African farmers can't go green. Johannesburg - As South Africa prepares to host UN climate talks at the end of the month, African farmers say they are struggling to access a key programme meant to help them take part in the fight against climate change.
The continent's farmers were meant to be among the main beneficiaries of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which lets industrialised countries and their companies fund green projects in the developing world in exchange for credits toward their emission-cutting targets under the Kyoto Protocol. But as climate negotiators prepare for a tough round of talks on the future of Kyoto - the only deal to date with legally binding commitments to cut greenhouse gases - farmers in Africa complain the CDM's complicated paperwork puts the emissions trading programme out of their reach.
"Small-scale farmers do not have the knowledge to present projects," Effatah Jele of the Zambia National Farmers union told AFP. "Why was it made in that way? It costs a lot of money," she said. Practical agribusiness skills. 10 Things to Include in Your Startup Pitch Presentation. Bill Clark is the CEO of MicroAngel Capital Partners, a venture firm that gives more investors access to alternative investments.
He also gives investors the ability to invest in startups online through crowdfunding. You can follow him on Twitter @austinbillc. When you pitch to investors or venture capitalists, assume that you are not going to have a lot of time. Investors constantly get pitched, so it's important to catch their attention quickly and engage them by keeping it simple. SEE ALSO: Mashable's Startup Investment Tips Series Have a presentation (a "pitch deck") prepared with which you can pitch your entire idea and business plan in less than 20 minutes. 1. The cover page should have your logo, business name and a tagline. 2. Summarize all of the information before you present it, and use this opportunity to get your audience interested in your company. 3. Investors are not only putting money toward your idea, they’re investing in your team. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Beginning%20Farm%20Business%20Plan%20example. WWF South Africa - Better environmental management practices integral to SA agriculture.
In celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity and World Environment Week, The World Wide Fund for Nature today unveiled its vision for Living Farms: An agricultural sector which farms in balance with nature.
This vision is supported by two new products available from WWF. The Living Farms Reference, a comprehensive compilation of current legislation and better practices already demonstrated in many of the leading agricultural sectors and an overview report of the current status quo entitled Agriculture Facts and Trends, . “Amidst the global concern of rising food insecurity, rapidly depleting resources and biodiversity in retreat, South Africa needs to pay particular attention to the economic, social and environmental sustainability of its agricultural industries, and today we celebrate our initial successes, the role of innovative farmers and an emerging trend towards farming in balance with nature” explained Mark Botha, head of the Living Lands unit at WWF.
Biggs_2002. OPINION: Thinking Big by Starting Small. The following op-ed appeared in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer By Stephanie Hanson, Danielle Nierenberg, and Molly Theobald It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the fact that 1 billion people worldwide are going to bed hungry every night.
And, in the United States, it is easy to look at sub-Saharan Africa - where the majority of people depend on agriculture for their livelihood but still do not get enough to eat - and want to just throw money at the problem. Or worse, to give up hope. But when one talks to farmers on the ground in Kenya, Ghana, Madagascar, and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, it becomes clear that throwing money at the problem isn't enough. It's not that funding isn't needed. But this money needs to be directed at the right kind of agriculture projects. One Acre Fund, an agriculture organization that serves rural smallholder farmers in Kenya and Rwanda, was built on this idea.
Farmer-led innovation is happening all over the continent.
South Africa agri trends. Notes. Family. Gender. 40324332.