The African Agri Investment Indaba which took place in Cape Town and was organised by the African Agri Council, addressed sub-Saharan Africa’s worst food crisis in decades. With over 800 participants from 20+ countries, the event focused on tackling the urgent food scarcity affecting millions. Over 16 million people in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe…
Following the negative impact of the El-Nino-induced drought that affected Southern Africa, Zimbabwe included, the United Nations (UN) country team is supporting smallholder farmers in irrigation schemes in Masvingo Province. One such initiative is the Mushandike Irrigation Scheme located in Masvingo District which is one of the oldest irrigation schemes in Zimbabwe. The scheme…
Livestock farming is vital in Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector because it boosts the country’s economy, food security, and rural livelihoods. Farmers, agricultural service providers, and other actors in the livestock value chain rely on livestock for employment and revenue. In a speech read on behalf of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee chairperson in the Ministry of…
Writes Kirubel Tadele Baku, Azerbaijan – As the second week of COP29 negotiations continues, the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) launches its latest publication, Agroecology Works: Evidence from Kenya. This booklet offers a deep dive into the transformative power of agroecology through 15 inspiring stories from across ten counties in Kenya, providing a rich…
The Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Masvingo Province, Hon Ezra Chadzamira, has said Zimbabwe has managed to sustain food and nutrition security through United Nations Agencies’ support in the country. He made the remarks in Masvingo today at a workshop by the United Nations in Zimbabwe to build partnerships and…
Eastern Africa is a region of stark contrasts, where immense potential coexists with pressing challenges. On one hand, it presents a myriad of business opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors worldwide, offering a gateway to emerging markets with significant growth potential. However, this promising outlook is tempered by the persistent threat of drought and severe…
Yesterday, during the opening of the 6th World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) campaign for Africa in Cameroon, AU-IBAR’s Director Dr. Huyam Salih highlighted the urgent need to address Antimicrobial Resistance (hashtag#AMR)—a growing global threat that knows no borders. Dr. Salih underscored that 60-75% of emerging human pathogens originate from animals, making the responsible use of…
The Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF) has raised alarm over food safety in the region, particularly in maize production, amid concerns that failure to address these issues could impact negatively on regional trade. Speaking at a workshop in Bomet County, EAFF Chairman Philip Kiriro emphasized the importance of tackling food safety challenges to prevent…
Writes Lloyd Rabaya Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers’ Forum (ZIMSOFF)’s recent exchange visit in Shashe, Masvingo, has proved to be of great importance to farmers as they taught each other various agroecology elements. During the two-day visit, farmers had the opportunity to watch and learn from other practicing farmers on best sustainable practices that include water…
Writes Ebrima Jarra, Soil Scientist and Civil Actor from The Gambia A Path Toward Equitable and Sustainable Development by “The Soil Solution” (NGO) Abstract As climate change accelerates, its impacts disproportionately burden local communities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). These communities, often with minimal contributions to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, face severe challenges,…
Empowering Smallholders through Market Approaches The lack of agricultural biodiversity in farming systems threatens nutritional security for nearly 3 billion people in India and Africa or roughly 40 percent of the global population. Around 600 million smallholder farmers (with a bulk in India and Africa), who are working on less than two hectares…
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Subregional Office for Southern Africa convened a Multidisciplinary Team meeting to discuss and agree on how FAO can better support agrifood system transformation in Southern African countries. The meeting was held today 11 November 2024 at the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare, Zimbabwe. …
Writes Lloyd Rabaya With the sharp voices of the Zvamahande Primary School pupils cutting through the air echoing the food sovereignty message with their poems, the farmers from various provinces who were gathered at Shashe Agroecology School celebrating the International Day of Rural Women, which was preceded by International Food Sovereignty Day, lauded and ululated…
Writes Toyin Omozuwa The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has approved the reappointment of the Director General of the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA), Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha for a second tenure of 5 years. His reappointment was conveyed in a letter signed by the…
A high-level political forum on global action against hunger is underway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with stakeholders seeking to achieve this goal, importantly in Africa where a large proportion of the population is food insecure annually and increasingly goes hungry. These were the sentiments for His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe,…
