November 23, 2022 | No. 45 |
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| AAAE, AEASA & AFMA Conference |
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***** The African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE), the Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA) and the Africa Farm Management Association (AFMA), have partnered to organise a joint conference in 2023 to be held from 18-21 September 2023 at the Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani hotel, in Durban, South Africa.
This event will be the 7th African Conference of Agricultural Economists (7th ACAE), the 60th Annual AEASA Conference and the 13th AFMA Congress. The theme of the conference is; THROUGH CRISIS: BUILDING RESILIENT AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS IN AFRICA. The deadline for submissions of all contributed oral and visual papers, invited panels and organised symposia is March 7, 2023. Corresponding authors will be informed of the outcome of the review and selection process by June 6, 2023.
Grants may be available to cover the participation costs of students and early-career researchers whose papers will be accepted. An extra day for tours, at a price, will be added to the program for those interested in exploring Kwa-Zulu Natal province's agriculture. Read more
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| Horn of Africa Hunger Crisis |
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According to the World Food Programme (WFP), “As many as 828 million people go to bed hungry every night, the number of those facing acute food insecurity has soared – from 135 million to 345 million – since 2019. A total of 50 million people in 45 countries are teetering on the edge of famine.” The Horn of Africa, a large peninsula and geopolitical region in east Africa, has endured four consecutive failed rainy seasons due to a severe drought. The World Meteorological Organization forecasts a fifth consecutive failed rainy season because of drier-than-average conditions expected for October to December 2022, worsening the crisis that affects millions of people. According to the WFP, 22 million people are at risk of starvation in the region. WFP’s annual needs for the region have increased from $4.3 billion to $6 billion, and, despite receiving some funding, it has yet to close the gap. Read more.
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| Adapt or starve: COP27 spotlights agriculture challenges and solutions in the face of climate change |
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Small-scale farmers from developing countries produce one-third of the world’s food, yet they only receive 1.7 per cent of climate finance even as they are forced to cope with droughts, floods, cyclones and other disasters. This sentiment echoed through dozens of pavilions and conference rooms in Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday as COP27 turned its attention to the vital issues of adaptation, agriculture and food systems in the context of climate change. “We need to help rural populations build their resilience to extreme weather events and adapt to a changing climate. If not, we only go from one crisis to the next. Small scale farmers work hard to grow food for us in tough conditions,” Sabrina Dhowre Elba, Goodwill Ambassador for the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said during a press conference. Read more
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| COP27 climate talks: what succeeded, what failed and what’s next |
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The 27th United Nations climate conference (COP27) ended on Sunday morning with researchers largely frustrated at the lack of any ambition to phase out fossil fuels. However, there was one silver lining: delegates from low and middle income countries (LMICs) came away with an agreement on a new ‘loss and damage’ fund to help them cover the costs of climate-change impacts. The final 10-page summary text, which was agreed on 20 November, says that limiting global warming to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels requires “rapid, deep and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions” by 2030. Read more
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| Climate Crisis Threatens Tree Diversity for Food and Livelihoods |
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Around the globe, tree diversity is declining. Last year’s State of the World’s Trees report found that of the more than 60,000 known tree species, at least 17,500 are threatened with extinction. This dwindling of diversity is damaging our planet’s ecosystems – and ourselves – as well as constraining options for successful adaptation to the changing climate. Though several tree-planting initiatives are in place, there is a need for guidance and further funding. In that context, at the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF)’s annual Climate event, held alongside the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, the Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust), the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) and the Center for International Forestry Research–World Agroforestry Centre (CIFOR-ICRAF) launched a new report: ‘Conserving and using tree diversity for global climate change adaptation and food system resilience. Read more
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| Gates Foundation pledges $7 billion to help fund Africa’s agriculture, health, and gender equality |
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Last week, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, visited Nairobi, Kenya, to meet with national and local leaders, and announce the foundation’s forward-looking commitment to support innovations and ingenuity aimed at improving health, food security, and gender equality in African countries. Read more
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| You’ll rarely find a climate denier in East Africa |
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It’s odd, and often unsettling, to watch the different ways climate change has played out in Kenya and the US. It’s still acceptable in the US to question anthropogenic climate change, with some denying that the climate is changing or dismissing the scientifically proven consequences of it. But you’ll rarely find a climate denier in east Africa. Most people have either witnessed or been affected by extreme weather events. Every week, I see at least one story on how the drought in the north of Kenya is pushing millions of people towards starvation, and it is a devastating story to cover. The situation there mirrors what’s happening in much of the Horn of Africa, which is facing its worst drought in decades. Uganda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo have all faced deadly flooding this year, displacing thousands. The situation is far worse in South Sudan, where last month, record rains flooded two-thirds of the country. Read more
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| China actively helps Africa build systematic, industrialized supply chains to boost agriculture |
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China and Africa have achieved fruitful results in the agricultural sector in the past 10 years, representatives from embassies in China, Chinese experts and enterprises said on Friday at an event focusing on China-Africa agricultural cooperation. They also pointed out that Africa needs to build systematic, industrialized supply chains to boost agriculture, a field in which Chinese departments and enterprises can exchange experiences and offer help. Since the establishment of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, especially in the past decade, China-Africa agricultural cooperation has yielded fruitful results and delivered tangible benefits to the African people, Liu Yuxi, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on African Affairs, said on Friday when addressing the China-Africa Harvest Night. Read more
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| How scientists from the “Global South” are sidelined at the IPCC |
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WHEN YAMINA SAHEB started work with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2019, she was stunned at the treatment meted out to researchers from the “global south.” Diversity, equity, and inclusion seemed laughably alien concepts at the organization, which is tasked under the United Nations Environment Programme with charting a safe path for humanity through the climate crisis. Saheb, an energy economist specializing in the built environment, had a foot in the south as a dual Algerian-French citizen, and so she had long been aware of issues of inequity in the global research community. But the IPCC, which is structured to “bring together experts from all around the world” in working groups, exceeded her expectations of institutional prejudice. Read more
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| XVII Congress of the European Association of Agricultural Economists |
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The Local Organising Committee and the Program Committee cordially invite you to the XVII Congress of the European Association of Agricultural Economists (EAAE) “Agri-food systems in a changing world: Connecting science and society”. Agri-food systems have an important role to play in a changing world. The consequences of climate change are increasingly tangible and our planetary boundaries increasingly at risk of being crossed. As scientists, we need to create and share insights on how to transform agri-food systems into sustainable and resilient systems that increase prosperity in Europe and across the globe. Connecting science and society implies that agricultural economists push the boundaries of science and research to create societal impact. Read more
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Becoming an AAAE member: The African Association of Agricultural Economists (AAAE) is a nonprofit association serving the professional interests of those working in agricultural and broadly related fields of development economics. Becoming a member of AAAE brings together people who work in the same industry and/or share common interests and goals. Please subscribe today and become a member to help in advocating for our shared purpose. |
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African Association of Agricultural Economists c/o University of Nairobi, C.A.V.S, Upper Kabete Campus Loresho Ridge Road, Nairobi, Kenya |
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