In this article, we analyze opportunities and constraints for upgrading product quality in the dairy value chain in Ethiopia. Our analysis is based on an integrated understanding of supply chain performance both from producer and from consumer perspectives. We outline as main drivers for quality upgrading: (a) factors that influence...

Over the course of 2017, the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) will seek to support and stimulate an open reflection on the future of agricultural development in West Africa. While industrial agriculture and ‘Green Revolution’ approaches promise short-term increases in productivity, they are yet to provide...

Agriculture in Senegal is predominantly rain-fed and so erratic weather patterns present an everincreasing risk to smallholder farmers across the country. Late onset of rain can lead to a reduced growing season; unexpected torrential rain and flash-flooding can lead to farmers losing scarce resources of seed, other farm inputs and...

A first atlas to offer a better understanding of complex rural migration patterns in sub-Saharan Africa has been published today. The atlas – Rural Africa in motion. Dynamics and drivers of migration south of the Sahara – also highlights the important role rural areas will continue to play in shaping the continent’s migration for decades...

The main cause of food insecurity for many communal households in Zimbabwe is their reliance upon a form of subsistence-based agriculture which is dependent on a limited range of inputs often poorly suited to local conditions. The current agricultural system prioritizes monocropping and grain yield over other factors of food...

Minority Rights Group International (MRG) wholeheartedly applauds an historic judgment from the African Court of Human and Peoples Rights in Arusha today in favour of the Ogiek community of Kenya. Following an eight-year legal battle, the Court found that the Kenyan government violated seven separate articles of the African Charter in a land rights...

Pulses are already part of the standard diet in Angola, especially beans (butter, pinto and dry beans) and chickpeas. However, the fair hoped to highlight the wide range of available pulses that can be incorporated into an everyday diet and to raise awareness of the important environmental and nutritional benefits...

The Government of Malawi is currently reviewing the Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP), which was initiated in 2005/2006, as a programme to combat poverty and food insecurity. This paper is intended to inform the FISP review and, in particular, how it can be coordinated with the Social Cash Transfer Programme...

School teachers and managers, community leaders and local stakeholders came together in Cabo Verde in the last weeks of December to celebrate the International Year of Pulses (IYP) with several awareness raising events. This awareness-raising campaign aimed at educating children and adolescents about the importance of healthy nutrition habits, including the...

This report is a result of research conducted in partnership with Tshintsha Amakhaya, Farmer Support Group, TCOE Zingisa and Surplus People Project. The report investigates the state of farmer-managed seed systems in rural South Africa. Through 3 case studies in Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, the report highlights both...

Agriculture is an important engine for economic growth in Africa, but effective agricultural strategies to support rural development and poverty alleviation are scarce. State investment in the small-scale farming sector is minimal and the entrepreneurial family farm sector remains underrepresented. Meanwhile, large-scale land investments are advocated as means to bring...

Le bulletin traite de la célébration de la journée mondiale de l'alimentation 2016 et de la journée internationale des légumineuses, de la protection sociale, du lancement du projet de réduction du travail des enfants dans l'agriculture, de l'évaluation du programme pays de la FAO, des clubs dimitra, de l'appui aux...

This paper presents the targeting system adopted in Senegal to implement food purchases using procurement preferential treatment for small-scale family farming food outputs. The study provides a detailed description of the selection of farmers producing rice in the Kédougou region and discusses how it influenced the performance of food purchases...

Like many problems in the global South, the global food system issues can be traced back to a colonial history. Back in 1989 two sociologists, Harriet Friedmann and Philip McMichael, developed a useful concept in their work on agrarian studies: Global food regimes. They described two key periods where the...

This report highlights the outcomes of the three-day deliberations of the Second FAO Africa Regional Nutrition Coordination and Programming Consultation meeting with key recommendations and next steps. The report will be shared as a PDF document. There are no plans to print the document.

The present study focuses on dairy cooperatives in Kenya and Morocco, to explore how and to what extent the institutional environment has been enabling the development and performance of the cooperatives. The focus on dairy generates insights that are relevant for many countries, because it is a sector in which...

Seeking solutions and income development systems for urban farmers with limited access to water and land. 

This is part of a series of descriptive reports and later in-depth analysis of the survey data. These series are aimed to provide an assessment of the state of agricultural extension and advisory services provision in Malawi in order to inform policy and reform processes and programming by the government...

This report synthesizes the analysis and findings of a set of seven country impact evaluation studies that explore the impact of cash transfer programmes on household economic decision-making, productive activities and labour allocation in sub-Saharan Africa. The seven countries are Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Results from...

The beehives of Ethiopia, Africa’s top honey producer, make about a quarter of the continent’s honey, but travellers who come to sample the liquid gold often find there isn’t enough to go around. In a country where 85% of all jobs are in agriculture, industry experts say the beekeeping – or...