Connect with us

AGRIBUSINESS & AGRICULTURE

The Triangulation of Entrepreneurialism with Women, Food Production and Technologies

Published

on

Spread the love

By Naseem Javed

A Grand Inquisition of Free Economies: Finally, why now, it is the best of times, for at least once, to have a bold global debate, nation-by-nation, critique, and evaluation on visible challenges, amongst the world’s free economies, a one time, a single grand inquisition;

Let loud strikes of the gavel, the anxious sounds of vibrant arguments, and public roars rise to the top of the rotundas; let the echoes bounce and awaken the woke, sleepy, or sloppy. Let there be trepidations in narratives, and let there be a shouting match.

Like a real-life drama unfolding, so critically needed at each national stage to harshly probe what types of power skills it takes to transform a nation’s struggling economy and uplift by tapping the hidden talents of the national citizenry, let it be a bold open discussion on a global stage.

The simple fact is that developed economies are visibly broken and need more answers, expertise, skills, and an agenda on the national mobilization of hidden talents. Wars are destructive on both sides, but each calls their side winning heads while both sides are, in fact, the losing tails. No matter what, the noise will get louder, and eventually, great solutions will be found.

Nevertheless, this narrative is very different for those seeking daily motivational sing-songs, as this is all about the economic wars on planning and national mobilization of entrepreneurialism which is a tactical battlefield of national-global commerce and a place for the economic warriors. Deep thinking with a somber presence of mind is essential.

The Triangulations: Agriculture + Entrepreneurialism + Women + SMEs + Technologies + Exportability 

The door is wide open, as global hunger for food as a prime necessity cannot be boxed into recessions, depressions, or inflations. Therefore mastery of uplifting the agro-technicality must prevail, from seeds to the table, logistical support to ensure perishable needs, and global fintech to make exportability a routine. All such challenges highlight two powerful forces of unique skills to succeed; Farming + Entrepreneurialism.

Worldwide, agro-industrialization and techno-automation is a monumental task. The triangulation of agriculture + entrepreneurialism + women + SMEs + technologies + exportability brings agro-rich nations suddenly emerge as new hidden economic powers. The actual conquest is by fertilizing agro-sectors juxtaposed with entrepreneurialism, blended with women’s power, well-defined, balanced, high potential, and skilled SMEs with re-skilling on exportability, when all skills match the entire organization and the agro-trade sectors.

Three advancements; First, The ultimate secrets of growth are hidden within the combined and balanced job seeker’s and job creator’s mindsets, as both are required to achieve balanced performances. Second, this is not just about the economy; it is far more interconnected, as the economy is just a naked ballerina tippy-toeing to dance by numbers on the national stage. This is about fully dressed parades from highly skilled and talented farmers and SME Entrepreneurs with high potential operations to handle exports and distribution to industrial packaging and processing.

Such skills are entrepreneurial job creators and SME creators; women will play a key role here, and some become grand entrepreneurs leading to large-scale operations. This is where the rise of the 1st industrial revolution of mind starts deciphering the business models, goals, and capabilities to expand outbound global exportability to dozens of countries.

When, like an open book, how the USA, from a century of gun-slinging, rose to become an entrepreneurial nation, where national growth was conceived, created, and executed by the entrepreneurs, for the entrepreneurs. The USA became the first agro-industrial giant country and later the only superpower to acquire mastery of creating widespread grassroots prosperity and a global industrial giant for the longest time. American women played the most significant part in this process.

Like poetry recitals, China, where owning a watch, bicycle, and sewing machine was the national dream just decades ago, made a brand new style of economic revolution and managed a billion-plus population with exemplary performance.

Behold India, promoted by the British throughout literature as the exotic land of snake-charmers and fakirs, is already cooking the next global club of billion-citizenry on industrial-technicality, where The Revolution of the 1st Industrial Mind “reconnects” the commerce of the world. There are no books yet written on such monstrosities of growth. In the next hundred new moons, as the wolves train the cubs under the moonlight, the BRICS and ‘population-rich-rich-nations,’ when combined, can suck the economic power of Western economies over lunch.

