Agriculture needed new technologies and innovations as well as bold leadership as developing nations look towards an era of climate smart agriculture.

Agriculture needed new technologies and innovations as well as bold leadership as developing nations look towards an era of climate smart agriculture.

This would meet the needs of the huge number of people that suffer from poverty in rural areas across the globe.

These were the views shared by several leaders and delegates at the opening of the International Fund for Agricultural Development’s (IFAD) 35th Governing Council in Rome, Italy on Wednesday.

Experts from IFAD, a specialised agency of the United Nations, said that there was a satisfactory degree of agricultural success in developing nations but much still needed to be done as small holder farmers remained vulnerable to forces of climate change, lack of market access and under investment.

Out of a global population of about seven billion, more than one billion people remained under nourished, yet there is enough arable land to feed the entire world population, reports show.

Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, said it was evident that food production was not keeping up with the increase of the world’s population, and many of those affected were people from lower income countries in the developing world.

He pointed out that Rwanda had a small-holder base agricultural sector in a fragile environment that was susceptible to climate change. With these issues, it was time to try what had not been done and look to other methods that worked to suite small farmers.

He was also quick to point out that with this approach, agricultural output for small holder farmers in Rwanda had improved which saw small farmers increase their income by about five percent.

“One million Rwandans are moved beyond the poverty line…This was achieved in fragile conditions as the productivity of small holder farmers was increased,” he said.

Kagame said cooperation was critical if agriculture were to grow. Ifad had played a critical role in assisting the country with tea and coffee exports.

The agricultural sector was the main source of livelihood that ensured a steady food supply for the majority of the population in Rwanda.

“Rwanda’s arable land population, is growing and we need to protect our food security,” he said.

Kagame said the country had tripled maize and doubled what production between 2007 and 2010.

“A lot remains to be done. We cannot talk of sustainable production if we rely on rain fed agriculture. We need to intensify irrigation while making water resources better. Farmers need fertilisers and seeds. We need to invest in new technology to ensure production of staple foods,” explained.

Kanayo Nwanze, president of Ifad, said in his key note address to delegates agriculture needed to reflect the impacts of environmental degradation in order to develop ground breaking innovations that would help channel agricultural finance to smaller countries.

Nwanze said the organisation had surpassed its efficiency target for aid. He called for farmers to be recognised as entrepreneurs where they can have access to means that would enable them to transform their operations. The organisation would also expand its partnership with the private sector and would expand its presence in fragile states, added. - Ayanda Mdluli

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has made an agreed 992.4 million pounds ($1.6 billion) bid for Mozambique-focused Cove Energy.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has made an agreed 992.4 million pounds ($1.6 billion) bid for Mozambique-focused Cove Energy, offering a full price to open up a new gas frontier for the Anglo-Dutch oil major in East Africa.

Shell has offered 195 pence per share in cash, which Cove's directors said on Wednesday they would recommend to shareholders.

On Tuesday, Cove's shares closed at 154.5 pence, and analysts at Citigroup said the “valuation looks stretched” in a research note.

The price is an over 70 percent premium to Cove's closing share price on January 4, when Cove announced plans to sell, although investors were already betting on a bid at that point.

Cove's main asset is an 8.5 percent stake in the Rovuma Offshore Area 1, in Mozambique, where operator Anadarko has found over 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Nearby, Italy's Eni has also made major gas finds while, north of the maritime border, Norway's Statoil has made a find in Tanzanian waters.

Shell is the industry leader in freezing natural gas into liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export in tankers around the world, and so a presence in what is expected to emerge as one of the world's major LNG provinces is a logical step.

However, some bankers had questioned whether Cove's stake alone would make sense for an oil major like Shell. Big oil groups like to have material stakes of over 25 percent in projects.

In addition to Anadarko, Japan's Mitsui and Indian groups Bharat Petroleum and Videocon own minority stakes in the Rovuma license, and the values of these interests could now be marked up.

Cove also has interests in Tanzania and Kenya.

