| Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted named 2021 World Food Prize Laureate |
| Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, native of Trinidad and Tobago and a citizen of Denmark, will receive the 2021 World Food Prize for her groundbreaking research, critical insights and landmark innovations in developing holistic, nutrition-sensitive approaches to aquaculture and food systems. By bringing together interdisciplinary and international collaborators, she drove transformations in aquatic food systems to deliver improved nutrition, resilient ecosystems and secure livelihoods for millions of vulnerable people across the globe. Read more
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| The rise of Africa’s super vegetables |
| Just a few years ago, many of those plates would have been filled with staples such as collard greens or kale — which were introduced to Africa from Europe a little over a century ago. In Nairobi, indigenous vegetables were once sold almost exclusively at hard-to-find specialized markets; and although these plants have been favoured by some rural populations in Africa, they were largely ignored by seed companies and researchers, so they lagged behind commercial crops in terms of productivity and sometimes quality. Read more
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| Green gold: Avocado farming on the rise in Africa |
| The so-called green gold is rapidly gaining popularity on the African continent. Both Nigeria and Uganda aim to drastically increase their avocado production and become top exporters in the next decade. Kenya is already among the global top 10. Export revenues in the East African country surged by a third between 2019 and 2020. Farmers are hailing the crop as an antidote to poverty in rural areas. Read more
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| Why Tanzania needs to invest more into avocado production |
| Eating avocados is always cool. The yummy fruit is a refreshment that adds great taste to the food. For years, in Tanzania, it has been a by the way crop, for home consumption. But in recent years things have changed. According to a 2019 study by Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC) and East Africa Trade and Investment Hub, avocado has been transformed to be an important earner of forex for Tanzania and a source of edible oil. Read more
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| Breaking through the 40 per cent adoption ceiling: mind the seed system gaps |
| The promise is that growing improved varieties will end hunger, improve nutrition and strengthen livelihoods. However, in sub-Saharan Africa farmer adoption of improved varieties of vegetatively propagated crops (VPCs) and small grains and legumes is stuck at around 40%. And the average age of a variety in a farmer’s field is eight years or more. Is this enough to contribute to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals? No! It means we must try harder but also think differently. Read more
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| FAO: Agriculture will make or break Africa's free trade |
| The AfCFTA aims to change that. It created the largest free trade area in the world, representing a market of 1.2 billion consumers, and commits countries to remove most tariffs and non-tariff barriers to improve the flow of goods and services across countries, boosting economic growth along the way. But since trading under the AfCFTA started on 1 January 2021, only 36 out of the 55 African Union member states have ratified the agreement. Read more
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| Powering Sustainable Food Systems |
| The period between now and the United Nations climate conference (COP26) in Glasgow in November represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for world leaders to build a “climate-smart” framework for tackling the twin challenges of food and energy insecurity. This will be necessary to support developing countries in leapfrogging to a sustainable growth and development model. Read more
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| New digitization equipment set to accelerate Kenya agriculture agency’s breeding programs |
| A lack of digitization equipment hampers research efforts of many national agricultural research systems (NARS) across Africa. This adverse situation is compounded by unreliable institutional memory, which constrains NARS efforts to breed an assortment of crop varieties efficiently. Read more
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| The Technology Fuelling Africa’s Agricultural Revolution |
| Two-thirds of all Africans are involved in agricultural production, in some form or another, and the sector or is expected to grow in value. This will give impetus to the use of technology. “Between 2010 and 2030, the total worth of its food industry is projected to hit the $1 trillion mark,” according to a report in the UN’s Africa Renewal programme. “While existing technologies like improved seeds and fertilizers will be critical to meeting this demand, Africa’s farmers will need additional new tools to improve yields and get their goods to market. Digitalisation can deliver these tools.” Read more
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| Public expenditure on food and agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa |
| The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, warned that severe underfunding of the agri-food sector was preventing Africa from reaching its potential. He spoke at the launch of FAO's latest report, Public Expenditure on Food and Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, which reveals the gap between long-standing political commitments and financial reality in 13 sub-Saharan African countries. He noted that the report was based on "rigorous analysis over the last 15 years, made possible thanks to strong collaboration with our Members in the region." Read more
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