Africa

Photo: Women carrying hands of bananas [Panos]

Project improves food security in six African nations

by Stephanie Achieng’ & Gilbert Nakweya SciDevNet March 29, 2018

Launched in 2012, the project funded by the government of Finland and called FoodAfrica Programme has helped improve the security and quality of food supply in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Uganda. Program leaders said that the initiative that ends in June this year is centered on susta...

Photo: Residents of Balambala constituency, Garissa county, Kenya, receive relief food on April 10, 2017. [The Star]

Food distribution in drought-stricken areas improves nutrition in Kenya

by Susan Muhindi The Star March 26, 2018

Nutrition in drought-hit counties of Kenya has improved due to the availability of food supplies, a report shows. The improvement has mainly been attributed to improved food access indicators, including milk availability in arid counties and key emergency response interventions such as the Blanket S...

[Photo: Reuters/Akintunde Akinleye]

Fake processed food is becoming an epidemic in African urban life

by Ndidi Nwuneli Quartz Africa March 25, 2018

An explosion of fake and counterfeit products in Africa are staples consumed to fulfill daily dietary needs and are likely contributing to the rising levels of malnutrition and cancer on the continent....

Taking a space-age approach to food security

by Gareth Willmer Devex March 20, 2018

Satellite technology can play a key part in meeting the world's ever-growing need for food, through the rise of high-resolution imagery. The World Bank and many NGOs are using satellite imagery to tailor programs for smallholder farmers....

[Photo: Panos]

Gender gaps: Bane of Africa’s agricultural R&D

by Gilbert Nakweya SciDevNet March 19, 2018

Africa’s agricultural production is negatively affected by gaps in gender-responsive agricultural research, experts say. The gaps include fewer agricultural female researchers than male counterparts. Gender-responsive research addresses the distinct needs and priorities of men and women. Accordi...

Fall Armyworm Lifecycle graph. An excerpt from FAO’s FAW guide. (Image: FAO)

Five things to know about African farmers’ latest foe – the Fall Armyworm

by FAO March 14, 2018

Read this to learn about a major food security threat to Africa you aren’t hearing about (yet)....

Rex Tillerson (Photo: Patrick Doyle/Bloomberg)

Tillerson Offers $533 Million in Food Aid for African Famine

by Nick Wadhams Bloomberg March 11, 2018

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced $533 million in new aid to fight famine in East Africa and the Lake Chad region, in a move aimed at underscoring the U.S. commitment as he embarks on a five-nation trip to the continent....

(Image: IRIN)

How to declare a famine: A primer from South Sudan

by Stefanie Glinski IRIN March 10, 2018

Latest data show after 4 years of war, nearly 2/3 of South Sudan’s population, over 7 million people will need food aid to stave off starvation in the May-July “lean season”–the time between the depletion of food stocks and the next harvest....

One ‘heat map’ from the study shows the percentage of children classed as moderately or severely underweight (MSU) in each pixel in the year 2000 [Image courtesy Nature]

Africa ‘set to miss UN development goal on malnutrition’

by Victoria Gill BBC News March 1, 2018

Exceptionally detailed maps of child growth and education across Africa suggest that no single country is set to end childhood malnutrition by 2030. That target was set by the UN as a Sustainable Development Goal....

Photo: The project, which initiated in 2012, aims to expand understanding of cassava, an indispensable crop in sub-Saharan Africa. [Courtesy of Linda L. McCandless]

Cornell-Led Project Awarded $35 Million to Research Crop Vital to Africa’s Food Security

by Hnin Ei Wai Lwin The Cornell Daily Sun February 21, 2018

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Kingdom government collectively awarded $35 million to a Cornell project researching and promoting the use of cassava, a carbohydrate-rich tuber plant, in sub-Saharan Africa....

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