Made in China 2025
The Chinese government has announced a mandate for the country to produce 90% of its own farm machinery by 2020. This is part of a new government programme called ‘Made in China 2025’ which intends to drive Chinese manufacturing and innovation. Yet this also fits neatly into the Chinese government’s plans to scale up Chinese agriculture.
(Smart Agriculture Analytics)
Economics of Tractor Ownership in Ghana
A new paper by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) looks at “whether tractor investment is a rational and profitable decision for farmers using firm investment theory and tractor owner survey data collected in 2013. Under erratic rainfalls, timeliness of farming operations is critical for farmers. Based on the hypothesis that owning a tractor and hiring tractor services are not necessarily perfect substitutes for farmers with relatively large farm sizes, this paper assesses whether mechanization services can be profitable for the private sector in Ghana.”
(IFPRI)
World Bank collaborates with Chinese housing firm in Africa
The World Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has formed a new partnership with the Chinese company CITIC Construction Co., Ltd. to build 30,000 low-cost houses in Kenya, Rwanda and Nigeria. The joint venture will involve $300mil over the next 5 years.
(Xinhua)
UNDP on China’s Humanitarian Aid
UNDP China has published its 9th Issue Brief, this time focusing on China’s Humanitarian Aid. This lists some key facts and figures concerning cases such as the Nepal earthquake and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. It also looks at the structures that deliver China’s international emergency relief.
(UNDP China)
ActionAid report: Land and the New Alliance
ActionAid has published a new report on the risk of land grabs that may result from the G8 countries’ New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. The New Alliance programme was launched in 2012 across ten African countries and involves partnerships with companies such as Monsanto, Diageo, SABMiller, Unilever and Syngenta.
(ActionAid)
This news roundup has been collected on behalf of the China and Brazil in African Agriculture (CBAA) project.
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