well for those of you. hello and welcome to a new edition of africa. in lagos nigeria on today's show we'll be putting the focus on farming including a look at how it's changing i would call to a park i'm joined by my colleague in uganda. and a big hello from kampala uganda to all of you as to what did you know that one thought

of the global population walks in the agricultural sector here in africa it is over half the population that is why we decided to make a special edition the team is all about. will find out home in south africa should farming mix for healthy soil. and how food is grown we've hydroponics in nigeria. and finally why farming doesn't have to mean deforestation. we start the show in south africa anyone who's ever been there will have noticed the thousands of kilometers of fencing that caught of course the land usually designed to contain the cuttle fences have a devastating effect on the environment they are not only a deadly trial for the wildlife they also prevent a lifestyle from moving around pretty which leaves all the grazing and non-degree addiction some hadas on the boss in this trend and they are spearheading an

ecological revolution. when herders leave their livestock on to the great plains of the car route in central south africa the animals on allowed to linger. to protect the vegetation from overgrazing they have to be kept on the move as a result they can only eat the tips of the plants. head chef or dixon in cuba has years of experience and of seeing how the landscape has changed since he's been grazing his animals here it has made its. pitches in the grass grow to wild not that much but now since we have put it just the process we're heading. in that nor is it people now changing even one praising the practice more productive. the herders are part of the shepherding but biodiversity project it supports commercial marched. keeping while boosting land restoration on this 24000 hectare

farm. karun was once much greener and home to millions of antelope and buffalo their hooves loose in the topsoil while their droppings fertilized it. in a bid to recreate the great migrations of the past the project employs shepherds to lead livestock over the plains. the project leader he's confident that herders can help revive the whole region. as we fundamentally believe that this method of farming give space for wildlife to co-exist with production i could call tree so that's really simple vision is to find a make an ism by which we can. foster biodiversity on production farms. the thousands of kilometers of fences needed for intensive livestock of the culture one of the main reasons why wildlife has disappeared. fences prevent the animals from roaming free as they search for

grazing land and water. they often end up tangled in barbed wire. in order to study the effects of the fenceless farming method on the environment ecologist so monitoring the project. over the past 2 years ahead researcher janine mcmanus and a group of students have recorded the number of plant species in selected study sites. in addition the group evaluates the earth budgetary index the index is determined by the amount of green seen on the ground by satellites and allows researchers to compare plant growth in different regions over time. you can already start picking up changes in trains with the way the hood has been grazing especially over a longer eastern period and parts of the farm and the green. and it shows up quite pronounced and we compared to traditional farms where it isn't quite as pronounced

and they seems to be quite a significant color it's just looking at the pixels alone you know and taking the green out of pixelization but from there to learn you can really start seeing a difference. there are many positive signs. areas that have been grazed by the herds on our seeing thicker plant growth. slowly while the animals are returning to the farm more than 500 antelope have been counted and even a leopard was recently started. a major success for dix new. specially since south africa is still recovering from one of the worst droughts in recorded history. which in this process continues for the rest of their life with us so that there wouldn't be any damage to be named until it so that even the neighbors in other countries can be more inspired about what it is seeing in this take on. the project could inspire neighboring farmers many of them saw their london grade and lost

livestock due to the severe drought for the shepherds however this year's lambing season turned out to be very successful adding another $800.00 sheep to the herd slowly but surely the project is turning profitable. and now we go to germany whether a great cull just like to also plays an important role in the economy not surprisingly production there is becoming more and more more dead on tight take milk and grow boards on drones above the fields are part of daily life but now a new into vacation could be on to a robot in the field to the small. it's a prototype sandra but he could make life far easier for the farmers in the future but i've used to farm using fewer people and vast sea of all resources envy and image just be a big kid to help feed our growing population but have a look. here in this field

