STAARS Fellowship Program: 2021 Call For Research Proposals
The Structural Transformation of African Agriculture and Rural Spaces (STAARS) fellowship program, a multi-institution collaboration managed by Cornell University with support from the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), announces its annual call for research proposals. Early-career African researchers selected as STAARS fellows in 2021 advance rigorous, policy-oriented research on the causal determinants of productivity and income growth, asset accumulation, rural employment, and risk management in African agriculture and rural spaces. Application deadline: January 31, 2021. READ MORE
|
|
Building corridors of growth through the Sahel and beyond
Temperatures in the Sahel are increasing 1.5 times faster than the global average, and around 80 percent of the farmland has lost some degree of its natural productivity. Together, these factors diminish the availability of land for food production or grazing, deplete water, and increase the vulnerability of the people living in the region. Adding to these challenges, the COVID 19 pandemic could drive up to 40 million people into extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, erasing five years of progress in fighting poverty. In the Sahel alone, over 17 million people are food insecure. READ MORE
|
|
Sahel region: the African Development Bank pledges to mobilise $6.5 Billion in support of the Great Green Wall Initiative
The Sahel region's Great Green Wall Initiative received a major boost from the African Development Bank on Monday. During a forum hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, the Bank pledged to assist in mobilising up to $6.5 billion over five years, to advance the landmark initiative. The resources will be made available through a range of programmes in support of the Great Green Wall by drawing on internal as well as external sources of funding, such as the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), among others. READ MORE
|
|
A Rapid Analysis of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Selected Food Value Chains in Africa. Synthesis Report
Promoting regional food trade is an efficient and effective way to expand agricultural output and productivity, make national and regional food markets more resilient, and foster inclusive growth in sub-Saharan Africa. To achieve this, there is a need to tackle key market and government failures which include, but are not limited to. READ REPORT
|
|
Lock-ins to the dissemination of genetically improved fish seeds
Well-functioning fish seed systems are crucial for human nutrition and improved livelihoods. Yet fish seed systems have received considerably little attention in the diffusion process for genetically improved strains. This study examined how seed systems of genetically improved fish strains function, assessed constraints faced, and explored entry-points to increased diffusion. READ MORE
|
|
Is Africa Addressing The Food Security Dilemma Through Modern Agriculture Technologies?
The 4th Goal of Agenda 2063 is an Africa with “healthy and well-nourished citizens”. Currently, Africa is facing food security challenges because of increasing population, urbanization, and limited agri-food productivity. The World Vision has reported that approximately 257 million people across the continent, representing approximately 20% of the African population, are facing hunger threats. READ MORE
|
|
Launch of the multilateral coalition dedicated to Agro-Ecology in Africa
More than 100 European and African actors have signed a charter of commitment to the development of the agro-pastoral sectors in Africa, particularly in the Sahel; The original initiative aims to resize and strengthen agricultural cooperation between Europe and Africa while ensuring the protection of biodiversity, a global common good. READ MORE
|
|
Desert Locust situation update: Swarms continue to invade Kenya
In the Horn of Africa, immature swarms continue to migrate southwards from breeding areas in eastern Ethiopia and central Somalia to southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. There were reports that a few immature swarms reached Mwanga district in northeast Tanzania on 8 January 2021. In Ethiopia, immature swarms are concentrating along the eastern side of the Harar Highlands in Oromia region as they move to southern areas of the country, including southern parts of the Rift Valley in SNNP region. There are also cross-border movements near Jijiga and northwest Somalia and along the southern border with Kenya. READ MORE
|
|
Food security, agriculture, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), crucial for Africa’s post-COVID-19 recovery
“The agriculture sector is among the most vulnerable. Agriculture is important not only for food security issues but also for inter-regional food integration,” African Development Bank Director of Macroeconomic Policy, Forecasting and Research, Hanan Morsy, said during a news conference on the opening day of the African Economic Conference 2020. “We see this as an area that needs particular support, an area of opportunity going forward to increase inter-regional integration and to increase resilience against external shocks,” Morsy noted. READ MORE
|
|
Virtual Event - Local vs Global? The role of trade in building food system resilience
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the global economy and put pressure on food supply chains, debate has resurged about the role of trade in protecting food security. Though food supply chains have proved fairly resilient during the outbreak, many countries have faced both severe disruptions in supply and shifts in food demand. A few have responded with protectionist measures—namely export bans on key staple foods—with the intent of protecting domestic consumers, but depriving those abroad. These measures raise the question: Are food systems strongly connected with global value chains more vulnerable to disruptions or more resilient than more localized food systems? REGISTER
|
|
|
