In Togo, all riparians expropriated 30 years ago due to the development of the Nangbeto hydropower dam have come up to shout their anger. Indeed, the people accuse the State of not providing the houses, schools, health centres, markets, roads and other infrastructures it promised at the time. “In the framework of the construction of the Nangbeto dam, people living on the site had to leave. At...

Popular Farms and Mills Limited, a division of Stallion Conglomerate, plans to increase its production of locally farmed rice from 450,000 metric tonnes to 1.5 million tonnes annually. The company intends to achieve this by using integrated rice value chain and enhancing milling activities. “Popular Farms and Mills Limited will leverage the impulse provided by the Federal Government through...

Six states in Nigeria could benefit from a new $500 million loan from the World Bank for the construction of rural roads. “The rural roads construction project is expected to increase farmers’ access to farm inputs and markets, thus reducing post-harvest losses, and the loan is such that participating state governments will pay 5% counterpart funding while the federal government is to...

The government of Japan has donated $3.5 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), for the provision of food assistance to internally displaced people in the Northeastern part of Nigeria. This fund will allow WFP deliver food to over 160,000 people in Borno and Yobe States. “We commend the Government and people of Japan for their continued contributions to WFP’s...

Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production dropped by more than 200,000 bpd to 1.676 million bpd last month against 1.9 million bpd in February, according to the Ministry of Petroleum. Although the Ministry which disclosed this on Tuesday did not provide the reason behind the monthly drop, sources with knowledge of the issue attribute the fall to the ongoing maintenance at the Bonga oil...

Nigeria has been offered a $4.5 billion loan by China for agricultural machinery and infrastructure, according to Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari (photo). “China is giving us a credit line of $4.5 billion for the procurement of strategic machinery for rural development and agriculture,” Yari said after a meeting with the President and the Minister of Agriculture. The state...

Foreign direct investments (FDI) in Mauritius stood at 13.64 billion rupees ($388.8 million) in 2016, up 41% compared to 2015, according to a statement published on April 4th by the central bank. The surge is mainly due FDIs’ increase in the real estate and finance sectors. In the first, FDIs stood at 9.93 billion rupees whereas in the finance sector they reached 2.15 billion rupees. “About...

In Q1 2017, Morocco’s agricultural output soared by 12.9% against 9% the year before. The performance pushed the country’s economy up 4.3% over the period considered, compared to 1.7% in 2016, Reuters reports. The increase in agricultural output which was driven by abundant rainfall at the beginning of the season marks a dynamic growth of the sector which suffered last year a severe...

In Mali, deputies have adopted, during an extraordinary session, the bill on agricultural land drafted by the minister of agriculture, Kassoum Denon. The decision should accelerate the process for boosting rural land tenure in the country. “The bill on agricultural land promotes the implementation of a regulation in the sector which significantly conditions the nation’s socio-economic...

At the end of 2016, Africa counted 145,000 millionaires with a combined wealth of $800 billion, according to a report published March-ending by the British research firm New World Wealth and AfrAsia Bank. Over these millionaires, 7,010 are multimillionaires, the same source highlighted. Between 2006 and 2016, the number of high net worth individuals (HNWI) grew by 19%. In 2016 however,...