Morgan Stanley advised Shell on the bid, while Standard Chartered advised Cove. - Reuters

European shares were flat in early trade, after upbeat manufacturing data from China and France was offset by continued worries over Greece's ability to undertake austerity measures.

European shares were flat in early trade on Wednesday, after upbeat manufacturing data from China and France was offset by continued worries over Greece's ability to undertake austerity measures.

At 10:13 SA time, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was flat at 1,084.90 points. The index is up 27 percent from a 2011 low, hit in September.

“We think this rally is not necessarily over. European valuations continue to discount a lot of negativity,” said Guy Foster, head of portfolio strategy at Brewin Dolphin.

“But there will be a lot of focus for nine days on potential execution risks for the measures that Greece needs to put in place in order to receive the next tranche of the bailout.”

France's manufacturing sector managed a marginal but unexpected return to growth in February after six months of contraction, suggesting greater economic resilience than seemed likely a few months ago, although the services sector weakened markedly.

PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe's no. 2 car maker, rose 8.3 percent after saying it was in talks over potential cooperations and alliances but did not name its possible partners, after media reports said it was in advanced discussions with General Motors. - Reuters

Hong Kong shares reversed early losses to end higher for a second straight session.

Hong Kong shares reversed early losses to end higher for a second straight session on Wednesday, with Chinese developers outweighing weakness in Li & Fung Ltd after weaker-than-expected earnings from customer Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

The Hang Seng Index closed up 0.33 percent at 21,549.28. The China Enterprises Index of top mainland listings in Hong Kong finished up 1.15 percent at 11,823.6.

The Shanghai Composite Index ended up 0.93 percent at 2,403.59, the highest close since November 29 and above its 125-day moving average for the first time since last May. A-share turnover surged to the highest since November 3.

HIGHLIGHTS:

* Chinese property developers were strong after the official Shanghai Securities News, citing Shanghai's housing regulator, reported on Wednesday that non-local residents of Shanghai would qualify to buy second homes once they had been resident in the city for three years, sparking talk of easing in the embattled sector.. Agile Property Holdings Ltd jumped 7.2 percent in more than twice its 30-day average volume as investors covered short positions. Short-selling averaged about 23 percent of Agile's total turnover in the first two days of the week.

* Li & Fung Ltd was among leading losers in Hong Kong, down 3.2 percent after Wal-Mart, for which it manages supply chains, reported weaker-than-expected earnings and forecasts that suggest results in this quarter and fiscal year may again disappoint.. Before Wednesday, Li & Fung was up more than 25 percent this year, largely on improving US data, after slumping more than 36 percent in 2011 and underperforming the 20 percent loss on the Hang Seng Index.

* Alibaba.com Ltd rose more than 42.7 percent in more than 32 times its 30-day average volume to a seven-month high after resuming trading after a more than a week. It followed an announcement that parent Alibaba Group would take it private for about $2.5 billion at its IPO price. - Reuters

The euro and European shares firmed as investors waited to see whether fresh economic data will confirm a fragile economic recovery in the euro zone is underway but concerns about the latest Greek bailout deal weighed.

The euro and European shares firmed on Wednesday as investors waited to see whether fresh economic data will confirm a fragile economic recovery in the euro zone is underway but concerns about the latest Greek bailout deal weighed.

The euro area and German Purchasing Manager's Indexes (PMIs), due out at 10:58 SA time, are expected to confirm the modest expansion seen in the January data, suggesting the debt-stricken region should avoid falling into a technical recession.

Asian shares eked out modest gains earlier after China's manufacturing PMI rose to a four-month high in February although it remained in contraction territory. The FTSEurofirst index of top European companies opened up just 0.1 percent at 1,079.13 points on Wednesday.

Improved risk appetite on the back of the Greek deal has quickly given way to fresh doubts over whether the country will make the agreed budget cuts and whether the plan is enough to make its debt sustainable.

The euro was up 0.14 percent to $1.3258 after pulling back from near two-week highs of $1.3293 on Tuesday, and it hit a 3-month high versus a broadly weaker yen.