a prototype is being tested the hope is that this technology will be able to combat reeds and improve harvests. meet a robot that works for organic farmer trying to customs. which glover to fish to life become a visionary in this operation because i'm trying to foresee the problems we'll have in a decade and i'm doing my best to solve them for. the farmers already having problems finding enough employees to work his fields bonnie rob could solve this labor shortage by recognizing weeds and destroying them without reline chemicals but the robot is still at the learning stage or the farmer has brought in i.t. experts to help the composers for service. you can imagine drawing a picture with a green marker and a red marker and then we tell him that's a carrot in those are weeds and later we have pictures without anything and we tell the robot to find out where would you use the color red or gray doesn't and this is

what you see in the end it examines all the images and says you're away it was. artificial intelligence for farming. nowadays farmers also have to be engineers and software experts able to hook up heavy duty farm machinery to networks those networks collect and analyze data so farmers can optimize the use of seeds and fertilizer it's providing a new line of business for agricultural machinery engineers. for listening and someday we'll have to feed 9 or 10000000000 people and that won't be possible with curry eels we have. to become more efficient and we have to use our resources more wisely. research and practice are closely interlinked fuel efficiency tests for example being conducted at the farm work i anchor himself learned his trade. this is the route i have just programmed. the tractor follows that route there's no

need to steer satellite maps help the machinery stay exactly on course but it also makes it possible to track an employee's every move and spot every mistake digital technology is very useful for looking after livestock to helping to boost profits feeding has long been automated panko says farmer should still visit their animals at least once a day. reopen. we currently have 2000 or so feeding them by hand as inconceivable it's good to have fully automated feeding. full of the marshes one foot on. the back of the carriage field the vegetable crop is being separated from the weeds by hand at least it's environmentally friendly the vehicle is powered by solar panels but it's difficult to find workers willing to pull up weeds for 8 hours when will this work be automated.

we know that in the long term we work have these workers anymore so we need the technology to help keep the weeds on our fields in check both of them are current growth to grow but there's a big demand for big visions of farming can benefit greatly from digitalisation. of. our dream is to come here with a small trailer open the door and then 100 drones fly out and around the field and doing everything automatically. everything depends on the new technological possibilities and how we exploit. them. these days farming is becoming increasingly high tech in europe and in africa too here in nigeria for example there's a lot of research being done into solutions for feeding the booming population while protecting the environment we visit a company in lagos that is reducing the negative. impact of farming with an

innovative hydroponic system it uses less land and little or no soil for the cultivation of fresh produce the frog is helping drive on an agricultural revolution. these buzzkill possibly and litters plants a special they being drowned with old use a noble soil vision over to systemise called i draw upon ix to feed the plants they gardeners use. made from the part of the coconut tree. you transfer yours or not. and you transfer its chemical additives 'd basically. natural state and a special vegetable form micro nutrients that the plants need they got no color we group began growing herds and vegetables in lagos 2 years ago fresh

pretty nice is often difficult to find in the nigerian megacity and organic products are even harder to get hold of. starts with a need. i want to empower the farmers and also with the consumer in mind in terms of providing fresh quality approaches to all consumers which is real farm to table which is part of the whole agricultural revolution that's going on in the world by grain locally they could even under caught the prices of the organic produce a valuable in the city bodies still make profits conventionally grown vegetables sewed up the market cost around 30 percent more than the organic ones here i buy keil spinny's in your late thirty's most of them i imported suv get very expensive but the seas look in the groom danny so the price in us is very reasonable when you think about what you are getting nothing can be fresh for you know straight from

from farm to mouth that whole concept nothing if it's not too expensive. it's environmentally friendly other company only delivers within the cd it keeps its carbon footprint low the firm is also helping other farmers to follow its example. we. branch of the called thing the slice of it's part of the content that literally you know being good people approach the fun for them and then chance fights with it. so far they've helped 3 farmers to launch their own businesses. dr knot collar we are also planning to expand and are currently sitting up to new c.t. farms in lagos. here in africa the effects of the climate crisis have never been more of a pirate and the farming sector is inevitably hardest hit anything if you have for

