In The Spotlight
Agroecology can be the solution to food security.
Agroecology is driving the African Union Commission's food security policies as it calls for increased investments in the sector so that it generates employment opportunities for a growing youth population
Announced during the recently held Africa Regional Youth Summit on Agroecology and the Future of Africa's Food Systems in Kampala, this move will address the continent's food systems to reduce import dependency.
Haile Abebe of the African Union's Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) who spoke during the summit highlighted the commercial significance of agriculture and how it can be more that just a tool for subsistence.
“Agriculture is no longer simply about producing food. It is about science, technology, entrepreneurship, finance, digital innovation, logistics, processing, manufacturing, trade, climate resilience and value addition,” Abebe said.
With the right skills and technology, alongside financial means and market access, Africa's predominantly youth population can be channelised towards the region's wider agrifood sector. Prioritising the transformation of agrifood systems requires advancing agroecology.
“Agroecology can be part of this solution. It opens opportunities for young people across the agrifood system - from soil health, seeds and bio-inputs to irrigation, digital agriculture, processing, packaging, logistics, green energy and market development,” said Abebe.
Other opportunities include organic and bio-fertiliser production, ecological seed systems, agroforestry, water conservation, food processing, packaging and marketing.
BAITS3 deliver comparatively nuanced animal registration and traceability.
Veterinary authorities are deploying the Botswana Animal Information and Traceability System (BAITS) to accelerate monitoring of livestock movement as cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) become apparent in Kgatleng District
The BAITS system supports the management of movement with revised movement controls. Movement management depends on animal identification, traceability, veterinary checks and other disease-control requirements. The system helps in tracking livestock registration and ownership records.
The system allows veterinary authorities to verify an animal’s registered ownership and location and to support movement controls alongside vaccination records, quarantine measures and veterinary inspections.
BAITS2 is now upgraded to BAITS3 to deliver comparatively nuanced animal registration and traceability. BAITS3 is also digitally equipped to support livestock owners in registering animals, recording ownership transfers and arrivals, reporting deaths and updating veterinary information.
BAITS3 is central to Botswana’s broader FMD-control approach, which involves zoning, vaccination, quarantine, surveillance and restrictions on animal movement. This practice aligns with the vision of World Organisation for Animal Health.
The Ministry of Lands and Agriculture has advised farmers to update livestock records and ensure animals carry required identification, including ear tags and brands. This helps to check rapid spreading by localising disease risks within specific control zones.
The Ministry is prioritising precautionary measures against suspected FMD cases at several crushes in the Oodi and Mochudi extension areas. It has initiated investigations and prohibited livestock movements in Disease Control Zone 11, except within the designated containment area, and imposed additional restrictions in Zones 3, 8, 9 and 10.
Africa is willing to coordinate policy and trade across borders.
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) convened while AGRA hosted a roundtable at the Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Rwanda
Ministers or their representatives from Nigeria, Uganda, Niger, Mali, Malawi, Rwanda and Ethiopia as well as Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, former President of Botswana, participated in the session. The Ministers expressed their desire to collaborate in areas of livestock value chains, unlock investment, expand market and trade, and build partnerships needed to scale livestock solutions across the continent.
The collaboration will address a widening gap between Africa’s potential and its performance. Even after owning a notable portion of the world's resources, Africa has to spend nearly US$100bn on food imports annually. Meanwhile, animal-source foods are the most expensive food group for Africans, for whom healthy diets are the furthest out of reach, with demand projected to grow 280 percent by 2050.
What can be the most promising interventions for improving livestock productivity were discussed at the meeting. Topics included livestock genetics to quality feed and animal health initiatives, as well as what large-scale delivery actually requires, and the conditions needed to move from livestock plans to implementation.
“Clearly Africa doesn’t lack solutions for its livestock sector. What it lacks is scale and productivity. Closing this gap between what Africa produces and what it imports is the key to delivering on the promise of the continent’s $1trillion annual agribusiness potential,” said Appolinaire Djikeng, ILRI Director General. “Today’s commitments show ministers are ready to move from proven innovations to the investment and regional trade that turn them into a continent-wide blueprint for self-reliance.”
“Africa does not lack livestock potential. We do not lack animals. We do not lack farmers. We do not lack science and technical knowledge. We certainly do not lack demand. And, increasingly, we do not lack policy recognition. What we have lacked is the ability to connect all these pieces and deliver at scale. Africa’s livestock priority is no longer recognition. It is delivery,” explained Professor Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, Chair of Council Zimbabwe National University of Science and Technology, extraordinary Professor University of Pretoria, Co-Chair Food Planet Prize.
