Blast from the past: The evolution of the Kenyan currency
Two years after the unveiling new currency in December by the Central Bank of Kenya’s, the country seems to have put behind it the appearance of the money that characteristically bore portraits of heads of government and state.The present currency coins and notes unveiled on December 10, 2018 bear wildlife...
$170,000 banana, potato factory puts money in pockets of Kakamega youths
With Ksh17 million ($170,000) World Bank and national government funding, youths in a remote village in western Kenya are going about their lives with a spring in their legs. Reason? They are now reaping the benefits of a value addition factory in Khwisero subcounty in Kakamega County that is now...
A Nigerian’s public outcry against graft is proportional to distance to dabble in it
On June 13, 1988, Pini Jason Onyegbaduo (1948 – 2013), a popular Nigerian columnist, propounded a “Hypothesis of Corruption.” The hypothesis was intellectually articulated in the now-defunct THISWEEK newsmagazine. But unknown to Pini Jason, he had developed what would become known as the “Jason’s Law of Corruption.” The “Law” would...
Market oriented horticultural smallholder farmers hit it big
Potato farming, among other horticultural crops, is the mainstay for farmers at Mwendi Kurima Cooperative Society in Engineer Town, Nyandarua County. Initially started as a self-help group by 13 farmers, Mwendi Kurima Group, whose membership currently stands at 350, it has weathered many storms over the years to become one...
Fishermen want Kenya, Uganda to resolve marine resources dispute
Fishermen in western Kenya county of Migori have petitioned Kenya and Uganda to agree on how to settle a protracted marine resources dispute over fishing boundaries. Lake Victoria, the second largest freshwater lake in the world is a source of livelihood for more than 10 million people in Kenya, Tanzania,...
How geothermal energy powers farming in the heart of Rift Valley
Erratic weather and a burgeoning population that requires food employment is an ever-ticking time bomb. Nakuru, once synonymous with commercial agriculture and industrialisation in Kenya has over the years slipped down the rung, now needs rejigging to breathe new life into the once cleanest town in East Africa. Endowed with...
Human rights defenders from Iran, Belarus among 2020 Right Livelihood laureates
Imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, US civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson, indigenous rights and environmental activist Lottie Cunningham Wren of Nicaragua and Belarusian pro-democracy activist Ales Bialiatski and the non-governmental organisation Human Rights Centre “Viasna” have been selected as the 2020 Right Livelihood Laureates, the Swedish Right Livelihood...
British beef exports to US resume after over 20 years
British beef is back on US menus for the first time in more than 20 years as exports restart this week, the British Broadcasting Corporation reports. The beef was banned after the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak in 1996 when cattle were infected by what became commonly known as Mad...
Climate change threatens coffee production in Africa
Coffee farmer, Francois Dadi Serikpa from Gnamagnoa in Côte d’Ivoire, joined Nestlé’s Nescafé Plan 10 years ago. The coffee farms that had been in his family for generations were producing poor yields, making it hard for him to earn a good living to care for his family. Under the plan,...
Ambitious Abu Dhabi to build world’s largest indoor farm
GreenFactory Emirates, a United Arab Emirates firm, plans to produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce per year and combine vertical and flat farming techniques in a project billed to be the largest indoor farm. The AED650 million ($176,930,000) project will develop an innovative indoor farming with the world’s most advanced...
