Marko Phiri Journalist Profile

Articles

Cropping season begins amid gloomy SADC weather outlook

Nov 26, 2024 | proagri.co.za | Marko Phiri

Categories: Articles, Crop productionCropping season begins amid gloomy SADC weather outlookWhile SADC countries are upbeat about upscaling food production, the region’s climate experts paint a gloomy picture of the impact of climate on agriculture.
African countries step up agriculture innovation

Nov 26, 2024 | proagri.co.za | Marko Phiri

Categories: Articles, Resource managementAfrican countries step up agriculture innovationThe future of Africa’s agriculture lies in a mix of innovation and transformation, experts agree. But how this is achieved will differ from country to country where a one size fits all approach is bound to fail as the countries face different challenges.
Mixed feelings as land preps begin in Zimbabwe

Nov 26, 2024 | proagri.co.za | Marko Phiri

Categories: Articles, Crop productionMixed feelings as land preps begin in ZimbabweZimbabwe is pulling out all the stops to court smallholders as cropping season begins amid muted activity from smallholder farmers. There are concerns that this planting season will be met with the same apathy seen in the last few years where poor rainfall forecasts and unusually long dry seasons kept many farmers away from their fields.
Private sector to drive Africa's food systems

Nov 25, 2024 | proagri.co.za | Marko Phiri

Categories: Articles, Resource managementPrivate sector to drive Africa’s food systemsOne of the major highlights this year in Africa’s food production matrix is a report that places the private sector at the centre of the continent’s efforts to upscale agriculture value chains.
Zimbabwe puts more wheels on the ground to drive agri sector

Oct 31, 2024 | proagri.co.za | Marko Phiri

Categories: Articles, MechanisationZimbabwe puts more wheels on the ground to drive agri sectorIn the past few months, Zimbabwe has upscaled agriculture mechanisation, trumpeting tractors as major drivers of an ambitious project that will turn the sector into a multi-billion dollar industry. The country has in recent years turned to mechanised agriculture as the answer to increased production, raising hope that the sector could return to its glory days when it was a top foreign currency earner.
Democracy becomes another ministry for sisters in 2024 election

Oct 31, 2024 | globalsistersreport.org | Dan Stockman |Marko Phiri

Sr. Cheryl Clemons knows Nov. 5 will be a long day: As an election judge, she has to arrive at her polling place (a 20-minute drive) by 5 a.m. and will have to stay there until at least 7 p.m.But there's yet another task after that before she's done — one that fills her both with reverence and wonder.
Gay music teacher fired by diocese stars in off-Broadway play about his experience

Oct 31, 2024 | ncronline.org | Katie Scott |Marko Phiri

When Matthew LaBanca was fired by the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, in 2021 for marrying his same-sex partner, he lost two jobs, health insurance and a cherished Catholic community. He also received scores of messages:"I'm in seminary and gay and don't know if I belong.""I am in the church and closeted because I'm afraid to say anything.""This happened to me, too.""So many people reached out sharing their stories, asking, 'What do I do?
Francis, the comic strip: Trick-or-Treat

Oct 31, 2024 | ncronline.org | Pat Marrin |Marko Phiri

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Día de los Muertos at the Catholic Worker

Oct 31, 2024 | ncronline.org | Jeff Dietrich |Marko Phiri

When my brother Joe died by suicide years ago, our family was devastated. Loved ones gathered around us, and in their presence our somber thoughts of Joe and his death were interspersed with wine, whiskey, camaraderie and community. It occurred to me that Joe's body should be there, right in the midst of us. My brother was a surfer, swimmer and lifeguard; as such, I thought, Joe's ashes should be cast into the sea. But no, you could not have a party with a dead body, or a burial at sea.
Lake Victoria, once a source to uplift Kenya's poor, lures child labor

Oct 31, 2024 | ncronline.org | Doreen Ajiambo |Marko Phiri

In the early morning light of this small town in western Kenya and beyond, boys as young as 5 years old aren't heading to school — rather, they make their way to nearby Lake Victoria to fish. Fishing is the primary economic activity in Port Victoria, a town on the shores of Lake Victoria along the Kenya-Uganda border. Here, fishing takes precedence over education.