Based on stakeholder mapping results and building on existing partnerships and experiences, a diversity of local and national food system actors (FSAs) (1,346 individuals involved so far, 42% female, 58% male) have played a critical role in supporting the emergence of the Agroecological Living Landscapes (ALLs). Engagement principles, visioning, and codesign...

Nomadic pastoralism and agropastoralism are the prevailing livestock production systems in Somalia, with a minimal proportion of livestock raised in (peri-)urban stall-feeding operations, amplifying the vulnerability of these traditional livelihoods to the recurring challenges posed by drought. The primary objective of this paper is to present a quantitative assessment of...

Agriculture in Africa is arguably the most important sector, given its contribution to food security, as well as its being the continent’s principal source of income and livelihoods as well as the main source of employment for more than half of Africa’s population – the majority of them being women. It...

Cet article a pour objectif d’évaluer l’efficacité de l’accès collectif à la terre pour améliorer les droits fonciers des femmes dans un contexte d’agriculture irriguée dans le delta du fleuve Sénégal. L’expérience des périmètres irrigués villageois aménagés pour les femmes des groupements de l’Union des femmes productrices de Ross Béthio,...

Emmanuel Eku used his skills in agroecology to make the soil in his village in the southwestern part of Cameroon more productive. His five-year project, which was helped by an NGO, shows how hard it is for farmers to stop using synthetic fertilisers and other standard inputs. Now, Eku shares...

Ces dernières années, l’accès à un revenu décent pour les producteurs est devenu une priorité de la filière cacao, notamment en Côte d’Ivoire et au Ghana, les deux premiers exportateurs mondiaux. Les gouvernements de ces pays en ont pris conscience en adoptant, en octobre 2020, le Différentiel de revenu décent...

KHSA works with country partners in Zambia, Malawi, Namibia and South Africa who deploy sector-wide approaches (with nation-wide stakeholders) or longer-term multiplier support programmes (MSP) with lead farmers or training institutions. The South African-based Sustainability Institute supports project implementation in the region. PELUM Zambia works with policymakers, lead farmer organisations and...

Under the “Sustainable, resilient and inclusive food systems development Programme”, funded by the global Flexible Multi-Partner Mechanism (FMM), FAO has supported the Government of Zambia and the soybean industry in preparing the soybean value chain analysis and upgrading sector strategy for 2023-2028. Hand-threshing, a widespread practice that undermines socio-economic benefits. The analysis...

The Knowledge Hub for Organic Agriculture in Eastern Africa (KHEA) is one of the five Knowledge Hubs under the The Knowledge Centre for Organic Agriculture in Africa (KCOA) Project. This KHEA Hub is being coordinated by Biovision Africa Trust (BvAT) in Kenya as the lead agency with a co-hosting arrangement...

The value chains of African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) are highly constrained by high postharvest losses (up to 50%) along the chain, largely occasioned by poor postharvest management and a lack of optimized processing technologies. The technologies and practices are key technical aspects that can transform the capacity of the chain...

Burkina Faso, Haiti, Mali and the Sudan have been elevated to the highest alert level to join Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen Acute food insecurity is set to potentially increase in magnitude and severity in 18 hunger “Hotspots” comprising a total of 22 countries, a new UN early warning report has...

Climate change-related events undermine children’s educational attainment, exposing them to child labour, hazardous work and forced migration. This nexus is particularly relevant for agriculture and its subsectors: indeed, they absorb about 26 percent of the economic impacts of climate change-related disasters and host 70 percent of all child labour. This...

This paper is the product of a collaboration between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Wageningen University and Research (WUR) to explore the potential application of innovative technologies to improve data collection and risk estimation of child labour in the cocoa sector. In particular, it...

A series by the African Centre for Biodiversity In this series focusing on ultra-processed food (UPF) on the African continent, we explore the impacts of shifting dietary patterns, with increasing reliance on low-cost, ultra-processed foods (UPFs) globally, and in Africa in particular, in the context of an urgent call for a...

Lancé en juin 2022 au Cameroun, le Pôle de Connaissances de l’Agriculture Biologique en Afrique Centrale (PCAC) est le dernier des 5 hubs mis en place dans les 5 régions d'Afrique dans le cadre du projet Knowledge Centre for Organic Agriculture in Africa (KCOA). Le projet PCAC a été lancé...

L’Afrique subsaharienne est l’une des régions du monde où l’urbanisation est la plus rapide. Cette urbanisation entraîne une forte augmentation de la demande en produits maraîchers périssables. Elle offre ainsi de nouveaux marchés aux agriculteurs en périphérie des villes, tout en les contraignant d’un point de vue foncier du fait...

FAO Namibia Newsletter March 2023 / Issue #1

The article discusses Africa’s food paradox, poised between fast food, industrial farming systems and sustainable agroecological alternatives, to conclude that it is the Global North -not Africa- that is backwards.  Imagine a country defined by deep inequalities that determine how the population live – right down to what they eat. One...

In collaboration with the FAO Representation in the Sudan, the FAO Subregional Office for Eastern Africa, the FAO Regional Office for Near East and North Africa, and the FAO Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, this DIEM – Data in Emergencies situation overview presents the potential impacts of the...

Attaining sufficiency in food supply to support a growing population without compromising ecosystem functioning remains a top agenda of researchers and agricultural stakeholders. Agroecological farming approaches are effective techniques that ensure sustainable food production even in adverse situations. Population growth has been forecasted to reach over 9.1 billion by 2050...