AFRICABIZ VOL 1 - ISSUE: 75
JULY 15 - AUGUST 14, 2005
Previous Issue
Editor: Dr. Bienvenu-Magloire Quenum
editor@africabiz.org

Featured Article Countries Briefs Live News On Africa Support Africabiz Online

Contact Information Synopsis Rss Feed Sample A Word From the Editor Business Opportunities

FrontDoor Your Feedback Freebie For You Control Your Desktop

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR

Dear visitor and international investor,

If this is your first visit to AFRICABIZ ONLINE Monthly Issue - The ultimate newsletter on trading and investing in 48 sub-Saharan African countries - we warmly welcome you. If you are a regular and faithful reader, welcome back.

- LET US FACE THE TRUTH: G8 WILL NEVER DELIVER

Millions of people around the world attended Sir Bob Geldof's Live8 concerts (July 2-3, 2005) aimed at pressing G8 political leaders to tackle poverty in Africa. The success of the concerts made history. The world's conscience had been significantly raised about the problem of poverty - particularly in sub-Saharan African countries. G-8 summit follows suit (Gleneagles, Scotland, UK, G8 July 6-8, 2005 Summit) amidst hopeful expectations from billions people worldwide.

Unfortunately, the outcome of the summit spread disillusions amongst the millions campaigners who hoped G8 leaders would be taking decisions that would made poverty history.

Indeed, when one reads the final communiqué, one is struck by the fact there is no firm procedures set for the cancellation of debts as agreed upon by G8's finance's ministers on June 11, 2005; no firm commitment for granting additional aid package to African countries. Further, trading facilities problems (in favor of African commodities and good to entering G8 markets) had been sent to World Trade Organization to decide upon. Which simply means the problem had been put off indefinitely.

Further, there is a confusion concerning the aid package. In the communiqué, the leaders agreed to commit US$ 50 Billion package with relaxed restrictions on how the money can be used. What they failed to say is that this package had already been agreed upon by the G8 financial ministers a month ago.

Below is an extract from the final communiqué to let you make your own opinion:

"...We have agreed to double aid for Africa by 2010. Aid for all developing countries will increase, according to the OECD, by around $50bn per year by 2010, of which at least $25bn extra per year for Africa. A group of G8 and other countries will also take forward innovative financing mechanisms including the IFF for immunisation, an air-ticket solidarity levy and the IFF to deliver and bring forward the financing, and a working group will consider the implementation of these mechanisms. We agreed that the World Bank should have a leading role in supporting the partnership between the G8, other donors and Africa, helping to ensure that additional assistance is effectively co-ordinated.

The G8 has also agreed that all of the debts owed by eligible heavily indebted poor countries to IDA, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Fund should be cancelled, as set out in our Finance Ministers agreement on 11 June. We also welcomed the Paris Club decision to write off around $17 billion of Nigeria's debt."

You can see that there is no firm commitment. They have agreed to double aid by 2010 and eligible heavily indebted countries' debts should be cancelled. No time table. No procedure set for the cancellation to take place as promised. Maybe there would be other meetings to decide upon such matters. And the aid can wait to be granted by 2010.

Shall African countries wait for 2010 hoping for the additional aid? When would be the final decision and time table and procedures set for the implementation of June 11, 2005 debt relief's decision?

Reading the final communiqué, you certainly notice that Nepad disappeared from the picture. Not a single world. Is Nepad to wait for 2010 to get implementation funds from G8?

For years, G8 summit after G8 summit, Africabiz Online expressed doubts about G8 solving Africa's problems. We hereby reiterate our opinion that G8 will never deliver.

There is no need to consult fortune tellers to predict that outcome. International crucial events (the unresolved war in Iraq, the insurgency in said country that becomes bolder every passing day, the looming terrorist attacks on countries that sent troops to Iraq and the acute problem of nukes' proliferation. Etc.;) would top the listing on G8 leaders' political agenda. Africa is not a priority. It can wait!

So, now that the truth is glaring at our face, what should Africa do? Wait for 2010 and hoping? That would be suicidal considering the urgency of the problems faced by sub-Saharan African countries: frail and decaying economies, vicious and mass killing pandemics; and rampant poverty crippling 90 percent of the populations.

As stated and over-stated in several deliveries, it is high time for Africa's policy makers to urgently adopt alternative strategies because, the failure Africa experienced developing the economy is not only related to the lack of financial means to implement developing schemes. It mainly concerns the inadequacy of the developing strategies used by African nations for 50 years.

Click here to read about Developing Strategies Implemented By African Nations Are Inadequate.

- Contributor's Guidelines are here to review. Your contribution on "How emerging nations and particularly African countries / entrepreneurs could bridge the developing gap" is welcome.

Your feedback / objection / contribution is welcome. Visit WorldWide BizCenter, and choose General Information (as topic) to create a thread for discussion. On the top of the WorldWide BizCenter page, there is a HELP link to assist you making an efficient use of the discussion board. This link also is useful

Many thanks for dropping by and see you here on August 15, 2005.