instance the farmers plant what are supposed to be high yield crops every year but the land is so pots that they barely have anything to harvest at the life and it's institute in germany if european researches are learning how to boost biodiversity and revive and convert local fever righties that can withstand the drought and other environmental threats. biologist will take a lot of us a is showing 3 visitors around the fields of the live news institute of plant genetics and crop plant research in central germany. so you think the 3 i work at the seed bank of the ethiopian biodiversity institute in addas ababa the largest of its kind in africa they want to find out what their colleagues in germany are doing to improve the quality of crop seeds. which. the market likes the hands on part of the process and here she is learning things she

hopes to implement back home she's manager of the seed bank and that is a. really we don't know what more can bring so we always want to see if our 1st. where life even though we support a life of food shelter maids it's all what's a base for our living. it's a question of living. so having conserving is supporting life. shows her guests the treasure trove at the heart of the institute the seed bank with over 150000 samples from crop plants from around the world gathered over a period of several decades. you know time lord russell has been collaborating with her colleagues in addis ababa for 9 years now. the diversity of species is

astounding for example that more than $9000.00 varieties of being in the collection alone size have found a seed bank here in gutters leaving is one of the largest in the world. electing mission. older riot is have lower yields but they can cope better with changing climatic conditions they're more robust in times of drought lack of water often turn soil acidic or leads to a build up of minerals and heavy metals. these for riotous can withstand all of that better than more fragile modern cvs more than a. lot of us are has got to know the problems farmers face in ethiopia 1st hand for sure they tend to plant the same crops year in year out which leads to soil degradation and ever lower yields new varieties are needed. the institute in add is also has fields where new strains are tested strains developed that with the help of a german seed company. there are more back at the lightness institute in germany this

week has grown from seeds collected in the 1950 s. the variety actually originated in ethiopia but has died out there this is a 6 robo examples have since been sent back to the seed bank and that is about along with seeds of other crops once and then make to ethiopia really certain strains of wheat and mustard more than 7000 in all now they're back home and available for research and possibly cultivation we want to apply or to use all of my peers for sustainable. development so most of our seed. researchers from different research institutes in the country and students are studying for their ph d. in the visitors from ethiopia want to expand the testing of older varieties at their own institute to establish which ones could withstand stress factors such as dryness or acidic soil an important step to boost sustainable farming in ethiopia

or that's what. next report in poland many farmers proctors industrialized seem perfect fertilizers and pesticides are common in terms of life following. demand have been changing with more and more people buying organically produced. it is a trend that we also. seeing all over the walls and in poland a country that is traditionally grounded in agriculture this growing market is providing opportunities to the increasing number of organic dairy farmers we went to eat some sun with cheese makers. thank you. in eastern poland helen of rubble of sky is leaving her ghost heard through the meadows. a couple of years ago she and her daughter isabella to chose her started with a handful of animals now they take care of 300 goats. from them know the family

produces a variety of different organic cheeses that have become a hit with the locals. she said she added there was a time when people said oh good lord goat cheese no it really smells bad and can't possibly taste good. it took several years to convince poles to try some other choose besides the cow's milk factory kind. with practically nonexistent so only now that it's become trendy. to chaska is one of the 1000 out is an old cheese make his in poland that's 25 year old is a psychologist by training but has decided to come on board in the family run business today the farm boasts more than 50 hecht is a pasture and produces around 10 tons of organic cheese each year.

