By Lloyd Rabaya The Grain Marketing Board (GMB) has so far expropriated above 300 metric tonnes (MT) of grain from farmers who were intending to side-market their grain. This came out on Tuesday when Minister of Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services Monica Mutsvangwa was addressing the post-cabinet briefing. In her address, Mutsvangwa urged farmers to…
Fellows from six African countries this week joined colleagues at Leeds to strengthen networks and build research and leadership skills, helping to bring sustainable change in African food systems. The Food Systems Research Network for Africa (FSNet-Africa) works with early-career researchers in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. The aim is to build…
By Charles Dhewa A major lesson for African leaders from the Russia-Ukraine conflict is that they should accelerate the development of food systems that have no direct link with foreign currency. African agriculture has remained thinly defined for decades as shown by how agricultural policies focus on less than five percent of African food systems…
For many years, large-scale and small-scale farmers in the traditional food basket have been planting every season without paying attention to soil health. Over the years, this has resulted in dwindling productivity at the farm level as they grappled with the worst effects of climate change coupled with the high cost of farm inputs. Kenya’s…
By Bertalan Meskó, MD, PhD If somebody had told me five years ago that I’d sooner review an A.I. guided portable ultrasound device than a nutrigenomics test, I would have laughed so hard. Yet, here we are, this ultrasound test is almost a year old now, and where is a nutrigenomics test I could finally lay…
By Clayton Masekesa MARANGE – From a distance, the atmosphere paints a hazy picture as hot thick air pervades the dry open land that has no life, it is a sad scenario that signifies rigorous drought. After living on one of the world’s richest diamond fields, villagers in Marange have been subjected to excessive hunger…
Zimbabwe will tomorrow join the rest of the world in commemorating World Milk Day. The country’s Dairy Industry stakeholders which include government, processors, farmers, and consumers will come together to celebrate this day in style. A number of activities are lined up for the day. “Drum majorettes supported by Airforce of Zimbabwe Brass Band will…
By Elvis Dumba Harare – The government has claimed massive side-marketing of grains especially maize and soybeans as evidenced by low deliveries to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) – a situation that prompted corrective measures against the problem. According to Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary John Basera, about 30…
By Marlvin Ngiza Residents in Buhera are faced with food insecurity due to price hikes, adverse climatic conditions, and poor road networks. In a statement released to mark Africa Day yesterday, Buhera Residents Network Trust coordinator Leonard Mabasa said current price hikes of basic commodities have seen residents failing to have nutritional meals. A bucket…
By Arts Correspondent Popular fast foods outlet, Hotplate Grill House, has been given a huge boost after rising Zimdancehall artiste King Jae penned a jingle for it. According to the budding Zimdancehall artiste, born James Munama, the song was just an appreciation of the tasty cuisines being offered by trendy food outlets. “I wrote this…
By Staff Writer For 32-year-old Seke rural district widow Tatenda Mishi, winning the champion farmer award for the year 2022 over the weekend was a dream come true. She believes it was criticism from people in the neighborhoods at the beginning of her farming journey which pushed her to work hard and reap the fruits….
By Charles Dhewa As part of combatting the negative effects of pandemics such as COVID19 and distant wars on food systems, African countries have to develop frameworks for commercializing indigenous grains, fruits, vegetables, and livestock. There is no longer any doubt that depending on global value chains makes African countries vulnerable to international market forces….
