Ghana will host the maiden International Coconut Festival in Accra to provide a platform for diverse and high coconut industry players from across the globe to discuss the development and promotion of coconut.
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Government to construct 3 Greenhouse Villages to boost horticultural sub sector.
The government of Ghana in its quest to revamp both local and international market for vegetables has expedite to construct three Greenhouse Villages for the Ghanaian vegetable sector- asserted by Hon. Dr Afriyie Akoto, Minister of Food and Agriculture during the Ghana-Israeli Agribusiness Summit in Accra.
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HortiFresh Holds Exhibitors Meeting Prior to the Fruit and Vegetable Fair.
HortiFresh in a roundtable discussion told Exhibitors of the maiden Fruit and Vegetable Fair to attractively exhibit their products during the fair which commence on July 2-5, 2019. The meeting which took place at the Tomreik Hotel in Accra hosted about 52 Exhibitors from different fruit and vegetable value chain.
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Zambia farmer collapsed after government kills his 71 animals.
ZAMBIA- Zambia Farmer of Choma’s Macha in Southern Province collapsed on 9th June, 2019 after the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock slaughtered and disposed off 71 animals worth K138,000.
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The Menace of GMO Foods.
After Reading This Article About The Danger Of GMOs, You Will Probably Never Want To Eat Genetically-Modified Food Again.
Every single day, most Americans eagerly gobble down foods that contain ingredients that have been genetically-modified without ever considering the consequences. Most of us simply assume that the federal government would never allow us to eat GMOs if they were not safe. Unfortunately, it appears that the federal government has completely failed us. The material that I am about to share with you is deeply disturbing, and after reading this article there is a very good chance that you will never want to eat genetically-modified food ever again. But at this point it is almost impossible to completely avoid GMOs, because they are in almost everything. Unless they are specifically designated “organic”, most corn, soy, canola and sugar beets grown in America today have been genetically modified, and almost all packaged foods contain ingredients derived from at least one of those sources.
We’ll get into some of the potential health effects of eating foods derived from GMO crops in a moment, but first I want to discuss a new trend that is potentially even more dangerous.
In recent years, researchers have been pushing the boundaries of biology in order to come up with new “plant-based” alternatives to existing food products. Essentially, “synthetic biology” is being used “to create life forms from scratch”…
Impossible’s “bleeding” veggie burger, shrimp made of algae, and vegan cheeses that melt are all making their way into restaurants and on to supermarket shelves, offering consumers a new generation of plant-based proteins that look, act, and taste far more like the real thing than ever before.
What consumers may not realize, however, is that many of these new foods are made using synthetic biology, an emerging science that applies principles of genetic engineering to create life forms from scratch.
But of course nobody really knows what the long-term health effects will be once humans start eating “synthetic proteins” on a massive scale.
And once these gene-edited organisms start spreading their genetic material in the wild, it could be a complete and total environmental nightmare. According to Rebecca Burgess, these food companies are “not considering the future of genetic pollution”…
Rebecca Burgess, the founder of Fibershed, which last fall produced a report with ETC Group on the hazards of clothing made from genetically modified or synbio-derived materials, questions the efficacy of methods to keep gene-edited material from getting into the environment. “The concern is that they’re using base life forms that grow rapidly and transfer genes rapidly and they’re not considering the future of genetic pollution.”
This is an even bigger issue in the agricultural world, and at this point “genetic drift” has become a global problem…
GMO contamination is well documented. According to the International Journal of Food Contamination, almost 400 cases of GMO contamination occurred between 1997 and 2013 in 63 countries. Part of the problem is the very nature of nature. Many plants are pollinated by insects, birds or wind, allowing pollen from a GMO plant to move to neighboring fields or into the wild. This “genetic drift” illustrates the enormous difficulty in containing GMO technology. Not only is genetic drift impossible to prevent, inadequate regulation also fails to hold seed companies accountable for any resulting damages and ultimately puts the onus on farmers who have been the victims of contamination.
We are monkeying around with life itself, and we really have no idea what the long-term consequences will look like.
But what we do know is that a number of scientific studies seem to indicate that GMO food is not healthy. According to a paper released by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, animal studies have linked GMO food with a whole host of health problems…
“Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food,” including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system.
None of us would willingly sign up for any of those conditions, but that is what we are potentially doing when we regularly consume food that has been genetically modified.
