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31. Mai 2024

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2024 - EP

The ANC's free-fall, the return of Jacob Zuma and a new era of coalitions.

The ANC's free-fall, the return of Jacob Zuma and a new era of coalitions.

31 May 2024

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

31 May 2024

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

The maggots that are making animal feed more affordable in Zimbabwe come from the black soldier flies. These are being used in several countries in Africa. Credit: IITA

By Jeffrey Moyo
HARARE, May 31 2024 (IPS)

Three years ago, 43-year-old Benard Munondo was an “ordinary” Zimbabwean teacher at a local primary school, but now he has turned maggots into gold.

Thanks to maggot farming, Munondo, who has never owned a home nor driven a car, now has both.

In 2020, a week’s training on maggot farming changed his world.

One of the maggot farming trainers posted an advertisement on social media that lured Munondo in.

“Discover the Fascinating World of Maggot Farming! Whether you’re a farmer looking to boost your livestock’s nutrition or an entrepreneur seeking a unique venture, this training is for you! Fee: USD 30. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to revolutionize your farming practices,” reads the advertisement. This seized his attention.

Since then, he has not turned back and maggot farming has become a way of life in a country with 90 percent unemployment, according to the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU).

Instead, Munondo, like several other maggot entrepreneurs, has become more of an employer after he set up a maggot plot of land just a year after he received training in farming the worms.

He has not, however, quit his teaching job, saying maggot farming, thanks to his workforce of 14 people at his plot outside the Zimbabwean capital Harare, has become his side job.

In fact, maggot farming, which involves breeding and harvesting maggots for various purposes such as producing cheap, high-protein animal feed, composting, and waste management, has become a big hit in Zimbabwe.

Many Zimbabweans, like Munondo in the capital, Harare, who are involved in maggot farming, are using the maggots to feed their own home-grown chickens.

For Munondo, that has helped cut costs for the over 800 chickens he rears in his backyard.

It now costs just USD 3.50 for entrepreneurs like Munondo to fully breed one chicken using maggots, compared to USD 6.50 using soy-based feed.

Thanks to maggot farming, Munondo claimed he was raking in 70 to 80 dollars a day from selling maggots alone, which he said at the end of the month exceeded the total he earns from his teaching job.

An average school teacher in Zimbabwe earns about USD 200 every month after tax deductions and for many, like Munondo, maggot farming has come in handy to supplement his meagre earnings from his government job.

With garbage going uncollected for long periods across Zimbabwe’s towns and cities, thanks to poor service delivery by council authorities, Munondo said some residents are buying maggots to destroy uncollected waste.

“The same maggots that are feeding my chickens are being used to get rid of uncollected waste.”

As maggot farming gains traction in Zimbabwe, even young people like 23-year-old Jonathan Pamhare in Harare have found something to gain from the maggots.

“I don’t really do maggot farming, but I’m interested in them and I started a training company that offers agricultural training, and among the trainings is maggot farming,” Pamhare told IPS.

Well versed in all the procedures related to maggot farming, Pamhare also said, “It (maggot farming) is the most profitable business because your expense is mostly your time.”

As such, added Pamhare, they (the maggots) feed on just anything rotten that comes within their reach.

This, Pamhare said, is cheap, coming more often than not at zero cost, with the maggots maturing in a period of about two weeks.

From his training venture, Pamhare made his money, charging between USD 30 and 40 per head for all the trainees that he recruits.

In high-density areas of Harare like Sunningdale, five kilometers east of Harare, thanks to maggot farming trainers, several homes boast of rearing chickens for sale and feeding them using maggots.

Battling high prices for chicken feed has become a thing of the past, as many urban chicken farmers now switch to maggots to fatten their chickens.

But these are no ordinary maggots, according to many, like Munondo, who has made a name for himself as a thriving maggot farmer.

Maggots begin as what Munondo called black soldier flies—literally giant black flies—which, through metamorphosis, turn into maggots. Pig farmers have also embraced them and are now feeding their pigs the protein-rich maggots.

The black soldier flies, popularly known as BSF here, have a four-stage life cycle from egg to larvae to pupa to adult fly.

The BSF deposit their eggs near a food source and after about three to four days, the flies grow into larvae that feed on the waste prior to being harvested.

There are no latest official statistics about maggot farmers in Zimbabwe, but the Zimbabwe Organic and Natural Food Association has been on record in the media, claiming that of late the number of maggot farmers has been growing.

The reason, said Munondo, is that maggot farming is the easiest.

“Maggots don’t require much land, while they need neither chemicals nor lots of water in order to be reared. Just a small land piece, flies, and waste, which are the most crucial components, are all one requires in order to kickstart maggot farming,” said Munondo.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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The European elections will take place on 6 - 9 June. The first country to vote on 6 June is The Netherlands, and the final country to close its polls is Italy, at 23.00 CET on 9 June.

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

A Szaharov-díjas Szvjatlana Cihanouszkaja, Olekszandra Matvijcsuk és Lorent Saleh arra szólítják fel az európai polgárokat, hogy menjenek el szavazni a választásokon.

Forrás : © Európai Unió, 2024 - EP

Swjatlana Zichanouskaja, Oleksandra Matwitschuk und Lorent Saleh gehören zu den Sacharow-Preisträgern, die die Bürger zur Teilnahme an der Europawahl aufrufen.

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2024 - EP

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Oleksandra Matviichuk and Lorent Saleh are among the Sakharov laureates calling on citizens to vote in the European elections.

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Oleksandra Matviichuk and Lorent Saleh are among the Sakharov laureates calling on citizens to vote in the European elections.

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

L'hydrogène vert a le vent en poupe dans l'UE. Réunissant des partenaires d'Italie du Nord-Est, de Slovénie et de Croatie, la North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley est même l'un des plus ambitieux projets européens. Est-ce l'arbre qui cache la forêt de la transition verte ?