The winners of the Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM) Stories Challenge were sponsored by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to attend the commemoration of the 15th Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS), the 20th edition of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Partnership Platform (PP) and the associated Malabo…
The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) aligns with Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) aimed at achieving economic growth and stability, food and nutrition security, structural transformation, and value chains among many common priorities. These were the sentiments of Mr. Spencer Dube, the Acting Chief Director of Political Affairs in the Ministry of…
Reliable food security statistics are essential for informed decisions on food access, quality, and affordability. Recognizing this, a regional collaboration between the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Statistics Norway, funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), has supported eight African nations in strengthening their food and nutritional security…
The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Progamme (CAADP) Biennial Review Reports have shown that countries have missed targets on enhancing investment finance in agriculture, ending hunger, halving poverty, boosting intra-African trade, enhancing resilience to climate variability, and promoting mutual accountability by 2025 as espoused in the commitments that support the Malabo Declaration. This was revealed by…
The Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM) and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) shared knowledge of the approaches and opportunities for effective agricultural risk management (ARM) in Africa. Speaking during a side event titled “Accelerating Investments for Inclusive and Holistic Agricultural Risk Management in Africa” on the sidelines of the commemoration of the…
As stakeholders gathered in Harare to commemorate two decades of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme(CAADP), it emerged that there is a need to reflect on the vital role that research plays in this transformative journey. In a speech on his behalf during a side event at the 20th CAADP Partnership Platform titled “Research…
H.E Ambassador Josefa Sacko, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment at the Africa Union Commission, has urged urgent action on the implementation of the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Action Plan. She made the call during a side event at the 20th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP PP)…
The Alliance for a Green Revolution Africa (AGRA) has hailed the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Partnership Platform (PP) as stronger than ever, with a renewed focus on inclusivity and collaboration. Speaking during the official opening of the 20th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP PP) and the 15th Africa Day for Food…
African governments have been urged to prioritise investment in biotechnology research and development to address pressing challenges in the sector, including climate change, pests and diseases, and declining soil fertility. The call was made to African Ministers from six countries, including Rwanda, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Eswatini, during a ministerial roundtable held on the…
The 20th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the 15th Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS) held under the theme “CAADP Agenda Two Decades-on: Cultivating the Nexus of Nutrition, Agrifood Systems, and Education for Africa’s Growth” marked an opportunity not only to reflect on the achievements of the past 20 years but…
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) in partnership with the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) will be holding a side event during the 20th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the Africa day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS) in Harare, Zimbbwe. This session…
African Union Commissioner Josefa Correia Sacko reaffirmed in Harare, Zimbabwe, the need to develop human capacities and innovative practices to accelerate the implementation and expansion of successful models to achieve resilient agri-food systems in Africa. Josefa Sacko, who was speaking at the commemoration of the fifteenth African Day for Food Security and Nutrition and…
Non-state actors play a key role in realising the aspirations of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) by promoting accountability among stakeholders and disseminating knowledge and information to the grassroots, especially smallholder farmers. This emerged yesterday during the first day of the 15th Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS) Commemoration and…
The Platform for Agricultural Risk Management (PARM) and the African Union Development Agency of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) are co-organising the side-event “Accelerating Investments for Inclusive and Holistic Agricultural Risk Management in Africa” on the sidelines of the commemoration of the 15th Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS), the 20th…
Since the birth of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) through the Maputo Declaration of 2003 followed by the Malabo Declaration of 2014, tremendous progress has been made by the member states in transforming agriculture despite facing various challenges including the effects of climate change, pandemics, geo-political conflicts, and global recession, a senior government…
