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African Cassava Agronomy Initiative Strengthens Partnership to Boost Yield

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The African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) project has stepped up efforts in cultivating and fostering the right partnerships in its cardinal aim of reducing the cassava yield gap in Africa.

The ACAI project team from inception realised the importance of partnerships, and is sparing no effort in ensuring effective collaboration among partners from the experimental phase to the development, and use of the tools that will support appropriate management of cassava to realise the crop’s fullest potential on farmers’ fields.

The project has engaged key actors in Nigeria and Tanzania ranging from farmers, researchers, extension services, development workers, processors as well as input dealers notably fertilizer manufacturing companies.

The main aim is to establish contact among relevant actors for considerations for learning and information sharing that will benefit the participating partners associated with ACAI, according to Dr. Abdulai Jalloh, ACAI Project Coordinator on Friday.

The Africa Soil Health Consortium in collaboration with the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) (partners under ACAI) is leading the engagement of key stakeholders in target countries as the project establishes cassava clusters.

Jalloh noted that even though the entry point of ACAI is to address yield gap, it is imperative for strategic considerations of the cassava value chain and inclusiveness of all concerned.

According to him, ACAI is conscious of the mistakes of past interventions where bottlenecks were considered in isolation irrespective of other existing ones and even those that could occur as a result of concentrating on only one aspect.

He emphasised that ACAI would direct efforts towards reducing the yield gap, which would eventually increase cassava production while ensuring impacts along the value chain with a view to having a sustainable improvement in cassava production, processing, and utilisation, and impact on overall economic development of individuals, communities, and countries.

Mr James Watiti of CABI who is leading the establishment of cassava value chain clusters emphasised that it was very crucial to bring all stakeholders together and hold a meaningful conversation in an open manner.

He stressed that as long as there is candid conversation among partners, issues and challenges can be addressed and synergies capitalised on.

The African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) project is a five-year project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The project is led by IITA and it seeks to increase the availability of appropriate and affordable technologies to sustainably improve short- and long-term agricultural productivity of cassava.

Is the CEO/Founder of Investors King Limited. A proven foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and many more. He has over two decades of experience in global financial markets.

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Crude Oil

Investor Confidence Boosted by UBS-Credit Suisse Deal, Oil Prices Show Resilience

The deal eased investors confidence ahead of Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for tomorrow and boosted oil prices.

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Global oil prices rebounded slightly in the early hours of Tuesday as concerns over banking section issues subside following UBS-Credit Suisse successful deal.

The deal eased investors confidence ahead of Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for tomorrow and boosted oil prices.

Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is priced, traded rose to $73.84 per barrel while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil gained 9 cents to $67.73 a barrel. A rebound from $3 decline recorded in the previous session.

The announcement of the UBS-Credit Suisse deal was followed by major central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, indicating that they would enhance market liquidity and support other banks.

Furthermore, officials with the G7 stated that they were unlikely to revise a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil as planned. The officials said EU countries’ ambassadors were told by the European Commission over the weekend there was no pressing desire among the group for an immediate review.

Looking ahead, OPEC+, which includes the world’s top oil exporting countries and allies including Russia, is set for a meeting on April 3. The group agreed in October to cut oil production targets by 2 million barrels per day until the end of 2023.

Overall, the UBS-Credit Suisse deal and central bank support has helped ease investor concerns and stabilize oil prices. However, the upcoming OPEC+ meeting will be closely watched for any potential changes to oil production targets.

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Oil Dips to 15 Months Low on Monday as Concerns Over Troubled Global Banking Sector Intensifies

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Rising global uncertainty concerning the rout in the banking system following the collapse of three major global banks has plunged oil prices to 15 months low on Monday as energy traders are worried that the U.S. central bank might raise interest rates even higher this week. 

Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is priced, declined by 3.2% to $70.65 a barrel to settle at its lowest level since December 2021 in the early hours of Monday. While the U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil stood at $64.59 per barrel, down by 3.2%.

The decline in global energy market on Monday was despite UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank announcing it was acquiring troubled Credit Suisse, the country’s second-largest lender for $3 billion to prevent a banking crisis from spreading into other key sectors.

“The market focus is on current banking sector volatility and the potential for further rate hikes by the Fed,” said Baden Moore, National Australia Bank’s head of commodity research.

While the US Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points on March 22, some executives are calling on the central bank to pause its monetary policy tightening for now but be ready to resume raising rates later.

The upcoming OPEC meeting is also another potential catalyst for the market outlook. “Further downside risk to prices increases the probability OPEC reduces production further to support prices,” Moore added, referring to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs has cut its forecasts for Brent crude oil after prices plunged on banking and recession fears. The leading investment bank now expects brent oil to average $94 in the next 12 months and $97 in 2024, this is about $4 to $6 from $100 previously predicted.

Despite the uncertainty in the market, some analysts predict that prices will trend higher over the course of the year.

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Oil Prices Rebound After Saudi Arabia and Russia Calm Markets and Support Measures Stabilize Banking Crisis

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After a week of steep declines, oil prices rebounded on Friday thanks to a meeting between Saudi Arabia and Russia that calmed markets and support measures that stabilized a banking crisis.

Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian measures, rose by 1.46% to $75.79 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate oil rose 1.76% to $69.55. Both benchmarks had hit more than one-year lows earlier in the week and were on track for their biggest weekly falls since December 2021.

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and trouble at Credit Suisse and First Republic Bank had put pressure on oil and other global assets this week.

However, the commodity recovered some ground on Friday after the European Central Bank and U.S. lenders announced various measures to curtail the situation.

A meeting between oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia on Thursday also helped to calm fears. Furthermore, WTI’s fall this week to less than $70 a barrel for the first time since December 2021 could spur the U.S. government to start refilling its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which would boost demand.

Similarly, the rebound in Chinese demand for the commodity also supported the increase in price as reports shows the U.S. crude exports to China in March rose to its highest level in nearly two and a half years.

Analysts believe there is sufficient support for the oil price, with OPEC+ having to convene an extraordinary meeting.

An OPEC+ monitoring panel is due to meet on Apr. 3. Despite the rebound, conditions for volatile trading remain intact, and the oil price roller-coaster is pausing for breath but is by no means over, according to oil broker PVM’s Stephen Brennock.

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