Silence, across the West, amongst the leading institutes and economists on the high-speed Entrepreneurialization of the Asian world not only points to the lack of special skills in mobilization but also displays fear of facing the upcoming realities with a generational gap stolen by poor education quality, the rise of the broken-culture, continuously vulgarized by weak and confused fancy-dressed politics. The grace period of recovery expired a decade ago, and today only urgent debates declared as national emergencies with specific solutions and mobilization programs are needed now as corrective measures to save the national economies.

The Missing Wheel of the National Economic Cart: Women’s power has been glorified in the West and showcased as equality quotas in selected spots considered a thriving success. The rest of the nations are in the dark ages regarding the Entrepreneurialization of women. On the global-agro-industrial-technocalamity:

Triangulation of entrepreneurialism with women + food production, and + technologies.

The audit and cross-examination; what is the difference between growing apples and inventing Apple the phone? They are more or less the same from the trade and commercialization point of view as products how you generate a top-quality product and organize a system to manage unlimited growth and distribution organization. Without entrepreneurialism, there is no innovative growth because the Apple phone would have taken another century to develop and the phone probably as a failed product on arrival—study Apple and Steve Jobs, plus 100 entrepreneurial projects that changed the world forever.

The original Silicon Valley of the USA was not a technology or a financial revolution but the mobilization of an entrepreneurial journey long before the term ‘IT’ became popular and ‘technology’ was conceptualized as worthy enough to trade in billions. The clusters of entrepreneurs with job-creator revolutionary mindsets and out-of-box thinkers emerged from their garages. They created previously unheard ideas and new languages, broke old systems, created new alternates, and changed the world forever. Some 100 other copycat sites still seek to imitate and copy the name for their glory.

Imagine if, within any large or small agro-power-nation, there existed a system to place 10% to 50% of high potential small and medium farmers and SMEs as national mobilization of Agro-Technocalamity, where they were on digital platforms of up-skilling and re-skilling and able to drive with the entrepreneurial supremacy and high-speed executions for the global goals and shake down the trees on successful exportability models.

Openly challenged and openly debated. Economic development without entrepreneurialism is economic destruction. There is no political power without economic power. There is no economic power without entrepreneurial power. There is no entrepreneurial power unless the mindset hypothesis is balanced. The mindset hypothesis creates a balance between the job seeker and job creator mindsets.

Study the women’s role in the economy in China, but not as someone regularly visiting local Chinatown for ‘chicken fried rice’ but claim expertise on the subject of China, mighty in size, history, and performance. The West was systematically goofed by the global events of the last century when every Western city inherited a local Chinatown. Even today, most Western citizens with ‘chicken fried rice’ certificates on the wall and a fortune cookie in their cubicle claim expertise in China.

Unable to compare the apples and oranges of economic growth and unable to decipher the levels of meritocracies or random public executions of top brass on corruption, all such lack of knowledge ends up to their disadvantage. Unless they visit and face the mammoth earth-shattering developments in China, now expanding in India, and eventually many other Asian nations, the story is untold. Unless they are open to cross-fertilization ideas, trepidations and competition fears are not the answers. Therefore, without understanding the prevalence of entrepreneurialism among women of the land, their growth, and their active role in the daily economic grind, this narrative calls for deep study.

For women to lead, agro sectors there are huge potentials. It is true to lead a women’s revolution, most often, does not require only a powerful woman. Still, a dedicated senior large team of men and women combined once dedicated to mobilizing 10% to 50% of the women and bringing them closer to all economic growth via entrepreneurialism fronts.

The Expothon narrative:  Henry Ford neither invented the tire nor the car engine; he created the Assembly line. Expothon neither created the SME nor the exportability. It began advanced thinking on ‘national mobilization of entrepreneurialism’ as a highly streamlined, 24x7x365 simultaneous synchronization of the most significant. Still, most ignored national assets, now, a decade later, are gaining global attention. Expothon has been sharing information weekly with some 2000 senior officials at the Cabinet level in around 100 countries for the last 50 -100 weeks. Mastery of new entrepreneurial economic thinking is a new revolution in SME Mobilization. A global high-level virtual event series will further advance the agenda; in planning are debates to clarify and table turnkey mobilization options in the coming months. Study more on Google.