Dr. B.M. Quenum
Editor of AFRICABIZ

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN AFRICA

- Several business opportunities with high profit making potential, which are economic catalysts and components to the Strategy for African Countries are listed in following table.

a- SHEA BUTTER (5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13) b- BLUE GOLD (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19) c- FREEZE-DRIED PAPAIN (20, 21, 22 and here) d- KENAF (23, 24) e- VEGETABLE OIL (25, 26, 27, 28) f- CEREALS (30, 31, 32, 33) g- FRUITS (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46) h- ESSENTIAL OILS (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52) i- ROOTS & TUBERS (54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64) j- FOWL BREEDING (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75,

- FOWL BREEDING AS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY: PART X - INTRODUCTION TO THE BREEDI NG OF RATITES AS ALTERNATIVE TO CLASSIC LIVESTOCK: C - PRODUCTION'S ORGANIZATION FOR A SMALL SCALE EMU'S "NATURAL" BREEDING OPERATION

Starting from issue N° 73, another kind of fowl is discussed that is different from the ones considered in previous deliveries. They are called Ratites and are represented by two families: the Ostrich and the Emu that produce flesh similar to four legs' animals. They are running birds. They do not fly.

The emu industry is in its infancy and now is the time to become involved.

- ORGANIZATION OF A SMALL SCALE "NATURAL" EMU'S BREEDING FARM

As stated in previous delivery, emus are monogamus animals: One male and one female used to pair for life. The female begins to breed between 18 months and three years of age, and may continue to produce eggs for more than 15 years. It is the male who incubates the eggs which hatch in about 50 days. males in the flock.

In this delivery, let us consider five pairs (unrelated i.e. originating from different stocks - to limit the degeneracy of the flock) females and males ready to mate.

Table below gives an idea of the flock's size evolution (yearlings, eggs and adult birds ready for slaughterhouse) assuming an average of 30 eggs laid per female - during laying period as below outlined); a birth's parity (50/50) between males and females. and 50% eggs' fertility.

Emus are prolific laying birds. Each mature breeding pair producing 20 to 50 eggs per year. The eggs are dark green in color as shown on picture above - (Courtesy of this website). Breeding season depend on local weather conditions. It lasts from November to May in North American conditions and from June to September in tropical conditions like in Peru (Source). In fact diet's quality determines the quantity of eggs laid by females.

During laying period, the female will lay an egg every third day. The Male will sit on and incubate the eggs.

[The female dominates the male during pair formation but once incubation begins, the male becomes aggressive to other Emus, including his mate. The female wanders away and leaves the male to perform all the incubation. Sometimes she will find another mate and breed again. That represents an opportunity for breeders to increase eggs productivity introducing another male in the breeding pen.

It is good to notice that during the natural incubation period, males sit on the nest for 52-55 days without drinking, feeding, defecating or leaving the nest. (Source)]

The eggs will hatch in 52 days, producing a chick that walks right away. In the course of one year an Emu will grow to six feet in height. From twelve to sixteen months of age, they will reach their full weight of 120 to 150 pounds (Source):

Months	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Eggs from original stock (5 pairs)	-	-	150	-	-	150	-	-	-	-	-	150	-	-	150	-	-	150
Baby Emu Chicks from original stock	-	-	75	-	-	75	-	-	-	-	-	75	-	-	75	-	-	75
Chicks for sale from original stock	-	-	25	-	-	25	-	-	-	-	-	25	-	-	25	-	-	25
Chicks to breed to final stage	-	-	50	-	-	50	-	-	-	-	-	50	-	-	50	-	-	50
Laying Birds derived from original stock	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	25
Infertile eggs from original stock	-	-	75	-	-	75	-	-	-	-	-	75	-	-	75	-	-	75
Eggs from new birds	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	750

- EXPLANATIONS ABOUT THE SMALL SCALE "NATURAL" EMU'S BREEDING OPERATION

One sees, reviewing figures on above table, that starting from the end of the 60 days following the acquisition of the initial stock of adult emu birds ready to mate, the investor could start garnering some return on investment selling baby emu chicks to breeders. Chick under 3 months old could sell US$ 75-100. Those aged 3-6 months US$ 100-250; while birds aged 6 to 10 months could reach US$ 300-450 each. Yearling aged 12-15 month could fetch US$ 500-800. For more on pricing click here

In addition, starting from the 18th month of operation, 50 birds - the first hatched during the first three operating months - weighting around 120-150 pounds each, are ready for sale for premium quality meat, plus around 1,500 eggs that are available for hatching or for resale. The evolution of the flock size shows how quickly the farm could grow and profits soar.

To summarize, a pair of Emus may produce twenty to fifty eggs a year under good captive conditions, which yield on average 10 to 25 chicks. At the end of 15-18 months, these would yield 4m2 of leather, 54 to 68 kg of meat, 5.5 kg of feathers, and 2.7 liter of oil - generated by 20 pounds / 9.070 kg of fat. Eggshells of infertile eggs, are suitable for carving.

