July 21st, 2023

Bonjour a tous et Bievenue! 

Bertrand Reyes here with thoughts and anecdotes from the Executive Council of CGTPAF. 

The end of a grain deal and food prices in L'ouest Afrique. Recent events in the Black Sea are poised to raise prices of various agricultural commodities. 

According to the US Department of Agricultural Foreign Service, Ukrainian agriculture (global export percentage) accounts for 42% of Sunflower oil, 17% of Barley, 12% of Maize and 9% of Wheat. RIP Port of Odessa. Guinea imports overwhelmingly from Germany, Russia, Argentina and France respectively. Interestingly enough Guinea exported two hundred and forty dollars of Wheat to the Netherlands in 2021 (What did they mean by this? Who is growing this Guinean wheat? How do we get some of these seeds?) Well the short of end of it is that bread prices will rise in the foreseeable future - leaving Zimbabwe as a potential dark horse candidate for winner of the Russo-Ukrainian war.  In 2022 Zimbabwe reported record harvests of Wheat. Good luck to all involved on the Chicago Mercantile exchange. But the big winners will most likely be Russian grain producers along with their American counterparts. We look for the outliers dear readers and while we root for Zimbabwe, we bet on the house over here. 

While it would be fun and perhaps even valuable to experiment with creating a Sahel brand of wheat simpler steps exist in L'ouest. Improving agricultural services, techniques, grants to serious agricultural entrepreneurs and a national policy of self reliance would be better solutions this decade. 

The boys are hard at work...

We can proudly report that the first of our tree nurseries is nearing completion. Phase three is nearly complete. Photos below!