IPMAN seeks govt s intervention in kerosene, diesel supply

 The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has called on the Federal Government to intervene in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry to ensure adequate supply of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) popularly called kerosene and Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) commonly called diesel, to avert scarcity. IPMAN’s Chairman, Mosimi depot, Comrade Dele Tajudeen, made the request during a meeting of the association at Mosimi, Sagamu, Ogun State. He told.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 17th September 2014

Competition seen in power sector as TEM begins November

 The transitional electricity market (TEM), a stage that will ensure accountability and boost further investment in the Nigerian electricity market is expected to come on stream in November, BusinessDay has learnt. It was gathered that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had in a meeting on Wednesday considered the launch of the TEM in about two months’ time. TEM represents the intermediate step to move the electricity market in an orderly manner from an.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 17th September 2014

Kaduna DISCO to commission 3 injection substations

 Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC) is to commission three new injection sub-stations at the Nigerian Air Force Base, Mothercat and Hanwa in Zaria, Kaduna State, to improve power supply in the state, KEDC Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Idris Mohammed, has disclosed. Speaking in Kaduna yesterday when he hosted the leadership of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Kaduna State chapter, led by its Chairman, Malam Garba Muhammad, in his.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 17th September 2014

Kenya Seed Introduces New Maize Variety Resistant to Striga Weed

The Kenya Seed Company has introduced new maize seed variety which is resistant to the maize lethal necrosis virus. Managing director Willy Bett said the company has also unveiled highland hybrid maize seeds and another maize seed variety, known as "Ua Kayongo" that is resistant to the striga weed common in western Kenya and North Rift. "We have developed a maize seed variety that is showing high resistance to the Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease, which has destroyed.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 17th September 2014

Nigeria, Kenya Sign MoU On Agribusiness Development

 THE Federal Government on Friday in Nairobi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kenyan government for the promotion of agribusiness between both countries. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, who spoke at the ceremony, said that seven out of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world were in Africa. Adesina said 65 per cent of the arable land that would provide "food for the world's nine billion people in 2050 is in.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 17th September 2014

Kenya: Report Recommends Revival of Cooperatives to Boost Dairy Farming in Kakamega

A task force has recommended the revival of cooperative societies and opening of new ones to spur dairy farming in Kakamega county. The task force on dairy farming wants Kakamega Dairy Cooperative Society converted into a limited liability company, owned by farmers and other stakeholders to streamline marketing of dairy products. The report says a vibrant cooperative movement will ensure strong collective bargaining and adoption of new innovations to increase milk production. The.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 17th September 2014

Tanzania: Dar Port Infrastructure Set for Further Improvement

Goods containers piled up at Dar es Salaam port ready for forwarding to various destinations. The port is set to receive funds from a combined soft loan and grants from the World Bank and the UK's Department of International Development (DFID) for activities aimed at improving efficiency at the port. (File Photo) FINALLY funding for deepening, dredging and construction of berths 1 to 7 at Dar es Salaam port valued at over 800bn/- will be provided by a combined soft loan and grant.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 17th September 2014

US$ 331m to be spent on road network expansion in Ethiopia

 The Addis Ababa City Roads Authority (AACRA) has set aside US$331m for roads in the Addis Ababa city, Ethiopia. The city of Addis Ababa presently has a road network covering 4671km, which is expected to be increased to 5275km. The project seeks to add 600km of road to the city’s road network. The Akaki Kaliti-Tulu Dimtu road will also be expanded, and reconstruction of the Akaki Bridge as part of this project, will also take place. Addis Ababa City Roads Authority (AACRA).... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 17th September 2014

Kenya seizes Hong Kong-bound rosewood from Madagascar's threatened forests

Kenyan customs officials seized dozens of shipping containers holding hundreds of tonnes of illegally logged rosewood from Madagascar, they said on Wednesday, the largest bust of its kind and worth as much as $13 million. Illegal logging of hardwood in the Indian Ocean island's rain forests spiral led out of control after a coup in 2009 and remains rampant, conservationists say, threatening rare species, including lemurs, that are found nowhere else. Famed for its wildlife and eyed.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 16th September 2014

Tanzania eyes 2 million tourist arrivals by 2017

 The number of tourists visiting the country is expected to double to 2 million by 2017, according to the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB). “We expect to reach 2 million tourist arrivals by 2017,” Reuters news agency quoted TTB acting managing director Devota Mdachi as saying at the weekend. “With more international airlines flying into Tanzania ... improved infrastructure, increased tourism investments and marketing, we can reach that target,” she.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 16th September 2014

Tanzania becomes Kenya s largest East Africa market

Tanzania has edged past Uganda as Kenya’s largest export market in East Africa as a result of the ongoing elimination of non-tariff barriers and increasing local production in Uganda of goods that were previously imported. Uganda has traditionally been Kenya’s top trading partner in the region, but latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) ranked the country third, with Tanzania coming second. Uganda was overtaken by the US in June as the leading.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 16th September 2014

Land and tree incentives entice Kenyan farmers to save forests

KAKAMEGA, Kenya (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A Kenyan government plan to increase the country's forest cover by giving local people incentives to plant and preserve trees is paying off, resulting in more productive farmers and a landscape better able to cope with the changing climate. “We had targeted 4.7 percent forest cover by 2015, but we are already at 6.99 percent,” said John Wanyiri, deputy director of the Kenya Forest Service. The government plan calls for.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 16th September 2014