The African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics (AfJARE) has inaugurated a new Editorial Board. The board is comprised of young and dynamic agricultural and development economists, who are all members of the AAAE, a parent association. Congratulating the new Editorial board during the introductory virtual meeting, the Chief Editor, Dr. Joshua Ariga (BMGF) said that this was aimed at ...
Governments across sub-Saharan Africa have responded rapidly to prevent a food-security crisis being triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Togo transferred cash to families directly to buy food. Mali provided free livestock feed to farmers, and waived electricity and water bills for the poorest households from May to June. These crucial emergency measures do not address the bigger threat — long-term ...
Microsoft South Africa has announced an investment of up to R40 million in South Africa’s agriculture sector, which is one of the country’s critical industries driving growth and job creation. The investment is aimed at driving sustainability in the sector for smallholder farmers, who form an important part of the agricultural workforce in the country.
A new European Union-funded ‘Livestock Production Systems in Zimbabwe’ (LIPS-Zim) project is working to increase agricultural productivity in the country’s agro-ecological Zones IV and V. It is promoting the adoption of climate-relevant innovations in livestock production systems and improving surveillance and control of livestock diseases.
It is strangely quiet at the National Crops Resources Research Institute in Namulonge, Uganda. Seventy percent of its 400 staff members have not reported for work since the country instituted a lockdown in March due to a partial furlough and government policies brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic
The true story of Akinwumi Adesina, President of African Development Bank
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, a distinguished Nigerian, an outstanding public servant, an eternal optimist and a first class farmer (with a bow tie). Dr. Adesina for short is brilliant, very smart, charismatic, speaks in quotable sound bites and loaded with international and government experience. He can hold a room, with style ...
To help create a vibrant and well-connected African science community, the ISC Regional Office for Africa has launched the African Scientists Directory in partnership with the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). The searchable online directory aims to support connectivity and collaboration between scientists across Africa.
Africa, which has tremendous agricultural potential, is often described as a continent of paradoxes. Rice statistics reveal one such paradox. The continent’s average rice yields, estimated at about 2 tons per hectare (ha), are among the lowest in the world. Yet, Egypt, in northern Africa, has one of the highest national average rice yields worldwide, with nearly 10 tons per ha.
CGIAR-IITA head of plant biotechnology Leena Tripathi has made an impassioned plea for genome editing and its potential. She made the call in a recently published paper titled, CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing of banana for disease resistance. Tripathi and her Kenya-based team are using gene editing to develop disease-resistant banana varieties.
Can Africa’s smallholder farmers adopt and reap the benefits of farm mechanization? The Farm Mechanization and Conservation Agriculture for Sustainable Intensification (FACASI) team set out in 2013 to test this proposition. With the project nearing closure, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) project leader Frédéric Baudron believes the answer is yes.