Extreme customization of programs to fit the nation and culture, with high potential economic opportunities, with global trading to bring exportability and trading to new heights, is where all the problems are hidden. Unless there is starting point, nothing will be gained. The rest is easy.

COURTESY: Modern Diplomacy


Spread the love
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

AGRIBUSINESS & AGRICULTURE

Baobab and the Demand for Super Foods

Published

on

By

Spread the love

Baobab trees are ancient marvels that thrive in some of Africa’s harshest landscapes. Some are more than 2,000 years old. Every part of the baobab is important – the leaves are consumed as vegetables, the tangy fruit pulp is nutritious, the seeds are a source of oil and the tree’s bark and roots are used in traditional medicine. These benefits have given the baobab superfood status. However, growing global demand is putting these giants at risk. Patrick Maundu explains what needs to be done to safeguard baobabs for future generations.

Where are baobabs found?

The tree is native to at least 37 countries in Africa and two in the Arabian Peninsula. The African baobab (Adansonia digitata) is the most widespread of the eight known baobab species. It endures in some of the harshest conditions, from salty water-bathed ocean shores to vast dry savannahs and forests. Of the rest of the baobabs, six are native to Madagascar, and one to northern and western Australia.

Baobabs are unique trees. They are among the world’s longest-living trees, with some being over 2,000 years old. They can survive prolonged droughts thanks to their ability to store water in their huge trunks, which can attain a diameter of 10 metres or more. The trunk has amazing regenerative ability, easily growing back after damage by humans in search of fibre or from wildlife like elephants trying to quench their thirst. Unlike most trees, which are adorned with lush leaves, the baobab often stands bare for the greater part of the year. Its thick, leafless branches stretch out like skeletal arms, creating a weird and almost mystical appearance. The tree has a slow growth rate. It starts to flower and produce fruits from about 20 years of age. In many cases, however, especially in arid regions, trees give their first fruit much later, with some known to start at 60 years.

What is Baobab’s significance?

In African cultures, every part of the baobab is valuable. The leaves are consumed as a nutritious vegetable. The fruit pulp, with its tangy taste, adds flavour to foods and beverages. Baobab pulp is rich in antioxidants, vitamins (like C and B complex), fibre and minerals (such as calcium, iron and magnesium).

The seeds are a source of oil in the cosmetic industry. The inner bark is harvested for its fibre, which is woven into ropes and baskets. Hollows in the trunk provide shelter for honey bees. The fruit shell is made into utensils and other household items. The baobab’s bark and root extracts are widely used in traditional medicine.

A hand holds a large oval fruit showing several seeds coated with a white pulp.
The inside of the baobab fruit. Alexander Joe/AFP via Getty Images

Because of its value, the baobab has attracted folklore and myths. Many African communities consider the tree sacred, often associating it with spirits. As a result, various ceremonies and rituals are conducted under it.

Ecologically, the baobab holds an important position in the landscape, supporting a wide range of wildlife, including fungi, insects, birds, reptiles, bats and monkeys. Its large trunk serves as a water reservoir. The elaborate root system stabilises the soil, preventing erosion. Fallen leaves enrich the soil with nutrients.

Additionally, the baobab acts as a carbon sink. This means it absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and packs it away, helping mitigate climate change.

Why is global demand for baobabs spiking?

The baobab’s reputation as a superfood is spreading. This has mainly been fuelled by the recognition of baobab pulp as a food ingredient by the European Union and the US Food and Drug Administration in 2008 and 2009, respectively. This opened the way for its use as an ingredient in drinks, foods, natural remedies and cosmetics.

Zimbabwe has become a trailblazer in this industry, aggressively targeting the lucrative European market.

Why is the tree under threat?

