News stories by Busani Bafana, page 21

As controlled field trials of a genetically modified (GM) crop are about to begin in five African countries amidst promises of improved crops grown under poor conditions, critics are charging organisations of selling out the interests of African farmers.

Seventeen-year-old Jason* wants to be a pilot and his 14-year-old foster sister, Gracie*, wants to be a lawyer. In the impoverished district of Rehoboth, south of Windhoek, dreams such as these do not always come true.

Mother-to-be Agnes Ncube budgets up to 100 dollars each month from her informal roadside business just so she can pay for the maternal services at her local government clinic.

The black-eyed pea, commonly known as the cowpea, is the new kid on the block when it comes to improving the welfare of women and their families in West Africa, researchers say.

While researchers and farmers are still divided on the benefits of growing crops for biofuel production as Africa grapples with food security, Senegal is steadily working to balance the growing demands for food and bio fuels.

Without contributions from well wishers and government grants of between 68 and 104 dollars per month per child, the House of Mother and Child in Ennerdale, south of Johannesburg, would barely be able to provide for the 18 vulnerable children who call the place home.

After being diagnosed HIV-positive Margaret Bikyele could not even manage the simplest of household chores, let alone being able work to generate an income for her and her two sons. Since her diagnosis in 2005 and in the years that followed, the Bikyele family’s prospects in life had looked bleak. That is until Bikyele became the recipient of a social cash transfer scheme in 2007 and began receiving 10 dollars a month.

More than a million people will need food aid in Zimbabwe this year. As the government looks to boost agriculture production, one rural community is leading the way by using irrigation schemes to improve food security and income.

Most fruits and vegetables sold in Bulawayo are imported from South Africa, because farms immediately around Zimbabwe's second city cannot meet demand. Locals are paying high prices as a result.

An innovation by researchers in Nigeria could be a cure for the devastating Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) - responsible for annual losses in excess of 500 million dollars of crop across East and Central Africa. But it has also fuelled debate on the genetic engineering of crops in Africa.