The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
From Aztec pigweed to dragon beans - several ancient, often forgotten foods are making their way to the dinner table in an effort to diversify the diet of a growing global population. In an initiative to cut the world's dependency on major crops like wheat and rice - Britain's Prince …
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said on Tuesday climate indicators were near the levels associated with a La Nina weather event and pegged the chance of the weather pattern developing this year at 50 percent. This is around double the normal likelihood of the weather event, the …
The second African Transformation Report provides a data-rich assessment of the state of agriculture in Africa, its impact on macro-economic outcomes and its recent performance. It focuses on land tenure systems and the kinds of reforms that would enable customary tenure systems to better support commercial agriculture. It advocates the …
Crop-eating fall armyworms have attacked nearly 37,000 hectares of maize in northern Cameroon, officials said on Wednesday, accentuating an already dire humanitarian crisis provoked by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram's cross-border insurgency. More than two dozen African nations have reported outbreaks of the invasive Central American variety of the …
Smallholder farmers in coastal Kenya are already significantly affected by climate change, particularly in semi-arid and dryland areas. They have developed a number of innovations to enhance resilience and productivity, eg. crop diversification using resilient local varieties, new planting techniques and wild tree domestication. This report explores key trends in …
A Senegalese chef is one step closer to turning an ancient grain found in his country—gluten-free and bursting with nutrients and amino acids—into the next trendy superfood. Pierre Thiam, one of Africa's best-known chefs, told the TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania on Monday night of his dream to see "fonio" turn …
Scientists have developed a hardy new hybrid rice that is rainfed, needs no irrigation, grows fast and does well in drier, maize-growing areas. Conventional rice requires irrigation and a lot of water. The new variety is also resistant to devastating rice blast disease. According to rice breeder John Kimani at …
A number of new crops have been developed that address important traits of particular relevance for smallholder farmers in Africa. Scientists, policy makers, and other stakeholders have raised concerns that the approval process for these new crops causes delays that are often scientifically unjustified. This article develops a real option …
JRC scientists have proposed a new approach for identifying the impacts of climate change and extreme weather on the variability of global and regional wheat production. The study analysed the effect of heat and water anomalies on crop losses over a 30-year period. JRC scientists studied the relative importance of …
The county is headed for a major food crisis if the dry spell, which has ravaged many parts of the North Rift persists. More than 40,000 acres of maize crop in Uasin Gishu County are drying up. This translates to a loss 800,000 bags of maize at 20 bags per …
Christine Ndigwa, who has been growing maize for 20 years, shows how fall armyworms have attacked her crop. [Mercy Orengo, Standard] The Mt Kenya region is staring at a food crisis after armyworms invaded several farms. The situation has been compounded by a mysterious weed that is fast spreading. Farmers …
An ultra-modern molecular laboratory for rice research in Mwea is due for completion by the end of this month. The Sh90 million complex will be used by crop scientists from African countries that produce rice. Situated on the premises of the Kenya Agricultural Research and Livestock Organisation at Kimbimbi market, …
The US Agency for International Development, Ghana Mission (USAID-Ghana) is providing new technologies and improved seeds to boost rice production to promote food security and incomes in Upper West Region. The USAID five year funded “Feed the Future Ghana Agricultural Technology Transfer (ATT) project” is to increase the competitiveness of …
Iron deficiency reduces capacity for physical activity, lowers IQ, and increases maternal and child mortality, impacting roughly a billion people worldwide. Recent studies have shown that certain highly consumed crops — C3 grains (e.g., wheat, rice, barley), legumes and maize — have lower iron concentrations of 4-10% when grown under …
Alhaji Aminu Goronyo, President Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) has said annual rice production in Nigeria has increased from 5.5 million tonnes in 2015 to 5.8 million tonnes in 2017. Goronyo disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja. He said that in 2015, Nigerians spent not less than N1 billion …
Kenya’s reserves of corn dropped to less than a day’s worth of consumption after stocks of the staple grain were released to millers, the National Cereals and Produce Board said. The reserve currently stands at 50,000 90-kilogram bags, equivalent to 4,500 metric tons, NCPB Managing Director Newton Terer said by …
Climate change is negatively affecting many regions of the world. The impact is more pronounced in regions with limited economic resources to adapt and highly reliant on natural resources. In East Africa, for instance, a large portion of the population depends on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods. This makes them …
Kenya’s ministry of agriculture on Tuesday launched several drought resistant and high yielding crop varieties to be deployed in 21 arid and semi arid counties where hunger and malnutrition is rampant. Principal Secretary for Livestock, Andrew Tuimur said the drought tolerant crops including beans, green grams, cassava and grain amaranth …
Scientists have urged the government to approve genetically modified maize after trials in Uganda showed resistance to fall armyworm invasion. Dr Sylvester Oikeh, Project Manager of Water Efficient Maize for Africa (Wema) that is carrying out Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) maize trials in Kasese, said the genetically modified variety was resistant …
Odisha is one of the poorest states in the country, with around 36 per cent of the rural population living below the poverty line. Ninety one per cent of poverty in Odisha is rural and more than 60 per cent of its workforce is engaged in agriculture. During the five …