The Japanese currency has weakened to be above 80 yen to the dollar for the first time since July 2011 as rising oil prices and an easier monetary policy stance by the Bank of Japan hit demand. - Reuters

Japanese shares jumped as exporters rose strongly with a fall of the yen.

Japanese shares jumped Wednesday as exporters rose strongly with a fall of the yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 90.98 points, or 0.96 per cent, to close at 9,554 while the broader Topix index was up 9.11 points, or 1.12 per cent, at 825.4.

Exporters got a boost as the yen topped 80 yen to the dollar. A weaker yen makes Japanese goods less expensive overseas and improves repatriated earnings.

Honda Motor Co surged 2.1 per cent, Toyota Motor Corp rallied 1.8 per cent and Sony Corp gained 1.5 per cent.

Market sentiment was also lifted Wednesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly topped 13,000 overnight for the first time since May 2008.

On currency markets at 3 pm (08:00 SA time), the dollar traded at 80.02-05 yen, up from Tuesday's 5 pm quote of 79.79-80 yen.

The euro was quoted at 105.94-96 yen, up from 105.75-79 yen late Tuesday, and at 1.3235-3240 dollars, down from 1.3253-3254

dollars. - Sapa-dpa

A property sector downturn and slumping global demand may knock China's economy into a hard landing in 2012.

A property sector downturn and slumping global demand may knock China's economy into a hard landing in 2012, a senior government economist told Reuters, putting more pressure on Beijing to speed up economic reforms and to open up the market.

The economy is not just slowing but is also haunted by over-investment that could constrain Beijing's options, said Shi Xiaomin, vice president of China Society of Economic Reform (CSER), a Beijing-based think-tank.

“A hard landing of the economy is possible this year as slackening domestic and external demand pushes (full-year) GDP growth below 8 percent, probably even to 6-7 percent,” said Shi.

“More worrying is that such a slowdown is going hand in hand with a sharp decline in the overall economic efficiency.”

The world's second-largest economy may even slip into a period of deflation late this year or next year, he added.

Shi is an adviser to the government, specialising in reform. His think-tank is under the under the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner.

Fears of a hard landing in China have gained traction as a stream of recent data, especially disappointing trade and credit data in January showed the turbo-charged economy is faltering.

China's manufacturing sector contracted in February for the fourth straight month as new export orders dropped sharply in the face of the euro area debt crisis, the HSBC flash purchasing managers index showed on Wednesday.

Shi's outlook is a contrarian one in China. Most government economists don't expect a hard landing, which in the Chinese context is typically defined as a sudden dip in quarterly GDP growth below 8 percent, which could lead to big job losses that pose a threat to social stability.

US economist Nouriel Roubini has flagged risks of a China hard landing after 2013, mainly due to over-investment.

China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping said during a visit to the United States last week that China's economic momentum would not falter as some economists have predicted, and said the economy faces no risk of a hard landing.

The last time the economy showed signs of a sudden slump, during the depths of the global financial crisis in 2008/09, Beijing announced a 4 trillion yuan ($635 billion) stimulus plan that helped it quickly return to double-digit growth.

But the huge pump-priming sparked unfettered bank lending to local governments, resulting in piles of debt - officially estimated at 10.7 trillion yuan - that analysts fear could destabilise the economy.

China's property sector has begun to cool, with housing sales in some cities falling sharply as Beijing's heavy-handed tightening measures unveiled since 2009 start to bite.

But Shi warned that a downturn in property investment, which accounts for an eighth of gross domestic product (GDP), as shrinking land sales hit local government revenues, possibly forcing them to default on loans.

China's banking regulator has issued guidance to banks to roll over some of their loans made to local governments to ward off a potential wave of defaults.

China cut banks' required reserves on Saturday to support the economy that is widely expected to slowing this quarter for a fifth consecutive quarter. The market consensus is for full-year 2012 growth to have slipped to 8-9 percent.

“But monetary policy cannot solve structural problems,” Shi said.