The baobab is under threat on several fronts. Its slow growth rate, huge size, long life and economic value expose the tree to many risks. Although some Madagascan baobab species are listed as either critically endangered or endangered, the African baobab is not. Yet, there is evidence that specific unique populations may be declining in parts of Africa, calling for more conscious conservation measures to be taken.

Climate change is already reshaping the ecosystems baobabs rely on. These ancient giants need a specific range of soil and air humidity. They also depend on specific pollinators, like bats and bush babies, for reproduction. However, rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns are disrupting these balances, affecting the overall health of the tree and reproductive capacity.

Changing community belief systems and local values are having an effect, too. The baobab’s sacred status is waning as modernity spreads. In some communities, the tree is now seen as a relic of the past. Further, the baobab’s expansive canopy and roots compete for space and nutrients with food crops amid shrinking agricultural space. This has intensified the tendency of communities to cut the tree.

The surge in commercial interest is a double-edged sword. The high demand for baobab pulp raises serious concerns about interference with natural regeneration, loss of genetic diversity and the health of baobab populations. Baobab is still harvested using crude methods – such as hitting the fruits from the ground or climbing on pegs inserted into the stem – that harm the tree.

This commercial interest has brought a new threat: biopiracy. This was witnessed in Kenya in 2022 when entire baobab trees were controversially uprooted and exported to Georgia in eastern Europe. Eight trees were exported but later died, signalling the lack of prior research about their viability in their new home.

This incident highlighted the lack of appropriate policies and regulatory frameworks to protect these important trees from exploitation, and underscored the urgent need for specific policies on safeguarding the baobab.

What should be done?

Safeguarding the baobab requires more than isolated efforts. It demands a blend of cultural and community protection, and conservation and management actions at the community level. It also requires strategic policy and regulatory frameworks, and collaboration on the national and global stages.

These policies should also support livelihood programmes for communities by supporting value chains and providing market linkages for baobab products. Promoting sustainable harvesting techniques, like leaving enough fruit for regeneration, will protect the trees and surrounding environments. Integrating indigenous knowledge with tools like genetic research will enhance these efforts.

James Kioko, who is part of the research team working with Dr Maundu on documenting the heritage of the baobab in Kenya, is a co-author of this article.

Courtesy: The Conversation


Spread the love
Continue Reading

AGRIBUSINESS & AGRICULTURE

Sweet Sorghum offers Solutions in Drought-hit Southern Africa

Published

on

By

Spread the love

By Hamond Motsi

The southern African region is battling with drought at present. This is the result of El Niño, a natural climate cycle characterised by changes in Pacific Ocean temperatures. It has effects on global weather patterns, particularly rainfall and temperature.

The drought has hit the region’s agricultural productivity hard. MalawiZambia and Zimbabwe have declared a state of disaster with respect to their current agricultural outputs. They are seeking humanitarian assistance in the form of food aid to feed their people. The downturn also has economic implications, since over 70% of people residing in the region’s rural areas rely on agriculture for their livelihoods.

The dire situation underscores how important it is for the agricultural sector to prevent, avoid or prepare for the impacts of climate change, which will also bring extremes of weather.

One measure the sector can take is to cultivate biofuel crops. These are crops rich in starch, sugar or oils that can be converted into bioethanol directly or through a fermentation process. Bioethanol, a type of ethanol produced from biological or plant based sources, emits fewer greenhouse gases compared to fossil fuels like petroleum, natural gas and coal. Commonly used biofuel crops include sugarcane, maize, grain sorghum, sugar beet, rapeseeds and sunflower.

These conventional biofuel crops do have drawbacks, however. They are highly susceptible to extreme weather events. They require high upfront investment for fertilisers, chemicals and irrigation. And they compete with food production – if they’re grown as biofuels they can’t also be used as food because of how they have to be processed.

So, researchers are always on the lookout for crops that might be good biofuels without those problems. Sweet sorghum, which is indigenous to the African continent, is one such crop. Unlike the better-known sorghum, it has sweet juice in its stems. In a recent study, I reviewed scientific literature to analyse the potential significance of sweet sorghum to African farmers because of its multipurpose nature and ability to adapt under harsh climatic conditions.