- NECESSITY TO HAVE A PERFECT CONTROL OF THE BIRTH'S PROCESS

Monogamy progressively triggers flock's genetic degeneracy. Therefore, to be able to sell genetically sound baby emu chicks to other breeders and pocket related profits, the operation should be implemented in a way that each pair of emus male-female is bred in five different pens that are equipped with shelters where the birds can find refuge in case of hot weather or windy conditions.

This requires a good planning of the breeding and surveillance of the flock. Emu-males marked a - b - c - d and e should be systematically paired with Emu-females marked a' - b' - c' - d' and e'; to give birth to baby emu chicks aa', bb', cc', dd' and ee'. When these reach mating period, one should make sure that a cross breeding is implemented to avoid "a" birds pairing with aa' birds and so forth.

The birth's control requires a perfect organization and management of the breeding's pens (solid fencing to avoid the migration of birds from one pen to the other; while avoiding hurting the birds to protect the quality of feather and leather); and to avoid in particular that each single pen becomes overcrowded. (1 acre - 0.4047 sq. meter could accommodate 600 birds). For more click here

Therefore, a policy of selling baby emu chicks (or eggs for hatching) and raising birds to final stage for slaughterhouse needs to be define and systematically carried out.

The usage of a flock management software is highly recommended. One called OSTRISH FARMER is here available for review

- A PERFECT DIET MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

As already stated in previous delivery (73) Emu's products include leather, meat, feather, decorative egg shells and emu oil. An investor needs to maximize profits selling all the categories of listed products. The Emu oil in particular has a great profit potential as here exposed.

Diet's quality influences the birds' rate of growth, how they convert feed into effective weight, how many eggs the females laid during laying period, how long is that period, and the quality of the oil extracted from the fat.

Therefore investors would gain more profits if they formulate good diets from the start searching for the assistance of animal feeding specialists.

Australian Emus consume a diet that is almost exclusively made up of natural leaves, bushes and insects that provide the Emus with a resistance that birds in captivity do not have. A diet that avoids chemical additives is thus the best to better the quality of all emu' products and particularly the Emu oil, while protecting the animal from diseases.

Breeders could enhance resistance to diseases in captivity taking care of the salubrity of breeding's pen, and the quality of drinking water and feed. For instance, when fed with a poor diet, the emu would eat more to satisfy its physiological needs; and when changes are made in the feed formulation, that could perturb the quality of eggs (fertility percentage), the quantity of laid eggs, the quality of fat in grown up animals and consequently the market value of produced oil. Click here for more on Emu diet.

- ADVANTAGES OF EMU'S BREEDING VERSUS CLASSIC LIVESTOCK BREEDING

 Table above and explanations given here highlight profits one makes breeding Emu versus cattle. Emu breeders start reaping benefits from the third month of operation, which is not possible for cattle breeders, who have to wait for 18 month for a cow to calve. and the new born become a burden to feed and care about for at least one year before it become marketable.

Further, Emu products include leather, meat, and decorative egg shells. Emu oil is sold for cosmetic and pharmaceutical purposes as here briefly exposed. Young stock also may be bred for resale, and eggs can be sold for hatching. Emu meat, like ostrich meat, is similar in texture and color to beef. Compared to beef, it has more iron, protein, and vitamin C. The low fat meat has less sodium than beef, chicken, or turkey. For nutritional comparison between Emu meat and various other meats click here.

For developing countries, Emu breeding is also a pure Economic Catalyst operation that helps create jobs in addition to boosting economic growth.

Indeed, the Emu breeding industry if well implemented on industrial basis (using insemination instead of natural breeding - one elite male could be used to fertilize 32 females every 10 days, or up to 320 females in a season - would create a tremendous number of new jobs in the breeding, raising, and sale of birds; in the formulation, manufacture, distribution and sale of feeds and supplements; in veterinary services; in slaughter facilities; in meat packaging plants; in leather tanning and finishing; in transportation and other service industries; in feather, leather, shoe, luggage and fancy women bags manufacturing; and in the pharmaceutical industry.

Next delivery that stand for two issues: N° 76 and N° 77 (to be posted on August 15, 2005) will discuss investment briefs based on information disclosed in current page.

MORE ON FOWL BREEDING

1- Poultry Breeding and Genetics by R.D. Crawford 2- The Dollar Hen: The Classic Guide to American Free-Range Farming by Milo M. Hastingd, Robert Plamondon 3- Small-Scale Poultry-Keeping: A Guide To Free-Range Poultry Production by Ray Feltwell 4- The Encyclopedia of Farm Animal Nutrition by M.F. Fuller, et al 5- The Mating and Breeding of Poultry by Harry M. Lamon, Rob R. Slocum 6- Modern Livestock and Poultry Production by James R. Gillespie

7- Success With Baby Chicks: A Complete Guide to Hatchery Selection by Robert Plamondon 8- The Classic Guide To Poultry Nutrition: Chickens, Turkeys, Ducks, Geese, Gamebirds, and Pigeons by Gustave F. Hauser 9- The Strange History of The Ostrich In Fashion, Food and Fortune by Rob Nixon 10- Ostrich's Avian Incubation: Behaviour, Environment and Evolution by D. Charles Deeming

COUNTRIES BRIEFS