“We already know what works. The task now is coordinating policy and trade across borders, so proven livestock solutions can scale from one country to a continent. That is what the Integrated Regional Livestock Value Chain program is built to do, and what today’s commitments move us closer to,” said Dr. Huyam Salih, Director of the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).
The training is part of Federal Government’s wider mechanisation programme.
The graduation of 250 Nigerians marked the first cohort of the National Agricultural Mechanisation Service Providers Training Programme organised by the National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) in collaboration with Agcoms International Trading Limited, the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
The partnership reflects an administrative structure where FMARD will provide policy oversight; NADF serves as the implementing authority; Agcoms brings private-sector equipment, technical and training expertise; and ITF provides training and assessment support. The original programme design calls for two operators per tractor, helping to extend operating hours while ensuring that equipment is handled and maintained properly.
This comes as part of the Federal Government’s wider mechanisation programme, with this phase involving 2,000 John Deere 5E Series tractors and associated implements to be supplied by Agcoms. The larger programme targets 4,000 tractor operators and mechanics.
The programme was born out of the necessity to modernise Nigeria's agriculture, questioning the operation, maintenance and use maximisation of existing tractors over making available new ones. This demanded a shift of focus towards investing in human capacity to boost farm productivity and lower production costs.
The programme falls in line with the agricultural policy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, which considers agricultural mechanisation central to Nigeria’s food-security challenge. It has in mind the best interests of smallholder farmers, working to improve access to modern machinery, reducing dependency on manual labour and increase yields.
The organisation arranges for livestock owners customised vaccination.
With a focus on improving agricultural knowledge, including livestock management and generating practical farming information in Nigeria, Green Livestock Africa Limited has announced expansion of its farmer-development and community support programmes
Farmer education remains core to the Rivers State-based livestock organisation by Eromosele Edward Ozah, offering training and free agricultural resources in livestock farming. “Access to practical knowledge helps farmers make better decisions, reduce avoidable losses and improve the productivity of their farms,” the organisation stated.
The areas in which training are offered by Green Livestock Africa include livestock breeding, nutrition, disease prevention and farm management. Its learning resources can also be availed virtually and free of costs.
The organisation’s first documented training cohort consisted of 93 farmers. Impact records show that the group completed training covering breeding, nutrition, disease prevention and farm management. It links training with practical agricultural resources, veterinary support, livestock genetics and health management.
Under its Herd Health Card provision, the organisation arranges for livestock owners customised vaccination and health schedules based on the species and age of their animals. The system covers goats, sheep, cattle and poultry. It shares information on improved livestock genetics and artificial insemination. Its goat breeding programme uses genetics from breeds including Kalahari, Boer and Sahel goats, with breeding details recorded as part of each animal’s records.
The organisation’s community-focused activities are designed to reach beyond farmers and generate youth interest in agriculture.
Retech provides integrated automated layer farming systems.
Poultry farm modernisation solution provider for Nigerian farmers, Retech Farming, can convert traditional layer houses into modern automated systems
The company provides integrated automated layer farming systems. Higher-density housing, automated equipment and controlled production environments replace open-style Type A simple cages with a limited capacity for 5,000 chickens.
While this works for small-scale startups requiring low initial investment and technical requirements for quick construction, this conventional method relies on natural ventilation, manual feeding and egg collection. It comes with stocking density and space limitations, even when labour costs remain high. There's no way of contolling temperature stability and humidity, making egg production uncertain and prone to diseases.
Retech Farming offers:
- Traditional chicken house assessment
- Chicken house design upgrade
- Steel structure construction
- H-type layer hen cage system
- Automatic feeding, watering, manure removal and egg collection system
- Environmental control system
- Installation and commissioning
These services support the transition from traditional poultry houses to integrated automated layer farming systems.
From 5,000 traditional open A-type cages to 50,000 chickens in a single building increases breeding scale by 10 times. The closed H-type multi-tier fully automatic layer cages maximise land utilisation through cascading design. This dramatically boosts egg production per unit area while reducing unit egg production costs.
Retech’s closed steel structure chicken coop, combined with an automatic environmental control system, can isolate wild birds and mosquitoes, reduce the risk of disease invasion such as avian influenza, and provide more precise temperature and humidity control.
This approach can help stabilise the egg production rate and extend the peak egg production period.
Retech aims to revolutionise Nigeria’s egg-laying hen industry by ensuring eggshell cleanliness, size uniformity, and uninteruppted supply. Its real-world farm upgrade project will help core consumer markets like Lagos and Abuja meet increasingly stringent sourcing standards.
Zoomlion's participation is part of a broader Hunan business delegation.