REFORMS STALLED

China's reforms were launched by former leader Deng Xiaoping in 1978 and gained steam after China's entry into the World Trade Organisation in 2001, propelling the country's break-neck growth in the past three decades, Shi said.

“Unfortunately, reforms have almost come to a standstill in recent years, especially concerning the monopoly,” Shi said.

State-owned firms have staged a come-back as they received the bulk of Beijing's massive spending, sparking criticism that “the state advances and the private sector retreats”.

“There are growing calls for reforms, but such discussions are restricted to the academic circle,” said Shi, who was among economists who helped draft China's reform plans in the 1980s to steer its transition from a planned economy.

Shi said “vested interests” - state giants in oil, power, railway and banking - are the biggest obstacle to reforms.

Premier Wen Jiabao has repeatedly called for accelerating reforms to help sustain economic growth, but Shi reckons that “stability” will be the watchword for the Chinese Communist Party ahead of its leadership transition in late 2012.

“If you don't want to push reforms, the financial crisis may be an excuse to retreat. But if you want to reform, the crisis may well be an opportunity,” Shi said. - Reuters

The bailout has saved Europe, for now, but it's unlikely to save Greece.

The bailout has saved Europe, for now, but it's unlikely to save Greece.

The e130 billion ($172 billion) rescue - agreed to Tuesday after an all-night summit of European ministers - prevented an uncontrolled bankrupcty and calmed investors worried that a Greek default would have started a chain reaction across Europe. But it left key problems unresolved.

Draconian budget cuts could keep Greece mired in recession after five straight years. The deal doesn't directly address the debt problems in other struggling countries in the 17-country zone that uses the euro. Spending cuts could reduce tax revenue and possibly worsen the government's finances.

“You can't shrink your way out of a recession,” said Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. “What they are doing to Greece really makes no economic sense.”

In Athens, Greeks reacted with a mixture of relief and fear of a dark future.

“I don't see it with any joy because again we're being burdened with loans, loans, loans, with no end in sight,” architect Valia Rokou said in the Greek capital.

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said the agreement managed to prevent imminent catastrophe: “we avoided the nightmare scenario,” he said.

The agreement was the second massive bailout of Greece following a e110 billion ($146 billion) rescue in 2010 that didn't return the country to solvency. It will give Greece e130 billion in loans through 2014 from other eurozone governments and the International Monetary Fund. It was secured after Greece agreed to painful and humiliating measures, including thousands of layoffs of civil service workers and cuts to the minimum wage, imposed by countries suspicious of Greece's reform efforts after two years of what they called the country's broken promises.

The finance ministers wrangled until the early morning over the details of the rescue, squeezing last-minute concessions out of private holders of Greek debt who agreed to lose 53.5 percent of the face value of their investment to avoid even more severe losses if Greece fails to pay e14.5 billion in debt due March 20.

The serious risks of the bailout's failure include the likelihood that Greece's economy remains in a deep recession instead of returning to growth in 2013 as the deal assumes. That would undermine chances of paying even the reduced debt load, estimated at a still-high 120 percent of annual economic output in 2020, down from 160 percent now.

Additionally, political outrage over the cutbacks could lead Greece politicians to balk at the tough conditions. That could push rescuer countries - led by Germany - to cut off further funding.

Elections in Greece are expected in April. The leaders of the two main parties have committed to the cuts and reform program, but anti-bailout parties have been gaining in the polls.

Greece's economy shrank 7 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and unemployment is 19 percent, a consequence of cuts in public wages and increased taxes inflicted during a downturn.

If that keeps up, even the rescuers acknowledge the reduction goal of 120 percent of GDP is long gone.

“The risks are clearly on the downside,” said Diego Iscaro, an economist at IHS Global Insight. “By austerity alone, Greece will not solve the problems it has at the moment. We don't know when the economy will return to growth and how it will grow.”

Greek politicians nevertheless greeted the package as a turning point for their battered country.

“It's no exaggeration to say that today is a historic day for the Greek economy,” said Greek Premier Lucas Papademos.