- Articles / Courrier des Balkans, Environnement dans les Balkans, Adriatique, Croatie, Slovénie, Environnement, Relations régionales

Sikeresen zárult a Valiant Panther 2024 nemzetközi hadgyakorlat Újdörögdön, melyen az Ohiói Nemzeti Gárda és a Magyar Honvédség dunántúli területvédelmi ezredek tartalékosai vettek részt. A zárógyakorlatot dr. Drót László dandártábornok, az MH Területvédelmi Erők Parancsnokságának parancsnoka és Matthew S. Woodruff dandártábornok, az Ohiói Nemzeti Gárda képviselője is megtekintette.

A másfél hetes gyakorlat során a katonák egyéni és raj szintű felkészítést kaptak, melyben éleslövészet, menetelés harcparancs alapján, szituációs feladatok és kötelékben végrehajtott éleslövészet szerepelt. A zárógyakorlaton a katonák védelmi pozíciót foglaltak el, majd ellenlökést hajtottak végre a szembenálló erők legyőzése érdekében.

A gyakorlat kiemelt célja a magyar-amerikai együttműködés és barátság erősítése volt, melyet a zökkenőmentes kommunikáció és a katonák közötti kölcsönös tanulás is bizonyított. Matthew S. Woodruff dandártábornok arra buzdította katonáit, hogy ismerjék meg Magyarország kultúráját és Budapestet, „Európa legszebb fővárosát.”

Lengyel Dávid tartalékos főhadnagy, a gyakorlaton résztvevő állomány első szakaszának parancsnoka kiemelte a tapasztalatcsere fontosságát, a katonai eljárásokban rejlő sokszínűséget és a közös programokban rejlő kulturális megismerést. Jordan Frisco tartalékos katona, szakaszparancsnok hasonló lelkesedéssel beszélt a tapasztalatairól, kiemelve a magyar kultúra megismerésének élményét és a Bakony és a Balaton táji hasonlóságait Ohiohoz.

A zárógyakorlatot rendhagyó módon több mint 150, Veszprém vármegyében tanuló honvéd kadét is megtekintette, akik tapssal jutalmazták a látványos mozzanatokat.

The post Valiant Panther 2024: Sikeres magyar-amerikai hadgyakorlat Újdörögdön appeared first on Biztonságpiac.

With the support of the Belgian Air Force, the European Defence Agency (EDA) hosted the 6th Fixed Wing Operations and Training Working Group (FW O&T WG) and the European Air symposium. This event took place on 15th Wing Melsbroek Airbase, Brussels, Belgium, from 28 to 30 May 2024. The first two days were dedicated to tactical air transport stakeholders, ranging from operational units of EU Member States and EU entities. The third day of the European Air Symposium occurred with the involvement of European industry representing air transport and unmanned aircraft systems.

During the first two days, the meeting gathered representatives of EU Member States and EU entities, such as the European Tactical Airlift Centre and the European Air Transport Command. One of the primary outcomes was agreeing on the processes and procedures which will help on information exchange amongst fixed wing users, as well as to stimulate cooperation at the operators’ level. 

Overall, the discussion aimed at supporting optimised access to existing air platforms and developing advanced flight training. The meeting also provided an opportunity for sharing best practices/experiences and lessons learned from operations, and to continue improving collaboration, synergies, and interoperability in the field of air transport among EU Member States.

The final day of the European Air Symposium was dedicated to the European Air Industry. This was a major opportunity for the industry to deliver briefings and update the attendees on the state of play related to tactical air transport capabilities and short-term development. EDA opened the symposium to the UAS industry (Tactical Cargo UAS) which reflects the agency's commitment to promoting awareness among operational units and exploring potential synergies, which will be further explored in future editions. 

 

Un déluge de kitsch nationaliste... au nom de l'Europe unie. Après Athènes et Milan, le Premier ministre Edi Rama va poursuivre sa tournée à Londres et Münich, mobilisant la diaspora et se posant en champion d'une Union européenne qui laisse pourtant l'Albanie sur le banc de touche.

- Le fil de l'Info / Courrier des Balkans, Albanie, Européennes, Politique intérieure, PS Albanie, Populations, minorités et migrations, Questions européennes

Americas Palantir Technologies has won a $480-million contract to begin the prototyping phase for the US Army’s Maven Smart System project. Maven is an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled tool that fuses information from various sources into a unified interface to provide faster and much-improved battlefield analysis. It can identify military points of interest more rapidly than […]

A selection of the best photos from across the African continent this week.

Ema Bregović a commencé son parcours artistique à l'Atelier de Sèvres à Paris, puis a poursuivi ses études à l'École des Beaux-Arts de Nantes. Au cours des dix dernières années, Ema a réalisé de nombreuses œuvres sculpturales et a exposé lors d'expositions collectives et individuelles à Istanbul, Zurich, Belgrade, Kragujevac, etc. Le titre de l'exposition "Jeu de main, jeu de vilain" est un jeu de mots et de sens. Souvent adressée aux enfants, l'expression met en garde contre les (…)

- Agenda / Serbie, Région parisienne

Ema Bregović a commencé son parcours artistique à l'Atelier de Sèvres à Paris, puis a poursuivi ses études à l'École des Beaux-Arts de Nantes. Au cours des dix dernières années, Ema a réalisé de nombreuses œuvres sculpturales et a exposé lors d'expositions collectives et individuelles à Istanbul, Zurich, Belgrade, Kragujevac, etc. Le titre de l'exposition "Jeu de main, jeu de vilain" est un jeu de mots et de sens. Souvent adressée aux enfants, l'expression met en garde contre les (…)

- Agenda / Serbie, Région parisienne