Climate Change and Green Growth at the AfDB, Anthony Nyong. "Over the years, we have also increased our interventions on issues related to chemicals and waste across the African continent."

The funding was approved by the GEF during its 67th Council meetings held from 17-20 June in Washington DC.

Bühler is playing a major role in this transformation with its new Grain Processing Innovation Centre. (Image source: Bühler)

As the growing world population is increasing the demand for food, extreme weather conditions and political conflicts are disrupting established food value chains, thus resulting in food security becoming a critical issue in most regions of the world

Improving self-sufficiency by reducing reliance on imported grains has been found to be a key answer to these existential challenges. Locally grown grains and crops are often more climate and pest resilient, can be cultivated in adverse climates and arid regions, and have a higher nutritional value compared with more refined cereals. Growing and processing these crops on a large scale can therefore provide new sustainable market opportunities for farmers and producers. 

Bühler is playing a major role in this transformation with its new Grain Processing Innovation Centre (GPIC), which is scheduled to open on 11 July in Kano, Nigeria. Both the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari and the esteemed Governor of Kano will be present at the opening.

During the event, participants will be guided through the new facility to gain an understanding of the new capabilities and some of the product possibilities that will enable customers to innovate and grow their businesses in a sustainable and responsible manner. 

The signing took place at the US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, Texas. (Image source: AFC)

Africa's leading infrastructure solutions provider, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), is leading the commercial funding for a US$413mn package to finance the engineering, procurement and construction of 186 bridges and crucially needed enhancements to Angola’s road network

Initiated by the Ministry of Public Works, Urban Planning and Housing in Angola, the project aims to improve accessibility in remote areas and supports industrial and commercial activity, advancing prosperity by reducing transport costs and travel times, and easing poverty through job creation. The signing took place at the US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas, Texas, organised by the Corporate Council on Africa.

Improving road connectivity is particularly beneficial to the agricultural sector in producing and marketing much needed cereals for human food and animal feed and livestock, thereby providing a resolute response to increased food imports and fostering localisation of food chains.

“AFC is proud to work with the government and other partners on this landmark project which is set to transform the country’s road transportation infrastructure as Angola makes strides to diversify its economy away from oil,” said AFC board member and head of Financial Services, Sanjeev Gupta. “This project not only supports the country’s drive to make agriculture a foundation for economic growth, but it also prioritises the development of climate resilient infrastructure which contributes significantly to Angola’s climate adaptation plan.”

For more information, visit: https://www.africafc.org/ 

The Valencia centre has an ample area for demonstrations with a variety of machines. (Image source: TOMRA Food))

TOMRA Food has inaugurated a new centre dedicated to fresh fruit and processed food projects in Valencia, which will also act as the main HUB for Southern Europe and North Africa, and serve as a training, service and spare parts centre, extending TOMRA Food’s presence in the EMEA market

The company sees its relationship with its customers as a collaborative process where both look for the best solution for each project and work together on the design of new solutions. The Spanish fruit and vegetable and nut sector – which is key for the company – is highly concentrated in the eastern Levante region and surrounding area. That is why the new centre in Valencia, which is now fully operational, is an important step in strengthening this personal approach and fostering a close relationship and communication with the producers.

TOMRA Food’s expert team will manage the company’s European projects from their base in the Valencia centre. The site will be the hub for demonstrations of large and small fruit applications. It will also conduct occasional demonstrations for processed food, although Belgium will continue to be the centre of reference for these products. It will also deliver training for company staff and TOMRA Food customer operators. 

To reduce delivery times, the centre stores spare parts, while also serving as an after-sales service hub in the EMEA region. A local technical team of 15 people, headed by team leader Jorge García Cascales, provides excellent support to the almost 400 machines in fresh and processed food installations in Spain and Portugal, and also serves other countries in the region. 

The Valencia centre has an ample area for demonstrations with a variety of machines including the Demo SLS (Single Lane Sorter) featuring Spectrim C2IR and Inspectra 2 for citrus and large fruit applications (apples, stone fruits, tomatoes, kiwi, avocados, etc). Also, at the centre is a KATO + LUCAi 12-line sorter for blueberries, which uses Deep Learning technology with pre-trained models that teach computers how to process data and detect complex patterns in photos. A TOMRA 3A optical sorter for unwashed potatoes featuring the latest mechanical and vision advances is also available for demonstrations.

"These are sorters built on high-performance hardware with improved lighting and image quality, providing complete visibility of every piece of fruit, and infrared channels to detect complex defects such as radial cracks, bruises, rotten fruit, scars, and punctures," explained TOMRA Food's regional sales manager for Southern Europe, Alejandro Palacios. "We will also have a circulation of fresh food machines according to seasonal fruit and processed food sorters to support the various campaigns."

TOMRA’s technologies are in constant evolution, with innovations such as the 5.0 more intuitive and predictive software, or the Inspectra2 spectrometry system that reveals the internal condition of the fruit, coming on stream. . Moreover, the company will soon unveil the recently launched Spectrim X platform to the European markets, which reduces sorting errors and increases the yield of each batch of fruit.

For more information, visit: www.tomra.com