another farm in the region that ranch a frontier and has a similar backstory. sylvia schlender of it and her family specialize in organic cows and sheep cheeses. some 15 years ago they left the city to buy a ramshackle farm. over the years they renovated it and turned it into a flourishing cheese business. they have no trouble selling their dairy close to home. but out in europe there are fewer and fewer natural rich herbs and so i think that's one reason why archies a such a hit not only with coles that but also some italian french or spanish people. in poland organic food still has a small market share compared to other european nations. yet the demand is growing

rapidly. more and more people are willing to pay a premium for high quality and sustainably produced food that means there are lots of opportunities for the country's organic cheese farmers to grow their herds even bigger. all to often and all over the world farming goes hard in hand with different station in many african countries slashing and a bunny is the way to prepare land for planting crops regardless of whether that land is depleted or what i but many overlook the fact that this method destroys the so way down below the surface one young man in senegal has come up with an alternative one that is good for the soil and the air and can even produce better harvests. these are she is still hot recently trees are cut down here and vine to make room for new fields in. the tropical forest and on the village of

subtle insult on senegal is endangered. the palm or a palm is an archon part of the forest provides the villagers with fruit with wood to build on each other with palm leaves for their roofs of the huts. but again and again the forest isn't to late clement somebody is a farmer from start to who wants to protect the trees he sees the slash and burn my thought is actually harmful for agriculture although the new fields may be photo binding also causes soil erosion which is bad for the paramour of palm trees. they don't appear for a fall. this is an example of a devastating bushfire last year someone set a fire here and then just left you can see the back of this tree bonte down to the breeze about means the whole tree is now much more vulnerable the. new

way. a crisis meeting village elder christophe quali explains how serious the situation ease slashing and burning does not only destroy forest uncontrolled fires threaten the village itself very well in a. business. of founded a quality that we look into the organisation of a troll i don't tend to villagers from our own suit to participating in order to get this bush fires under control clearly says them i did what would have to put a bullet but the final claim and some who doesn't think but trolls will help he discovered a method on the internet which will make depleted soils for tell again these methyl is called google quota or he'll culture fussed over unusable logs and dead branches is laid down leaves grass and weeds is put on top then it only needs watering in time it becomes a fight

a bed for planting clement's some who tried it on his own fields and was successful . or needed bread but we only water it once a week so not to know it and if you put your hands on top of it it's as if you're a deep in the woods a really nice damp for its soil and that's just what the plants need to do for a live report is more when you put. this subtle villagers plant mostly veggie tables on their fields claman some teaches them the forest friendly method. for the sun which also gives them valuable compost it's. decided to use the compost on her fields. mineral my lung that i assume we can and can i make compost it gives me a profit instead of having to buy for to live with these profits i take care of my

house and i take care of my children my 2 nephews i can go to the market to buy the hands that he raised to secure my future and save a forest master. so when we news in compost to revitalize the depleted fields and make them fertile again to take the pony up palm trees in so too and the whole tropical forest. i'm afraid we've run out of time for today we hope the show has given you some useful information on how farming can help positive but also devastating effects on the environment from the ecological farming to new technologies that's it for those weak. goodbye from lagos nigeria. and goodbye from me to here in kampala uganda will be back next week with a new edition of africa in the meantime if you want to get in touch visit our

website or you can drop us a line take care and stay safe see you next time good bye. guys. it. means.

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so please take care of yourself keep your distance wash your hands if you can stay at how we are do w. me for here for you we are working tirelessly to keep you informed on all of our platforms we're all in this together and together make it fair. to say to everybody in the states of the city say stay safe the phrase stay 6. a meal. more complete the 2nd season on the books the back environment so about society it's still about us but all the planets on the brink we spoke to some leading experts in the field filed down to chance to look at just the ball in the sense of clay the big.

play the lead the big play and the boy. this is a deja vue news live from berlin poland votes in a presidential election that's widely seen as a test for democracy. is the 1st presidential poll in the european union since the corona virus outbreak the rightwing incumbent n.-g. duda is fighting for a 2nd term but he faces a last minute strong challenge from a liberal mayor of warsaw also coming up. the italian city that bore the brunt of the pandemic when it 1st hit europe prepares to honor the victims is holding what it calls a requiem concert to rip.