The deal helped bring the Dow industrial average over 13,000 on Tuesday for the first time since May 2008, powered by optimism that economic recovery was on the way. It finished up 15.82 points at 12,965.69.

In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama called German Chancellor Angela Merkel to thank her for her leadership in helping secure the eurozone agreement. But Carney said European countries need to do more to stave off further crises, including strengthening financial firewalls to prevent one nation's troubles from spreading across the continent.

Including Greece's first bailout worth e110 billion the new deal means every Greek man, woman and child will owe the eurozone and the IMF about e22,000 ($29,000).

Greece agreed to cut spending and wages, and to permit outsiders to supervise its finances through European Union and IMF officials stationed in Greece. The rescuers also demanded a separate account for the aid money and legal guarantees that creditors get paid before teachers, doctors and police do.

The agreement assumes that banks and investors owed money by Greece will take new bonds that reduce their holdings by more than half.

Even if it later balks at the bailout conditions, Greece would have difficulty writing down the new debt it issued to private bondholders, who demanded stronger legal protections. Official creditors - the IMF, the eurozone countries and the European Central Bank - would also have difficulty accepting more writedowns.

Inability to pay - or unwillingness to accept the harsh conditions - could lead to a non-negotiated “hard” default that could end in Greece leaving the euro.

On top of the new rescue loans, Athens will also ask banks and other investment funds to forgive it some e107 billion ($142

billion) in debt, while the European Central Bank and national central banks in the eurozone will forgo profits on their holdings.

The deal “closes the door to an uncontrolled default that would be chaos for Greece and Greek people,” said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Despite those unprecedented efforts, Greece is at the very best starting on a long and painful road to recovery.

It is being pushed to make its economy more business-friendly and productive by opening access to closed trades and professions; halting rampant tax evasion; allowing more flexibility in wage bargaining between companies and unions; simplifying starting a business; and cutting its bureaucracy.

“It's not an easy (program), it's an ambitious one,” said Christine Lagarde, the head of the IMF.

For the private debtholders who Greece owes money to, the bond swap will lop e107 billion off Greece's e352 billion load. On top of that, investors will be asked to give Athens 30 years to repay them, compared with just under 7 years.

Average interest rates would fall to 3.65 percent from around 4.8 percent.

Overall losses for private bondholders would be above 70 percent when accounting for the new bonds' longer repayment period and lower interest rate.

Private investors weren't the only ones having to give ground. The eurozone countries will reduce the interest that Greece has to pay for its first package of bailout loans to 1.5 percentage points over market rates from between 2 percentage points to 3 percentage points currently.

At the same time, the European Central Bank and the national central banks in the countries that use the euro will forgo profits on their Greek debt holdings, again reducing the costs for Greece.

Several hurdles remain before Greece will see any of the money or other benefits of the new program.

Apart from the implementation of more than 30 different savings and reform measures by Greece, the new bailout has to be debated by parliaments in several member states, including Germany, the Netherlands and Finland.

The IMF also still has to decide how much of the e130 billion bill it is willing to stump up. The Washington-based fund had indicated its contribution will be lower than the one-third of the total it has provided in previous bailouts.

Lagarde, the IMF chief, said the fund's board would decide on its contribution in mid-March. It will consider the whole program, “but also additional matters such as the proper setting up of a decent firewall,” she said.

The overall ceiling for eurozone rescue loans has been set at e500 billion ($663 billion), much of which has already been committed to Ireland, Portugal and now Greece.

Euro leaders will decide at their summit in early March whether that ceiling should be increased.

It will also take some time to see how many private creditors will participate in the debt relief and how many will have to be forced to sign up through new legal clauses. The representatives of the private bondholders said they were confident that investors would find the deal attractive, but some analysts fear that imposing losses on even some bondholders may destabilise markets. - Sapa-AP

The euro eased against the dollar in Asia as enthusiasm over the eurozone agreement on a Greek rescue faded due to concerns more must be done to get the country back on track.