The African Development Bank Group’s (www.AfDB.org) Board of Directors on Friday approved a $1.5 billion facility to help African countries avert a looming food crisis. With the disruption of food supplies arising from the Russia-Ukraine war, Africa now faces a shortage of at least 30 million metric tons of food, especially wheat, maize, and soybeans…
By Richard Mahapatra Food prices are increasing at an unprecedented rate worldwide, triggered by 2 years of COVID-19 pandemic-induced disruption and now the Russia-Ukraine war The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was pushed off global front pages last fortnight by food inflation. Food prices have leaped 75 per cent since mid-2020, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) assessed. In India,…
By Charles Dhewa Information about producing any food commodity is now abundant on the internet and in diverse manuals. For anyone who wants to know about how to bake bread or process fruits into drinks or jams, a quick search on the internet can produce tons of documents with step-by-step information on who to add…
The much-awaited 2022 edition of First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s Amai’s Traditional Cook-out competitions took off to a good start in Mashonaland Central Province yesterday. In her keynote address at the event, the Guest of Honour, the Deputy Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Honourable Barbara Rwodzi said as a way follow up to…
On Equatorial Guinea’s capital island of Malabo, agriculture ministers from across Africa are meeting this week to discuss solutions to the growing hunger crisis, at a conference convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The 32nd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa (ARC32) opened with a call from the FAO Assistant…
By Charles Dhewa The past few years have seen development agencies working in African agriculture and food systems coming together to work as consortiums or consortia. The word consortium is a Latin word meaning partnership. Wikipedia defines a consortium as an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments with the objective of participating…
By Baboloki Semele Today, in the white and blue city in Kenya, Mombasa, African Forest Forum stakeholders are meeting via hybrid, a regional workshop to share information and experiences on challenges and opportunities in forest management for sustainable development in Africa in the context of climate change. Addressing the delegates, during the official opening, the…
Food and nutrition security in Africa is off track: In 2020, more than one in five people in Africa faced hunger—more than double the proportion of hungry people in any other region. In fact, the continent remains a net food importer at an annual cost of $43 billion. Food security in Africa demands urgent and serious…
Regardless of your business, South Africa sits at the very end of very long global supply lines. Even before Covid-19 and the July 2021 civil unrest bought home the importance of shortening and diversifying supply chains, South Africa’s balance of trade and ZAR volatility and weakness were already prompting a re-think as businesses pivoted to local – or…
By Charles Dhewa When the free inputs queue gets longer every year, it is a sign that farmers are not earning enough to be able to buy their own inputs. These are some of the challenges of depending too much on imported inputs and external knowledge. Is it not ironic that as more attention and…
By Joyce Mukucha The United Nations (UN)’s benchmark food and commodity prices index rose sharply on average through 2021, compared with the previous year, the new data by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has revealed last week. The FAO’s Food Price Index(FFPI) which tracks monthly changes in international prices averaged 125.7 points – a 28.1…
By Joyce Mukucha Zimbabwean fish farmers have been encouraged to work hard and yield positive results in terms of productivity and at the same time ensure that mistakes that happened in 2021 in the aquaculture sector are not repeated. In his New Year message, the Zimbabwe Productive Farmers Association (ZPFA) Chairperson of Development and Outreach…
By Joyce Mukucha The World Health Organisation (WHO) has yesterday announced the launch of a new Food Safety Community of Practice (COP) which is aimed at helping in the sharing of knowledge as well as improving practice. According to WHO, the Community of Practice is a new peer-to-peer online forum for global professionals working on…
By JoyceMukucha The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has recently welcomed a $10 million contribution from the United States of America to its COVID-19 response efforts and to help counter other challenges that threaten human, animal and environmental health, including future pandemics. The contribution from the United States will benefit countries…
Transform agricultural food systems to make them more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable for better production, nutrition, environment, and life for all, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) said in The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2021 report. Measures to contain the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020 disrupted global and national supply chains…
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a US$5.7 million contribution from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support people experiencing vulnerability to food insecurity across urban and rural areas. This brings USAID’s contributions to over US$45 million over the last year. Urban populations will benefit from the contribution through WFP’s…
By Joyce Mukucha Farmers have so far delivered more than one million metric tonnes of grains to the Grain Marketing Board(GMB), a phenomenal increase from last cropping season comparative deliveries. In her post Cabinet briefing yesterday, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa said Cumulatively, 227 000 metric tonnes of wheat have…
