By Venter Mwongera FAO Project OSRO/NER/605/ EC: Assistance to improve food security of vulnerable households in Niger – The project aims at improving food security and nutrition of 32, 100 households through agro-pastoral production activities (agriculture and small livestock). These endeavors will contribute towards diversification and improvement of nutritional levels of undernourished children by way…
Food production support to Least Developed Countries through South-South Cooperation
Least Developed Countries (LDCs) stand to benefit from strong partnerships with their Global South counterparts when it comes to making their agrifood systems more efficient, more inclusive, more sustainable and more resilient, the Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Maximo Torero, said today in Doha. The meeting was…
Agricultural policies and sustainable food production systems in Africa
Venter Mwongera Agriculture is a key sector of the African economy. It provides employment, income, and food security for millions of people. However, the current agricultural policies and practices in Africa are often characterised by low productivity, soil degradation, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss. These challenges are exacerbated by the impacts of climate change,…
Preserving traditional knowledge: An essential tool for conserving biodiversity and sustaining food systems
By Venter Mwongera Traditional knowledge, passed down through generations, is a crucial tool for conserving biodiversity and sustaining food systems. Traditional knowledge systems are the collective wisdom and experience of communities that have developed over centuries of living in harmony with their environments. They offer insights into sustainable agricultural practices, medicinal plants, and the…
Elgon Kenya partners with Ministry of Agriculture to reward young farmers
Agro input company Elgon Kenya has partnered with the Ministries of Agriculture and Education to reward pupils and their teachers for participating in food production in a wider scheme that seeks to motivate school going children into farming. Through the rebranded school agriculture clubs, dubbed 4K Clubs, pupils and their teachers can apply online…
Over 20 million hungry as AU misses targets in “Year of Nutrition”
Despite of many promises, commitments, and endorsements of policies, nearly three-quarters of African governments reduced their agricultural budgets while spending almost doubling spending on arms In the 12 months that African leaders vowed to improve food security on the continent, over 20 million more people have been pushed into severe hunger – equivalent to the…
The Future of Africa’s Agriculture Is Gender, Obasanjo says
By Imali Ngusale Nigeria’s former president Olusegun Obasanjo has said in Addis Ababa that women remain the backbone of Agriculture but are disadvantaged because of barriers that impede access to resources needed to revolitoinise their input. Speaking at a high-level breakfast meeting on the margin of the 36th Summit of the African Union on Empowering…
As Dr. Sanginga bows out of IITA
By Dr. Godwin Atser On 01 November 2011, history was made— a little-known son of Africa would take over perhaps the largest agricultural research institute on the African Continent. That person was Dr. Emmanuel Nteranya Sanginga, who would become the first African-born Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria. Before…