Hunan-based heavy equipment manufacturer, Zoomlion, exhibited six machines at the 61st Maputo International Trade Fair (FACIM) in Mozambique
The Chinese agricultural machinery manufacturer aims to widen reach in the southern African country by technically equipping Mozambican farmers through local partnerships.
Jacinto Almeida, the company's Mozambican representative who was present at the exhibition venue said that they mainly represent agricultural machinery. "The idea, in the end, is to bring technology to Mozambique at a competitive price, a price that small producers, communities and large producers can afford," he said.
Almeida said the company's ambition extends beyond equipment sales to supporting broader agricultural mechanisation in Mozambique.
"We are here representing Zoomlion, but with the final intention of bringing the business to Mozambique and bringing technology to agriculture in Mozambique," he said, while speaking of the company's ambitions to collaborate with local farmers, offering broad ranged agricultural solutions.
Zoomlion's participation is part of a broader Hunan business delegation organised by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Hunan Sub-council, bringing about 13 companies to FACIM for the first time.
Amy Zheng, representing CCPIT Hunan, said the participating companies cover sectors including agriculture, medicine and construction, with many showing strong interest in the Mozambican market.
The participation, she added, provides an opportunity to deepen economic and trade ties between China and Mozambique.
Visitors can check out the latest developments in robotics. (Image source: EuroTier)
Prominent livestock platform, DLG Spotlights at EuroTier 2026 in Hanover, Germany, will shed light on innovations and future-focused developments across the livestock sector
From 10 to 13 November, visitors can check out the latest developments in robotics, emission reduction and forage production. Selected breeding animals will be exhibited live for the 'TopTierTreff' (Top Genetics). Such live demonstrations and curated special exhibitions will unlock futuristic ideas for innovative technologies, processes and concepts designed to make livestock farming more efficient, sustainable and animal-friendly.
A robust technical programme will include lectures, panel discussions and networking formats covering all key areas of livestock production and related energy sectors.
Manufacturers of advanced milking technology will showcase automation in modern dairy farming with the latest robotic solutions for automated milking systems or share visionary barn construction blueprints at the Barn Robot Event. Conventional milking parlors are gradually becoming a thing of the past replaced by conversion concepts based on robotic systems. Milking large dairy herds are no more a labour-intensive job with the support of advanced technologies. While future-oriented, these concepts will be grounded in their easy facilitation in real life situations.
For Emission Reduction, visitors can expect live demonstrations of seamless integration of livestock farming and climate protection. With expert stages for pigs and poultry lying adjacent to the emission reduction pavilion, visitors can expect insights on sustainable practices especially in these two areas.
The Top Genetics display will unite breeders from home and abroad, with breeding companies talking about strategies, fostering knowledge-sharing, particularly in dairy and beef cattle breeding. The event organisers have arranged for a large panoramic video screen this year so that the animals exhibited on stand reach far and wide.
Spotlight on 'Forage Production' will promote smart farming technologies that can revolutionise the quality of maize silage, grass silage and hay throughout the entire production chain, from harvesting to ensiling and storage. This offering will be complemented by the new “Forage Days”, taking place on 12 and 13 November. During these special theme days, the DLG Expert Stage Cattle, as part of the Forage Production Spotlight, will focus on the production of high-quality forage and its targeted use in ruminant nutrition.
The 'Innovation Boulevard' that will be a new addition this year, will feature products recognised with the Innovation Award, alongside other notable innovations in animal farming, feed, management and technology. Visitors will gain a concise overview of the latest developments and then have the opportunity to meet the product developers directly at their exhibition stands for more in-depth discussions.
The Kigali Convention Centre will host VIV Africa 2026. (Image source: VNU Exhibition)
Biosecurity practices can boost overall performance even at a low cost for pig producers. (Image source: DLG)
The organisation arranges for livestock owners customised vaccination.
With a focus on improving agricultural knowledge, including livestock management and generating practical farming information in Nigeria, Green Livestock Africa Limited has announced expansion of its farmer-development and community support programmes
Farmer education remains core to the Rivers State-based livestock organisation by Eromosele Edward Ozah, offering training and free agricultural resources in livestock farming. “Access to practical knowledge helps farmers make better decisions, reduce avoidable losses and improve the productivity of their farms,” the organisation stated.
The areas in which training are offered by Green Livestock Africa include livestock breeding, nutrition, disease prevention and farm management. Its learning resources can also be availed virtually and free of costs.
The organisation’s first documented training cohort consisted of 93 farmers. Impact records show that the group completed training covering breeding, nutrition, disease prevention and farm management. It links training with practical agricultural resources, veterinary support, livestock genetics and health management.