For those that are skeptical, I would like for you to consider what scientists discovered when they fed genetically-modified soy to rats…
The experience of actual GM-fed experimental animals is scary. When GM soy was fed to female rats, most of their babies died within three weeks — compared to a 10% death rate among the control group fed natural soy. The GM-fed babies were also smaller, and later had problems getting pregnant.
When male rats were fed GM soy, their testicles actually changed color — from the normal pink to dark blue. Mice fed GM soy had altered young sperm. Even the embryos of GM fed parent mice had significant changes in their DNA. Mice fed GM corn in an Austrian government study had fewer babies, which were also smaller than normal.
Could this be a clue as to why there is a “fertility crisis” in the United States today?
Researchers have also discovered that livestock experienced similar issues when they were fed genetically-modified crops…
Reproductive problems also plague livestock. Investigations in the state of Haryana, India revealed that most buffalo that ate GM cottonseed had complications such as premature deliveries, abortions, infertility, and prolapsed uteruses. Many calves died. In the US, about two dozen farmers reported thousands of pigs became sterile after consuming certain GM corn varieties. Some had false pregnancies; others gave birth to bags of water. Cows and bulls also became infertile when fed the same corn.
If this is what the hard science is telling us, why in the world are we doing this to ourselves?
In the end, it all comes down to greed. Four giant corporations have a virtual monopoly on the seed market today, and billions of dollars are at stake. So an enormous amount of time and energy is spent trying to convince the American public that there is nothing to be concerned about, and massive amounts of money is poured into the campaigns of politicians that support GMO food.
But they can’t keep a lid on the truth forever, and an increasing number of doctors are starting to speak out…
More and more doctors are already prescribing GM-free diets. Dr. Amy Dean, a Michigan internal medicine specialist, and board member of AAEM says, “I strongly recommend patients eat strictly non-genetically modified foods.” Ohio allergist Dr. John Boyles says “I used to test for soy allergies all the time, but now that soy is genetically engineered, it is so dangerous that I tell people never to eat it.”
Dr. Jennifer Armstrong, President of AAEM, says, “Physicians are probably seeing the effects in their patients, but need to know how to ask the right questions.” World renowned biologist Pushpa M. Bhargava goes one step further. After reviewing more than 600 scientific journals, he concludes that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a major contributor to the sharply deteriorating health of Americans.
If you want to live a long and successful life, you have got to take care of your health. And most Americans don’t even realize that genetically-modified corn has actually been designed to produce “built-in pesticide in every cell”…
GM corn and cotton are engineered to produce their own built-in pesticide in every cell. When bugs bite the plant, the poison splits open their stomach and kills them. Biotech companies claim that the pesticide, called Bt — produced from soil bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis’ has a history of safe use, since organic farmers and others use Bt bacteria spray for natural insect control. Genetic engineers insert Bt genes into corn and cotton, so the plants do the killing.
The Bt-toxin produced in GM plants, however, is thousands of times more concentrated than natural Bt spray, is designed to be more toxic, has properties of an allergen, and unlike the spray, cannot be washed off the plant.
Do you think that it is actually safe to eat such “food”?
Sadly, the health consequences from eating GMO food may not just be temporary. In fact, one study found that the effects of eating genetically-modified food could last for a lot longer that anyone had anticipated…
The only published human feeding study revealed what may be the most dangerous problem from GM foods. The gene inserted into GM soy transfers into the DNA of bacteria living inside our intestines and continues to function. This means that long after we stop eating GMOs, we may still have potentially harmful GM proteins produced continuously inside of us. Put more plainly, eating a corn chip produced from Bt corn might transform our intestinal bacteria into living pesticide factories, possibly for the rest of our lives.
Personally, I am going to re-evaluate my own diet, because doing research for this article has kind of freaked me out.
Most of the packaged foods that we eat today are not safe, and it is getting worse with each passing year.
About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dreamand The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time.
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HortFresh Fruit and Vegetable Fair comes off next month.
The maiden edition of the HortiFresh Fruit and Vegetable fair comes off at the La Palm Royal Beach hotel on July 2-5, 2019 from 10 am to 4 pm daily under the theme “Promoting Quality Fruits and Vegetables for a Competitive Domestic and Export Market.
The Experience over the years have been rewording. This is an opportunity to source for all your fresh fruit and vegetables, coconut oil and products, inputs for your farm, connect with Agribusiness Actors or even better exhibit your produce. Interested exhibitors can email exhibition@hortifresh.org or call 0249672135.
