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Undervalued, neglected resource
Undervalued, the soil has become politically and physically neglected, triggering its degradation due to erosion, compaction, salinization, soil organic matter and nutrient depletion, acidification, pollution and other processes caused by unsustainable land management practices. The irony is that the main culprit of soil degradation is the very thing that most relies on healthy soils: agriculture. Industrial agriculture’s intensive production systems, which rely on the heavy application of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, have depleted soil to the point that we are in danger of losing significant portions of arable land.

It is estimated that on nearly one-third of the earth’s land area, land degradation reduces the productive capacity of agricultural land by eroding topsoil and depleting nutrients resulting in enormous environmental, social and economic costs. Most critically, land degradation reduces soil fertility leading to lower yields.

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Mounting violence in Ethiopia has seen many killed, as protests against the government’s economic and human rights policies continues. The tensions at the heart of the crisis are systemic ones, yet what makes the violence particularly worrisome is that foreign investors have become prominent targets. Foreign businesses are being systematically attacked in protest of the government’s development-centric approach, with protesters citing land grabs and unfair competition as key issues.

Foreign investor confidence in Ethiopia has been shaken following nearly a year of unrest, with the country’s government now admitting that many people have died as a result of police crackdowns and a deadly stampede in the country’s Oromia region.

Government estimates claim that around 40,000 workers at foreign companies have been affected by the disruptions; as cement, textile, flower, and agribusiness firms have been attacked. Popular sentiments that the benefits of growth are not being felt by all, combined with worries about foreign goods undercutting local producers has made Ethiopia a very dangerous investment locale.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn declared a six-month state of emergency in an attempt to quell the protests by ethnic Oromo and Amhara communities over a land dispute and political marginalisation. The unrest has caused millions of dollars worth of damage to foreign-owned businesses, including flower farms and other agribusinesses. The anti-government protests have dented the view that Ethiopia is a stable partner for investment, according to Emma Gordon, a senior analyst with research firm Verisk Maplecroft. “[Foreign] investors are very concerned with the situation in the country, with some already pulling out,” she said. “They were willing to look past the human rights [abuses] perpetrated by the security services, but it’s difficult to ignore them now.”

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The crop protection industry is dominated by the large multinational agro-chemical companies. The biocontrol business is minute in comparison, with less than 10% of global sales of crop protection products. The future of the biocontrol industry is based on a range of interacting factors and difficult to predict the future, however many are suggesting that its future is likely to grow. There are numerous drivers for the use of biological control.

Pesticide resistance
Whether a pest or a disease, most organisms have the ability to become resistant to a large range of pesticides. This is often seen in the field where one season a particular pesticide works well and later the efficacy is not there. Resistance has been reported in many common groups of insecticides and fungicides.

There occurrence of resistance to a biological control is virtually unknown. For instance in Kenya the wide spread adoption of t

Governments and the regulators he use of predatory mites was mainly due the fact that many of the conventional pesticides were not working due to resistance.

Broadly around the global, the authorities are trying to reduce the reliance on conventional pesticides. For instance EU have launched an action plan which has the objective to reduce pesticides, in compliance with the EU’s Sustainable Use Directive.

The aim is to reduce the dependency of farms on plant protection products (up to 50% reduction in ten years), while at the same time maintaining agricultural production at a high level in both quality and quantity terms. Another and more dramactic example of how governments can affect the use of pesticides is that the EU has placed severe restrictions on the use of a number of Active Igredients which include imidacloprid (Confidor), thiaclorpid (Calypso), acetamiprid (Golan) and thiamethoxam (Actara) are likely to be under pressure for years to come and this will not only be reflected in the EU but also Kenya as well. For instance the UK supermarket has given notice to its suppliers world-wide. Therefore can biological control fill the vacuum left by the regulators withdrawing pesticides?

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KRA Vs VD Berg Who will brink First

The taxman has accused a Naivasha-based company of restricting the sale of its flowers to its parent firm in the Netherlands to avoid paying taxes to the Kenyan Government.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has claimed in court that Van den Berg Kenya Ltd (VDB-K) has been selling most of its flowers to its Dutch parent firm at extremely low prices to cut the amount of tax it can pay.

VDB-K has sued the taxman to stop a Sh1.1 billion demand it says the authority has grossly exaggerated. But the KRA says in-depth audits into VDB-K revealed that the company has been colluding with its parent firm to dodge taxes.

The KRA also claims that VDB-K failed to provide crucial information such as details of sales between it and its Dutch parent. The taxman adds that some of the documents provided were written in Dutch, making it hard to use a tax calculation method agreeable to both parties.

“In particular, VDB-K failed to give transaction details with customer names, flower varieties, sizes and prices which information was necessary to establish the end-customer buying price on transaction by transaction basis,” the KRA says.

Court order barring the KRA “VDB-K provided certain documents in Dutch language, described by its tax agents as casual agents invoices. A review of these documents revealed that the persons listed therein were the same individuals listed in the shared cost analysis,” says Mr Patrick Chege, a manager in the Domestic Taxes Department.

The Dutch-owned company has secured a court order barring the KRA from claiming the amount until Justice George Odunga has determined the suit.

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By Maurice Koome

Description

Downy mildew is a fungal disease that causes destruction of leaves, stems, and flowers of the infected plant. Downy mildew causal organism is called Peronosporasparsa and as the scientific name indicates, the production of spores is sparse and therefore this disease is difficult to diagnose and control.

Downy mildew (Oomycete fungi) are referred to as a high risk pathogens because of the following factors;

  • Oomycetes fungi are able to spread in an explosive manner under favorable conditions.
  • Short development cycle (8-10 days under optimum conditions)
  • High potential for reproduction (high quantities of spores)
  • Wide propagation by water and wind
  • Damage is not reversible: The damaged tissues die in general leading quickly to substantial losses at harvest
  • High genetic variability: Rapid appearance of strains less sensitive to specifically acting fungicides possible.

 

 

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