Moroccan farmers chartered to Italy for work

Seasonal agricultural workers from Morocco have been flown to Italy to harvest. COVID-19 lockdown left them out of jobs, while farmers fear their crops would go waste. In late May, 248 Moroccan workers were flown by chartered planes and paid for by farmer groups. Elkasmi Tarik is a seasonal worker from Morocco. He said they […]

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Artemisia: plant behind Madagascar’s purported virus cure

Covid-Organics, a herbal tea presented by Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina as a remedy against the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, is made from artemisia, a green fern with an appearance similar to cannabis. Its proponents tout it as the first effective treatment against the coronavirus. Its detractors have dismissed it as an overly hyped magic potion, at […]

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Agric sector gets essential services status

THE agriculture sector will operate with skeletal staff during the 21-day lockdown to ensure workers are not exposed to or spread the Covid-19 pandemic, Government has said. Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri encouraged farmers to make every effort possible to ensure that labour engaged was either resident on farm, or from […]

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No going back on land reform, Shiri

Government will not return land to the white former commercial farmers but only to the indigenous farmers and those that were under the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) who were affected during the land reform, Lands, Agriculture, Water and Rural Resettlement Minister Perrance Shiri has said. Minister Shiri was explaining the Statutory Instrument […]

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Reaping gold through urban farming

Sustainable urban agriculture and urban food systems have swiftly moved from being a fringe interest to attracting the attention of many in cities and towns. Unlike in recent years when farming was mostly for rural communities, urbanites have realised gold in the industry. With formal employment hard to come by, graduates end up roaming the […]