Writes Charles Dhewa Due to limited resources, among other reasons, development interventions often work with a few targeted beneficiaries hoping that new knowledge or practices can trickle down to the entire community. For instance, in a community of more than 1000 households, an intervention can support 50 households to do sustainable agriculture. Some interventions…
Zimbabwe hosts the 20th Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Partnership Platform (CAADP-PP) and Commemoration of the 15th Africa Day for Food and Nutrition Security (ADFNS) under the theme “Cultivating the Nexus of Nutrition, Agrifood Systems, and Education for Africa’s Growth.” The meetings will run from the 29th of October to the 1st of November…
The Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems – Southern Africa (SHEFS-SA) consortium seeks to catalyse the transformation of Southern African food systems and communities towards systems and communities that are healthy and resilient to climate risks. This emerged at a side event ahead of the Climate and Health Africa Conference (CHAC) 2024 running under the…
The inaugural African Plant Health Systems Forum has highlighted the strength of partnerships and knowledge-driven solutions towards greater sustainable food security for a growing African population expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050. CABI, organised and launched the event, which brings together representatives from CABI’s African Member Countries, including government, development, research, farmer, and private…
Climate change, global financial shocks, and growing food insecurity are threatening Africa, the world’s fastest-growing continent, and hampering the achievement of global development goals. To tackle these challenges and speed up the continent’s efforts to achieve these goals, the president of the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina on Thursday called for bold reforms…
Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) 26/10/24 – African Union Commissioner Josefa Correia Sacko reiterated in Addis Ababa the need to maintain the strengths of the continent’s comprehensive agricultural development programme to respond to economic shocks, emerging climate change issues, conflicts and plant and animal diseases. Josefa Sacko, who was speaking at the Ministerial follow-up to the…
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 24 October 2024 – The African Food Safety Agency will be created to ensure responsibility for strengthening the capacity, governance, coordination, and harmonisation of food safety systems in Africa, Dr. Amare Ayalew, Programme Manager of the AU Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa, said in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Amare Ayalew made…
An extraordinary session of the African Union’s specialised technical committee got underway on 23 October 2024 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to review the strategy and action plan for the continent’s comprehensive agricultural development programme for the next 10 years. For three days, experts in the agricultural sector will review and approve the Kampala Declaration,…
Scientists from Kansas State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have launched a project to improve biosecurity against a pair of insects that have battered America’s food supply for decades. K-State professor of entomology Tom Phillips said the university will lead a $799,976 project funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture…
LONGYEARBYEN, SVALBARD — October 23, 2024 — The Svalbard Global Seed Vault received yesterday a deposit of more than 30,000 new seed samples from 23 depositors across 21 countries, including seven international genebanks. This marks the largest number of depositors since the Seed Vault received samples from a record-breaking 35 genebanks in 2020, underscoring the…
The African Union Commission (AUC) through its Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment (DARBE), in collaboration with the Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development (HHDS) and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), with support of technical institutions and development partners will commemorate the 15th Africa Day for Food and…
Hon Vangelis P. Haritatos, the Deputy Minister for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, while addressing the 52nd Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the sub-theme: ‘Strengthening Coordinated Policy Responses to the Food Crisis’, said the world’s agriculture…
Rwanda has initiated a program aimed at enhancing the production of cassava and potatoes by integrating genetically modified varieties that combat diseases, pests, and drought conditions. The Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), in partnership with the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), unveiled the country’s Agricultural Biotechnology Programme. This initiative, supported by a…
ECHO, a Southwest Florida-based international nonprofit advocate for sustainable agriculture and food security, has hired a new director for its East Africa Regional Impact Center. Charei Munene, a leader in Agroecology/Ecological Organic Agriculture from Kenya, will succeed Erwin Kinsey in Tanzania. “We’re excited to have someone of Charei’s experience as part of our leadership…
African seed sector experts validated in Lusaka, Zambia the progress report and methodology of the study on seed systems managed by farmers on the continent to ensure correct practices. Participants in the event held discussions to find a common denominator for the implementation of the mission following the agreed terms of reference, including various…