Under its Herd Health Card provision, the organisation arranges for livestock owners customised vaccination and health schedules based on the species and age of their animals. The system covers goats, sheep, cattle and poultry. It shares information on improved livestock genetics and artificial insemination. Its goat breeding programme uses genetics from breeds including Kalahari, Boer and Sahel goats, with breeding details recorded as part of each animal’s records.
The organisation’s community-focused activities are designed to reach beyond farmers and generate youth interest in agriculture.
BAITS3 deliver comparatively nuanced animal registration and traceability.
Africa is willing to coordinate policy and trade across borders.
The delegation examined intelligent seedling equipment.
As part of China-Africa cooperation programme, more than 10 experts and scholars from South Africa visited Jinhua in East China's Zhejiang province to explore the city's development and achievements, with their itinerary also comprising Wuzhou Ancient City and the China-Africa (Jinhua) Agricultural Science and Innovation Park
The delegation examined intelligent seedling equipment and took a tour of the China-Africa Agricultural Science and Technology Exchange Center. They got to see firsthand Jinhua's agricultural innovation capabilities.
At the China-Africa (Jinhua) Agricultural Science and Innovation Park in Changshan township, Wucheng district, the delegation sampled specialty agricultural products such as lotus seeds and sweet potatoes cultivated by the Jinhua Academy of Agricultural Sciences. These were meant for consumption like fruits, and were highly appreciated. China-Africa agricultural cooperation were explored through insightful exchanges on modern agricultural technologies.
This visit is part of the lead-up to the 2026 China-South Africa Seminar on Human Rights in Hangzhou. Before the seminar, participants have conducted field visits in Jinhua and Hangzhou to deepen their understanding of local advancements and collaborative efforts in agriculture.
Agroecology can be the solution to food security.
Ecovado's plant will be driven by the Alfa Laval processing line.
The plant in Congo assembles models of 75 and 130 horsepower.
YTO’s agricultural equipment assembly plant in the Republic of the Congo has released the first batch of locally assembled YTO tractors, ready for delivery to local customers
President Denis Sassou Nguesso endorsed the tractors following machinery inspection and test driving. This political visibility gave YTO an edge over usual launches, boosting its singinficance in the local agricultural mechanisation market, which is heavily interlinked with national food production and rural development programmes.
The plant in Congo assembles models of 75 and 130 horsepower.
YTO has an already established presence in Ivory Coast since 1992. In a bold move to solidify hold over the broader African agricultural market, the Chinese company has for the first time locally assembled the models in its Congo plant.
Unlike conventionally finished machine exports, the strong foundation of local parts inventories improves after-sales services. It reduces transportation costs while hastening supply and logistics for the manufacturers, giving them fast access to government and agricultural projects.
This move addresses the need for easy access to parts availability and service response in the agricultural machinery sector, which often operates in isolation from established dealer networks. YTO capitalises this untapped space, offering critical support to long-term equipment utilisation.
It is also good exposure in technician training for the local workforce, which is part of YTO’s wider strategy of advancing localisation in overseas markets, diversifying shipment sources beyond China.
The training is part of Federal Government’s wider mechanisation programme.
Zoomlion's participation is part of a broader Hunan business delegation.
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Agroecology can be the solution to food security.
-
BAITS3 deliver comparatively nuanced animal registration and traceability.
-
Africa is willing to coordinate policy and trade across borders.
-
The training is part of Federal Government’s wider mechanisation programme.
-
The organisation arranges for livestock owners customised vaccination.
-
Ecovado's plant will be driven by the Alfa Laval processing line.
-
Retech provides integrated automated layer farming systems.
-
Zoomlion's participation is part of a broader Hunan business delegation.
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Sayyad Poultry is producing broiler chicks since 1970. (Image source: Aviagen)
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The delegation examined intelligent seedling equipment.
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The training is part of Federal Government’s wider mechanisation programme.
Zoomlion's participation is part of a broader Hunan business delegation.
The plant in Congo assembles models of 75 and 130 horsepower.
The range is purpose-built for mixed farming operations. (Image source: New Holland)
Government is especially prioritising dairy sector to boost food security. (Image source: GAA)
The C1450T is built to increase capacity. (Image source: John Deere)
The company’s slurry handling equipment come with competitive price ranges.
The project is set to become an exemplary climate-smart agriculture.
The company officially launched its Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) equipment and services at its Africa headquarters in Kempton Park, Johannesburg.(Image credit: xylem)
(Image credit: Power Factor Systems)
The redesigned New Holland T7 Standard Wheelbase tractor, now available in the new Dynamic Blue colour. (Image credit: New Holland)
Truck Mounted Forklifts transform delivery efficiency in modern agriculture logistics. (Image credit: Shamrock Forklifts)