The Fruit and Vegetable Fair is an annual event that provides a platform for the horticulture sector actors to exhibit their products and services. This will help create market opportunities for these businesses and establish new business opportunities for stakeholders.
The fair also seeks to generate partnership and increase HortiFresh’s network base through visitors willing to engage in Horticulture activities as well as provide information about HortiFresh’s opportunities.
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The top 13 ways Israel is feeding the world
From drip irrigation to hardier seeds, Israeli innovations help fill hungry bellies everywhere, particularly in the developing world.
Food security is a critical concern as the global population expands and natural resources dwindle. Smart solutions for more efficient farming, hardier crops, alternative sources of nutrition, and safer food packaging and storage are essential.
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Modi Increases Cash Support Program for Farmers to $12.5 Billion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his second term by expanding an income support program for India’s small farmers, increasing the initiative’s annual cost to $12.5 billion for the new government that’s facing an economic slowdown.
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Uganda Defies Odds, Crop Volumes Rise.
Maize, beans and cassava production has increased over the past three years.
IN SUMMERY
• A report released this past week notes that production and export volumes of the three food crops has increased over the past three years.
• The report says government prioritised maize production “due to its high potential for food security and contribution to export earnings.”
• In the financial year 2015/16, Uganda’s maize production stood at 2.26 tonnes, with the country exporting 308,911 tonnes worth $102.2 million.
Production of food particularly maize, beans and cassava has increased over the past three financial years in Uganda, even as the region lives in fear of looming food insecurity due to unreliable rains and adverse weather.
A report released by the country’s Ministry of Agriculture this past week notes that production and export volumes of the three food crops has increased over the past three financial years.
The report says government prioritised maize production “due to its high potential for food security and contribution to export earnings.”
In the financial year 2015/16, Uganda’s maize production stood at 2.26 tonnes, with the country exporting 308,911 tonnes worth $102.2 million.
In 2017/2018, production increased to 3.2 million tonnes and the country exported 1.36 tonnes of maize worth $352.1 million
Government programmes like the Operation Wealth Creation saw over 14.6 million bags of maize seeds distributed to both commercial and small scale farmers in 104 districts since 2016.
The volume of beans—which are grown mainly by household farmers—was 1.1 million tonnes in the financial year 2016/2017, with exports at 144,925 tonnes worth $71.8 million.
The following financial year, according to the report presented by Agriculture Minister Vincent Ssempijja, the volume of beans increased to 1.21 million tonnes.
Cassava which is also used to make flour, animal feeds and alcohol, saw an increase from 3.02 million tonnes in 2015/16 to 3.4 million tonnes in 2017 /2018 but authorities say the crop has potential to do better.
“The ministry has developed programmes to promote research in high yielding and climate resilient varieties which are now being disseminated in the area with the best production capacity,” the report notes
Other food crops whose production volumes increased are rice and fruits.
Food insecurity
The increase in production comes at a time regional governments are predicting food insecurity and possible famine after intense droughts, rainstorms and flooding in parts of Kenya and Uganda.
Because of increased drought and unpredictable rainfall, the Office of the Prime Minister projects that harvests from the country’s first farming season this year will fall by 50 per cent compared with the first crop season of 2018.
The country has also reportedly budgeted for Ush40 million ($10.5 million) for emergency procurement of food items and Ush39 billion ($10.2 million) for fast maturing seed varieties of food crops like maize and beans.
Agriculture junior minister Christopher Kibazanga said that the ministry has submitted a request for a supplementary budget to purchase fast growing seeds to fill the predicted food gaps this year
In recent years, Uganda has experienced food shortages in areas like Karamoja, Teso and Nakasongola which lie within the cattle corridor, but the country enjoys food availability in the central and western regions throughout the year.
The discrepancies, Mr Kibazanga said, are due to a lack of interest from the private sector and the absence of market linkages both locally and internationally.
“Farmers and vendors in parts of the country experience food rotting while there is no food in other parts,” he said.
“There is a need for the private sector to exploit the distribution chain and identify regions where food is in plenty and take it to where it is needed most.”
To mitigate the ripple effects of climate change which threatens the region’s food security, government is supporting agriculture modernisation and research, as well as better agronomical practices like the use of improved technologies, provision of extension services, control of pests, vectors and diseases, mechanisation, and investment in irrigation.
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Government suspends export of some vegetables.
The National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) has suspended, indefinitely, the export of Capsicum, Solanum, Luffa and all leafy vegetables to any international market.
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