Multiple uses

Sweet sorghum has many uses. It can produce grains, animal feed and sugary juice, making it unique among crops. The grains from sweet sorghum are prepared as steamed bread or porridge malt for traditional beer, as well as in commercial beer production across the continent.

They’re nutritionally rich, with high energy values (342 calories/100 g), proteins (10g/100 grains), carbohydrates (72.7g/100 grains), and fibre (2.2g/100 grains) as well as essential minerals such as potassium (44mg/100 grains), calcium (22mg/100 grains), sodium (8mg/100 grains) and iron (3.8mg/100 grains).

The nutritional value of maize is fairly similar: proteins (8.84g/100 grains), carbohydrates (71.88g/100 grains), fibre (2.1g/100 grains), potassium (286mg/100 grains), calcium (10mg/100 grains), sodium (15.9mg/100 grains) and iron (2.3mg/100 grains).

What sets sweet sorghum apart from a crop like maize is that it’s also resilient in arid climates and has multiple other uses. For instance, it produces a lot of plant material (biomass) as it grows, which is left over after harvest. That’s why it’s useful as animal feed too.

Animal feed is made from what remains once the sweet sorghum crop has been harvested and its grains and stem juice stripped off. The residue is high in nutritional content, which can improve the quality of diets of animals, including cattle. The grains can also be used for animal feed.

The sweet juice in the crop’s stalks is what’s used to create bioethanol. Sweet sorghum contains sucrose, glucose and fructose, which are essential for bioethanol production. Of the conventional biofuel crops I’ve mentioned, only sugarcane yields more ethanol. Studies in the United States have shown that sweet sorghum far outstrips maize when it comes to bioethanol production: it yields 8,102 litres per hectare planted, while maize yields just 4,209 litres per hectare.

Resilient

Perhaps most importantly given the southern African region’s current drought struggles, sweet sorghum is well-suited for cultivation in the sorts of adverse conditions that are typically challenging for conventional biofuel crops.

One of the key characteristics of sweet sorghum varieties is their drought resistance. It allows them to enter a dormant state during extended periods of dryness and resume growth afterwards. Research has shown that, under intense water scarcity conditions, sweet sorghum makes use of its stalk juice to supplement its plant needs.

Sweet sorghum’s ability to withstand low water and nitrogen inputs, as well as its tolerance for salinity and drought stress, makes it an ideal crop for farmers in arid regions. This is why it’s widely used in other parts of the world, including the USBrazil and China.

Investing in sweet sorghum

The continent’s current agriculture value chain is dominated by major crops like maize, wheat and rice, which all originate from outside Africa. Not enough attention is given to crops of African origin, like sweet sorghum, even though it is a multipurpose, hardy crop with great potential for farmers. People are more familiar with sorghum, not the sweet variety, and it is also under-researched.

Governments should be using their agriculture extension services to raise awareness among farmers and consumers about the benefits and practical applications of sweet sorghum in people’s diets.

Developing recipes and secondary or industrial products can enhance the feasibility and awareness of sweet sorghum farming. By investing in research and development, the full potential of sweet sorghum cultivation can be unlocked through governments and the private sector.

Hamond Motsi is a PhD Student in Agriscience, Stellenbosch University

Courtesy: The Conversation


Spread the love
Continue Reading

AGRIBUSINESS & AGRICULTURE

ECOWAS Rules to Protect Pastoralists Discourage Investments in Modern Livestock Farming

Published

on

By

Spread the love

 

By Jane Ezirigwe

A common sight around west Africa is to see cattle grazing freely, even in major cities, on highways and in airports. Every year, about 300 million head of livestock (mostly cattle) move across west Africa. Based on seasonal factors, they leave their usual grazing areas in search of water and pasture.

These practices, called pastoralism, or transhumance, go back millennia. They helped maximise land use in dry regions. In a bid to support these practices, the Economic Community of West African State (Ecowas) drew up regulations in 1998 and 2003. All Ecowas member states were to apply the regulations.

