2021 Laureate Announcement + Digital Dialogue
The World Food Prize is the foremost international award recognizing -- without regard to race, religion, nationality, or political beliefs -- the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world. By honoring those who have worked successfully toward this goal, The Prize calls attention to what has been done to improve global food security and to what can be accomplished in the future. Join the 2021 World Food Prize Laureate Announcement and Digital Dialogue: Live with the Laureate on Tuesday, May 11, 8:00 AM CDT. REGISTER
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African countries commit to double agricultural productivity as development banks, institutions pledge US$17 billion to increase food security
A coalition of multilateral development banks and development partners has pledged over US$17 billion in financing on Friday during a high-level forum, in a bold bid to address rising hunger on the African continent and to improve food security. These funds were pledged on the final day of a two-day high-level dialogue - Feeding Africa: leadership to scale up successful innovations. The event was hosted by the Africa Development Bank and the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in partnership with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the CGIAR System Organization, on 29 and 30 April. READ MORE
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Making Agriculture More Impactful for Africans
The UN says the average amount that low- and lower-middle-income countries invest annually in agriculture is $957 billion. So, if agriculture accounts for more than 25% of GDP in some developing countries, employs 63% of the world’s poor people and has the potential to improve food security for 80% of them, then why hasn’t this investment translated into stronger economies and better livelihoods? One of the answers is data. Or the lack of it. Many low-income countries are limited by gaping holes in agricultural and rural data that could inform planning, budgeting and policy making in this vital sector. The scarcity of high-quality, timely agricultural data is directly complicating countries’ plans for economic growth and efforts to reduce poverty. READ MORE
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5 Mouth Watering West African Dishes You Need to Try
If you're looking to learn more about West African cuisine, here are 5 recipes that will delight your palette and serve as an excellent introduction to one of the continent's most popular styles of cooking. Kenkey is a typical Ghanaian dish made from fermented white corn, which is widely consumed throughout the country by Ga people from southern Ghana. Kenkey is prepared from fermented ground white corn (maize). Jollof rice is a legendary one-pot dish that’s ubiquitous in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia, Togo and Sierra Leone. Fufu is a staple in a good number of African countries. This version is made by fermenting cassava (yuca roots) then blending and cooking it. Chicken Yassa is scrumptious West African comfort food that the whole world needs to know about. It is typically prepared using chicken but works just as great with fish. Egusi is the name for the protein-rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous plants (plants of the cucumber and pumpkin family), which after being dried and ground are used as a major ingredient in West African cuisine. READ MORE
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Food Security Monitor
The goal of AGRA’s Food Security Monitor is to provide an overview assessment of the food security outlook in AGRA focus countries in East, West and Southern Africa, taking into account the movement of prices of main food staples and government interventions that impact on domestic and regional food trade alongside the impact of forecast weather changes and environmental conditions on food security. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) issued an early warning for urgent humanitarian action across a number of countries, where parts of the populations are likely to face a fast deterioration of high acute food insecurity that will put their lives and livelihoods at risk. This early warning identified 20 countries across the world, 13 of which are in Africa. READ MORE
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A Concerted Effort to Sustain Uganda’s Aquaculture Industry
At one time there were over 20 fish factories operating in Uganda, mostly exporting Nile perch fillets, but that number had fallen to just five in 2017 after a dramatic decline in fish stocks. There has been a recovery since, spurred partly by the harsh enforcement of fishing regulations, and 12 processing companies are now in operation. But the industry continues to be buffeted by challenges. The army’s intervention helped fish stocks to recover, but few consider it to be a long-term solution. A new fisheries bill, tabled in parliament in March, plans to create a chief fishing officer to oversee the sector, increase penalties for illegal fishing, and establish a paramilitary surveillance unit, similar to the wildlife rangers that manage national parks. As part of that plan, the government is currently designing two “aquaparks”, in Apac and Kalangala districts, which will house hatcheries, feed stores, nursing ponds and production units. The focus will be on tilapia and catfish, with capacity at each site to produce 40,000 tonnes a year. The parks will be run as a public-private partnership, and the government is currently looking for an operator. READ MORE
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Supporting Entrepreneurs Developing Innovative Solutions for Circular Agriculture
Bopinc and Village Capital have launched O-Farms, a circular agribusiness accelerator to identify and support startups with solutions for circular agribusiness, so they can make a profit from food products that would otherwise be wasted. During the second half of 2021, the partners will recruit, vet and select 10 SMEs in both Kenya and Ethiopia for the first cohort of O-Farms. These startups will participate in a series of capacity building events focused on business model development, technical skills, investment readiness and networking with a community of investors and mentors who work in and around the food system. At the end of the programme, two cohort companies from each country will be selected by their peers to receive growth funding worth US$30,000 each. By mid-2023, O-Farms hopes to have worked with more than 40 companies on making profitable new products from food losses and by-products. The learnings developed throughout the project will be shared widely to inspire the transition to circular farming and food systems in East Africa. READ MORE
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Improved maize varieties among top three CGIAR innovations adopted by up to 11 million households in Ethiopia
A new report by CGIAR’s Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA) indicates that CGIAR innovations have reached between 4.1 and 11 million Ethiopian households. The report — which assesses 52 agricultural innovations and 26 claims of policy influence — documents the reach of CGIAR-related agricultural innovations across the core domains of CGIAR research activity: animal agriculture; crop germplasm improvement; natural resource management; and policy research. READ MORE
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Precision Farming to Improve Cameroon's Crops
A Cameroonian company that helps farmers in remote areas to analyze their soil quality and to help choose crops. Technology startup Clinic Agro created a kit with a mobile application called Clinic Sol for instant soil testing. Founder Pyrrus Koudjou said he invented the kit to help farmers who were losing money. He said it is very important today for the farmer to be able to analyze his soil. Most Cameroonians work in farming as agriculture is one of the main staples of the economy, but experts said many farmers are not trained to analyze soil for efficiency. Agronomist Rodrigue Ngono trains farmers at the state’s Binguela Practical School of Agriculture. He said soil analysis is key to getting better results and leads people toward “precision farming.” It is about determining the exact amount of nutrients that a plant will need, said Ngono, in order for it to be produced [most] profitably. Clinic Agro said in just one year, since its creation, its mobile kit has tested soil quality for nearly one thousand farms in Cameroon. READ MORE
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12th African Farm Management Conference
The African Farm Management Association (AFMA) invites interested farm management and agribusiness professionals and practitioners to submit papers for the forthcoming Congress planned for the 21st-25th November 2021, Panari Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya. The 12th AFMA Conference follows a successful 11th Conference held at NAF Conference Centre, Abuja, Nigeria from the 4th-9th November 2018. READ MORE
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