The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations plans to put climate action at the center of all its projects and offices, following a meeting in Rome to evaluate a new strategy and discuss its impact. Speaking to participants, FAO chief Qu Dongyu said the world is facing…
Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to see some of the most severe biodiversity impacts tied to land use, according to researchers who warn that agricultural production will affect some 20,000 species without changes to the global agricultural system. The new findings were published this week in the journal Nature Sustainability. “Ultimately,…
In Mali, it’s the security crisis that’s contributing to the population’s hunger. In Kenya, a combination of floods and the ongoing fight against desert locusts are driving food insecurity, while Zimbabwe continues to struggle with high food prices in an uncertain economy. All told there are 34 African nations that…
A global expert on soil health who began his research career in Nigeria has been named the recipient of the 2020 World Food Prize. Dr. Rattan Lal, who grew up as a refugee on a smallholder farm in India, received the US$250,000 prize for his work in protecting and improving…
By Olusegun Obasanjo and Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe Africa has so far escaped the worst health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the continent looks like it could be the worst hit from the economic fallout of the crisis: 80 million Africans could be pushed into extreme poverty if action is…
The EAT-Lancet “planetary health” diet recommendations were well-received when they were released in January, pointing a way forward to improve both human health and reduce the land use, carbon emissions and related damage done by agriculture. “Transformation to healthy diets by 2050 will require substantial dietary shifts. Global consumption of…
The Central African Republic has, for the second year in a row, topped the list of nations whose people suffer from hunger – and did so with a Global Hunger Index (GHI) score that makes it the only country in the world where hunger is rated as extremely alarming. The…
From the agricultural use of drones in Mozambique to solar irrigation systems in Niger, the African continent is embracing digital technologies to boost its food productivity and profitably – and that only becomes a more critical goal as young populations grow across the coming decades. That’s one reason why youth…
Just over a month since areas of the country were laid waste by Cyclone Idai—the deadliest cyclone to hit southern Africa in more than a century— a new natural disaster has struck Mozambique. Cyclone Kenneth made landfall with wind speeds of 220km per hour, killing hundreds and devastating infrastructure, buildings…
Monica is a freelance journalist based in Kenya
The London Stock Exchange has named 360 companies from 32 African nations in its new “Companies to Inspire Africa 2019” report. Nigeria and Kenya lead the way, with the report’s foreword written by President Uhuru Kenyatta. “Entrepreneurship is at the heart of Kenya’s vibrant economy, propelling investment, job creation and…
Tunisia has completed the training of its first group of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) pilots, whose skills will be used to boost agricultural productivity in the North African nation. The eight pilots participated in a two-week session to learn how to fly and maintain the drones, as well as understand…
Can drones save sub-Saharan Africa from starvation? That’s the question being asked by scientists, engineers, climatologists and politicians as climate change radically alters weather patterns and temperatures on the African continent, posing new challenges to a sector that is being asked to feed a rapidly growing population while simultaneously adapting…
Arnaud is a French freelance writer with an African heart who has lived in 10 different Sub-Saharan countries in the past decade. He is currently based in Paris.
If you ask most tourists what defines Southwest Florida, a top United States vacation destination, they’ll likely point to the seashells of Sanibel Island or the tony Naples community. They come for the beaches and the golf courses, they stay for the winter or, for thousands of them, they come…
Malawi launched its new five-year development plan on Tuesday during a ceremony at Kamuzu Palace, the State House in Lilongwe. The Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) III emphasizes climate priorities, alongside agriculture and water resources, in a vision that runs through 2022 and builds on the previous version. It…
“Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” “Every adversity carries with it the seed of equal or greater benefit.” Across Africa and the globe, these and countless similar proverbs are used to mean the same thing: Hidden in adversity is opportunity. First, Africa’s challenge in adversity When we talk of…
Dr. Richard Munang is currently the United Nations Environment Africa Regional Climate Change Programme Coordinator.