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April 19, 2013

19/04/2013: Alltech New Mexico announces Eric Hibbard as regional sales manager; Zimbabwe engages private millers to import grain; Paraguay planning free trade port in Chile

Alltech is proud to appoint Eric Hibbard as the new sales manager for Alltech New Mexico.

Hibbard was raised on a family dairy near Gilbert, Ariz., and following high school, Hibbard attended Central Arizona College on a baseball scholarship. Graduating in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture economics and business management, Hibbard worked at the University of Arizona Dairy Extension Department and, in 2011, joined Alltech as the territory sales representative for Arizona and Southern California. 
“Coming from a farming background myself, I value strong relationships with peers in the industry because, at the end of the day, we all have to bring value to our operations and we’re all in the business together. I’m looking forward to meeting the farms in the area and servicing them with Alltech’s holistic support approach including a wide of technologies and on-farm services,” Hibbard said.
The government in Zimbabwe has engaged private millers to import grain to compliment its effort in ensuring food security in the country, says Tendai Biti, finance minister.
Presenting his March state of the economy report, Biti said millers made a commitment to import 150 000 tonnes of maize, with some already importing it from South Africa at US$320 per tonne.
Following erratic rainfall, farmers are this year expected to produce 800 000 metric tonnes  of maize against 2,2 million metric tonnes needed to feed the nation annually.
“Given the constrained fiscal space, the involvement of the private sector in importation of grain is unavoidable. Hence, it is paramount that government continues to encourage the current ongoing private sector initiatives in the importation of grain,” Biti said.
The grain importation programme would be funded by both government and private sector players.
Charles Taffs, commercial farmers union president  said the country was facing a grain deficit because lots of maize land has been converted to tobacco farming, thereby threatening food security in the country.


Paraguay is considering the possibility of building a port in Chile for grain cargo, meat handling, exports, and imports, according to Richard Kent, federal planning minister.

In a meeting with Federico Franco, Paraguay's president, Christian Blanc
entrepreneur, and Fernando Nicora, head of the national navigation and ports authority ANNP, a Paraguayan free trade zone in the port of Antofagasta, Chile was discussed, according to a presidential release.

"This is a long term policy... it is putting the plans down for where Paraguay's development will go over the next 30 years," according to Kent. The release notes that it's unlikely the government will take action on the plan before Franco's presidential term has ended, but that they are leaving "the seeds and mapped routes" to help the following regimes.

Paraguayans will vote to elect a new president on April 21. In the countdown to election day, the race between Efrain Alegre and Horacio Cartes, Colorado party candidate is close.



A man picks up grains of fallen maize by the Harare-Masvingo road, Zimbabwe (Photo credit: NewsDay)




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