By UN News With about 2.3 million people already suffering with serious water, food and pasture shortages in Somalia, a rapidly worsening drought could lead to an “extreme situation” by April next year. The warning comes from the United Nations and the Somali Government. Climate projections show that the country is facing a fourth consecutive…
The proper management of the environment is critical to ensure the sustainable use of aquaculture and fisheries along the value chain, a top environmentalist has said. Aquaculture is the farming of animals and plants in water. There are various important steps in the aquaculture value chain that includes production, harvesting, processing, marketing, and utilisation. Environmentalist,…
Enhancing sustainable fisheries management and aquaculture development in Africa has the potential of boosting economies on the continent. This emerged at a media training workshop that kicked off in Zanzibar, Tanzania today under the theme ‘Enhancing Sustainable Fisheries Management and Aquaculture Development in Africa.” The meeting was made possible by the African Union…
By Joyce Mukucha The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has recently announced that the UN barometer of world food prices has surged to a new peak, reaching its highest level since July 2011. The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks the international prices of a basket of food commodities, is up 3.9 per cent from September, rising for a third consecutive month. According to FAO,…
The World Food Programme (WFP) and the Government of Japan announced the finalisation of a resilience building programme in the district of Mount Darwin. The USD 1.25 million contribution provided by Japan in March 2021, has empowered up to 2,200 vulnerable households (approximately 11,000 individuals) in Mount Darwin and Matobo districts to enhance their food…
One of Zimbabwe’s finest chefs, Lewis Mushonga is set to release a book about cooking entitled Bika, published by iPublish House with the foreword written by Lucy Ruth, a Zimbabwean-based Canadian award-winning author, and Guinness World Record holder. The waiting is finally over! 26 November 2021 is the day of launching and releasing this much-awaited…
The Freedom of Rights Under Sovereign (FORUS) Party is proffering ways of making Zimbabwe’s agricultural sector productive so as to boost the economy and ensure the country’s prosperity. Dr. Emmanuel Katsvamutima, an economic advisor for FORUS Party, in an interview with Spiked Online Media said there is a need to strengthen the security of tenure and…
Celebrating the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste this Wednesday, the Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) together with other organisations emphasised the need to embrace Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 which seeks to ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns, including a specific target to halve per capita global food waste by 2030. FAO…
The talk-of-town, people-centred, and recently established political party, the Freedom Of Rights Under Sovereign (FORUS) has said it is the only genuine vehicle for Zimbabweans to enjoy a secure and prosperous future. The party President, Manyara Irene Muyenziwa (MIM) said a Foundation she founded under her name in 2021 is implementing practical and tangible activities…
The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has urged the international community to join hands to assist and save the lives of vulnerable Afghans who are experiencing the most difficult times after the Taliban seized power a couple of weeks ago. Leading the appeal in Geneva for $606 million to support emergency aid for 11…
Millions of people suffer from food insecurity around the globe. With the help of Earth-observing satellites, the NASA-USAID SERVIR project is hoping to reduce that number. Food security – the consistent availability and affordability of food – is a basic human need, yet it remains elusive for billions of people around the world. The United Nations’…
The Government of Zimbabwe and the UN System have rolled out a series of national and provincial dialogues on Food Systems as part of the preparation for the global Food Systems Summit, which will take place at the UN General Assembly in September in New York. In his keynote address on the Third Stage National…
International Power Ministries founder Rangarirayi Hungwe donated food hampers to senior citizens residing in Hopley, Harare South recently. It was an emotional but celebratory event when the grannies in the highly impoverished settlement received a food hamper each to alleviate them from starvation that is common in the area just as in most impoverished societies….
By Veritas Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation For Human Planetary Health In 1999, the World Conference of Ministers Responsible For Youth recommended that the 12th of August be set aside as International Youth Day. The UN took the recommendation into consideration and, by resolution 54/120, it was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly. The intended purpose…
The recently released 2021 Southern African Development Community (SADC) Synthesis Report on the State of Food and Nutrition Security has revealed widespread regional food insecurity. Below, Spiked Online Media shares the Executive Summary of the report: Southern Africa suffers from widespread food and nutrition insecurity. This year, in the ten SADC Member States that submitted…
Step into the tattered shoes of these young innocent souls. It’s hard having a mother out of reach, incarcerated; unable to be taken care of. Rumbling sounds of an empty stomach every day and night; sleepless nights thinking, “Am I ready to face the next day?” How do you feel? Jedidiah Trust has taken the…