As an expert in food and agricultural law, natural resources development and international trade, I examined the regulations to see what effects they might be having on investments in the livestock sector. My findings show that livestock productivity has not improved in the region since the introduction of the new rules. Cattle productivity has fallen and milk production has improved very minimally. Clashes between farmers and herders have increased, along with insecurity. Elites take advantage of the regulations to exploit poor herders.

I conclude that the regulations may be discouraging meaningful large-scale investments such as ranching that could increase productivity, create jobs and ensure peace in the region.

Movement of livestock across west Africa

Ecowas is the only regional economic community in Africa with specific regulations governing transhumance. The regional body is made up of 15 states.

Its regulations aim to improve livestock productivity and food security, enhance the environment and reduce poverty.

The regulations allow free movement of livestock across the borders of member states under certain conditions. For example, herders must possess the Ecowas International Transhumance Certificate, and a minimum of two herders must accompany the herds. The herders must be at least 18 years old.

Member states are obligated to apply the regulations. But they’re not doing so uniformly. Some coastal states don’t allow the herders into their countries. For instance, Benin Republic recently banned the entry of foreign herders into its territory. Togo and Côte d’Ivoire control the number of herders that enter their territories annually.

For its part, Nigeria is moving towards more sedentary cattle farming. Several states in Nigeria, such as Benue and Oyo, have also banned pastoralism.

These countries have restricted the movement of herds because of negative experiences such as farmer-herder clashescattle rustling and other forms of criminality.

Impact of Ecowas transhumance regulations

In my paper, I argue that Ecowas regulation allows transhumance to exist in a form that is inimical to other business investment options – like ranching – for livestock production in the region.

Investors want profit, safe environments and certainty in rules. Pastoralism, on the other hand, encourages cheap labour and other practices that put large-scale investment in livestock at risk.

Bad business environment

Transhumance has been commercialised – and criminalised – in ways that produce a negative environment for the livestock business.

Movement of herds has contributed to conflicts between farmers and pastoralists, gender-based violence, insecurity and other forms of criminality.

Traffickers, smugglers, bandits and drug peddlers capitalise on livestock movement to commit crimes.

Proliferation of arms, terrorism, kidnapping and drug use have also increased in the guise of transhumance.

In Nigeria, for instance, it has been alleged that Boko Haram insurgents disguise themselves as pastoralists to convey improvised explosive devices to attack communities.

Limits modern methods

I also argue that the Ecowas regulations, by allowing herds to move around the region, discourage investment in modern methods of livestock production. This is because the cost of production in transhumance is low. Land and fodder are free. Labour is cheap and exploitative. All this makes other business models, such as ranching, relatively unattractive by comparison. It affects their profits and investment risks.

Some countries which practise pastoralism, such as Mongolia and Tibet, restrict it to arid regions.

What should be done

In my view, the practice of transhumance in west Africa should be gradually phased out. By this I mean a gradual – and then finally a total – ban on herder movements across borders.

This is because it is not an efficient use of land. About a third of west Africa’s land area is used for agriculture. Two-thirds of this serves as rangeland and pastures while one-third is used for crop production. Designated rangelands should be established in semi-arid areas of the region. Pastoralism should be restricted to these rangelands.

In my view conflict will be reduced if transhumance is restricted to arid and semi-arid regions. This in turn will make ranching more attractive, making room for large-scale investments that could create jobs and improve food security.

In the immediate future focus should be given to:

  • the strict implementation of the International Transhumance Certificate. The certificate usually contains particulars on the composition of the herd, the vaccinations given, the itinerary of the herds, and the destination of the pastoralist. The responsibility of issuing the certificate rests on the country of origin. This should reduce incidences of criminal elements disguised as herders.
  • limiting the number of cattle that people can have in a moving herd. This will help avoid herds straying, and resultant conflicts.
  • introducing new rules requiring the use of ear-tags. This would help with traceability when cattle are stolen or when they destroy farmlands.

By Jane Ezirigwe is a Postdoctoral Fellow, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa


Spread the love
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Focus on Halal Economy | Powered by Africa Islamic Economic Forum