Department of Agriculture's weekly crop progress report showed a decline in the condition of spring wheat, although the drop was not a big surprise, Henderson said. wheat futures are expected to start Tuesday's day session steady, with possible pressure seen from weakness in European markets, analysts said. More unsettled weather, which is unfavorable for the harvest, is possible next week, but conditions look better than they were last week, the weather firm said. Wheat in western Europe,...

By CATHERINE RIUNGU Special Correspondent In a marked departure from its past stance, the Kenya government is optimistic that a trade agreement to replace the Cotonou Partnership Agreements between European Union members and the African, Caribbean and Pacific states, which lapse this December ,will be in place. The East African - Business Agenda. The East African - Business Agenda. By CATHERINE RIUNGU Special Correspondent In a marked departure from its past stance, the Kenya government is...

Last week's rising dollar and the imminent expiration of the August contract battered the gold market, which largely ignored sharply higher oil prices and tumbling stock prices. Wheat prices have been on a steep incline since May as crops worldwide have been ravaged by too much rain in some parts and too little moisture in others. The dollar's drop also helped lift copper prices in London and New York, while crude oil prices weakened amid profit-taking after finishing just shy of a record...

Freeze, flooding, hail and disease have all taken their toll throughout much of the state. In the certification process, samples of seed from every field, in addition to being inspected before harvest, are tested in the KCIA seed lab. It is anticipated that light test weight and disease, primarily Fusarium (scab), will be a significant problem this year. Typical farmer-saved seed carries more potential for varietal contamination, which jeopardizes the disease package, maturity dates, and...

We will have wet seasons again in the future so I avoid growing any chickpea variety that doesn t have at least partial resistance to ascochyta as this disease will dramatically increase the management time and complexity, expense and potential crop failures of chickpeas. We will have wet seasons again in the future so I avoid growing any chickpea variety that doesn t have at least partial resistance to ascochyta as this disease will dramatically increase the management time and...

Now that the country is facing a wheat shortage, parliamentarians are worried that cheap bread for the poor may become even more scarce. If people weren't selling cut-rate government flour on the black market, "we could have a large amount of flour," says Mr. Corruption in the flour market often means inferior bread and even shortages for the country's poor. Many public bakeries, which receive cut-rate flour from the government, sell their flour on the black market to private bakeries. To...