The euro eased against the dollar in Asia Wednesday as enthusiasm over the eurozone agreement on a Greek rescue faded due to concerns more must be done to get the country back on track.

The single currency changed hands at $1.3233 and 105.71 yen in Tokyo afternoon trade, compared with $1.3238 and 105.50 yen in New York late Tuesday.

The dollar edged up to 79.89 yen from 79.69 yen.

On Tuesday, the European single currency jumped more than a US cent within minutes of the announcement of a deal approving a 237-billion-euro rescue for Greece, before it eased back throughout the day.

Analysts warned the nation's economy remains in a parlous state and Athens faces a giant task in sticking to tough reforms over the coming years.

“Investors will pay attention to the G20 finance ministers' meeting in Mexico” this weekend, said Masafumi Yamamoto, currency analyst at Barclays Capital.

“But expectations are low that the meeting will come up with some positive headlines” after the Mexican and Japanese finance ministers said a deal on specific amounts to support the eurozone was unlikely, he said.

Japanese finance minister Jun Azumi said Tuesday that the G20

was not yet ready to agree on providing more funds to the International Monetary Fund to fight Europe's debt crisis.

He said this weekend's meeting would give the group a chance to “examine progress in the European situation”.

The dollar was mixed against other Asian currencies, rising to 1,126.00 South Korean won from 1,123.40 won, to 42.82 Philippine pesos from 42.66 pesos, and to Sg$1.2586 from Sg$1.2536.

It was flat at 9,045.00 Indonesian rupiah and at Tw$29.56, but slipped to 30.67 Thai baht from 30.75. - Sapa-AFP

Asian shares were mixed after US and European markets gave Greece's crucial bailout only a lukewarm reaction.

Asian shares were mixed Wednesday after US and European markets gave Greece's crucial bailout only a lukewarm reaction.

Hong Kong was off 0.07 percent or 15.01 points in morning trade at 21,463.71 but Shanghai was up 0.45 percent or 10.73 points at 2,392.16, and Tokyo was up 0.65 percent or 61.53 points at 9,524.55.

Hong-Kong-quoted Internet shopping portal Alibaba.com rocketed 43 percent on an offer by its Chinese parent company, itself part-owned by US giant Yahoo!, to take it private at the same price it floated at in 2007.

On Tuesday eurozone finance ministers agreed on a new 237-billion-euro ($310 billion) bailout package designed to keep Greece in the single currency in return for tough budget cuts and close oversight of its government.

But Mitul Kotecha, strategist at Credit Agricole, said in a note: “The fact that the deal was highly expected played a role in the unenthusiastic reaction.

“But markets may also be cautious given the major tasks that still lie ahead including a tough reform timetable for Greece, parliamentary approvals in various countries and implementation of the (private sector) debt swap.”

In New York on Tuesday the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 13,000 for the first time since May 2008 before falling back to close nearly flat.

The blue-chip Dow closed up 0.12 percent at 12,965.69 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.11 percent to 2,948.57.

European stock markets also closed lower Tuesday as initial enthusiasm faded on concerns more will need to be done about Greece.

In Asian trade the euro failed to build significantly on its gains following the Greek deal, with dealers saying the nation's economy remains in a parlous state and Athens faces a giant task in sticking to tough reforms.

The single currency was mixed, buying $1.3225 and 105.61 yen in early Asian trade, from $1.3238 and 105.50 yen in New York late Tuesday.

“While (Greek) austerity measures put in place provide a long-term plan to reduce the nation's budget deficit, it does little to assist growth in the region with potentially years of sub-zero growth on the horizon,” Chris Gore, currency analyst at Go Markets in Melbourne said in a note, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

The dollar rose to 79.85 yen from 79.69 yen.

New York's main oil contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in April, shed 41 cents to $105.84 per barrel and Brent North Sea crude for April settlement was down 23 cents at $120.43.

Gold was at $1,755.10 an ounce at 05:30 SA time, from $1,737.10 on Tuesday. - Sapa-AFP