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 …
Kampala — A Ugandan family of six that relies on groceries on average now requires about Shs36,000 to afford breakfast, lunch and dinner for its members, according to a survey by this newspaper. This is a 33 per cent increase in the cost of the same basket of food and …
NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government has moved to cushion citizens from high maize prices by introducing subsidized flour that will retail at 60 percent less than the current market price. The ministry of agriculture announced that starting Wednesday a 2kg packet of maize flour, East African nation’s staple, will …
With Sh1,000 two months ago, one could buy 30 kilos of Irish potatoes in Nakuru town and still keep change. Things have since changed, however, and the amount will fetch only 10 kilos, dramatically signalling the high cost of living that has seen food prices shoot through the roof. Alternatively, …
Fast-rising inflation is forcing an increasing number of Kenyan families to skip meals or practice food rationing. Inflation in Kenya has hit 57-month high of 11.5 percent, pushed up by soaring prices of basic commodities. None of the food items used daily by ordinary Kenyans have been spared, with the …
The World Bank has approved a 50 million U.S dollars grant to provide direct food assistance to counter starvation and prevent hunger-related deaths in famine-hit South Sudan. The World Bank said the Emergency Food and Nutrition Security Project will benefit a segment of the 4.9 million extremely food insecure population …
Despite international efforts to address food insecurity, around 108 million people in the world were severely food insecure in 2016, a dramatic increase compared with 80 million in 2015, according to a new global report on food crises released in Brussels today. The report, whose compilation required integrating several measurement …
South Africa has been experiencing its most severe drought in over 35 years. More than half of the population have experienced water shortages or supply interruptions, while rising food prices and income insecurity are making hunger a daily reality for a growing number of families. This report argues that the …
Seventy-eight per cent of people in rural and urban areas have experienced food shortages in the last five months, according to a new report by the advocacy organisation Twaweza. Eighty-four per cent of rural residents reported being affected, while the figure for urban areas is 64 per cent. More than …
The purpose of this report is to increase understanding of the nature of the challenges that agriculture and food systems are facing now and will face into the 21st century. Its analysis of 15 global trends provides insights into what is at stake and what needs to be done. Most …
Stylized facts drive research agendas and policy debates. Yet robust stylized facts are hard to come by, and when available, often outdated. In a special issue of Food Policy, 12 papers revisit conventional wisdom on African agriculture and its farmers' livelihoods using nationally representative surveys from the Living Standards Measurement …
More than Sh24 billion is needed to cater for those areas worst-hit by drought, the government announced yesterday. State House spokesperson Manoah Esipisu (pictured) said the government has secured Sh7.1 billion and spent Sh5.4 billion in phase one of the drought intervention that ended last month. He said Sh11.6 billion …
Drought in East Africa has sent prices of staples such as maize and sorghum soaring, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said late Tuesday, warning that a sharp increase in food prices could lead to renewed hunger in the region. Prices of staple cereals have doubled in some markets, reaching …
A National Strategic Review of Food Security and Nutrition, leading to “Zero Hunger”, was launched in September 2016 to accelerate the pace towards attaining SDG2 by 2030 in Sri Lanka. The Strategic Review was envisaged to make an expansive and inclusive study of the overall food security and nutrition situation …
The Federal Government of Nigeria says it has adopted some measures to reduce the price of food items. This was revealed by the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, on Wednesday while addressing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council, FEC. The Council had …
While outlining strategies to increase availability of pulses at affordable prices, it is argued that increasing domestic production of pulses is the only option. Access to one or two protective irrigation sources during the growing season can lead to sizeable increases in pulse production. The har khet ko paani initiative …
The modern era of federal farm commodity subsidies began with the New Deal more than 80 years ago. At that time, a large fraction of American poverty was concentrated in rural and agricultural regions. Since then, subsidy programs, international trade measures, and commodity regulations have been repeatedly modified. The current …
Farmers in Maharashtra’s Nashik district – where one in every four tomatoes in India comes from – are destroying standing crops on a scale never seen before, following persistent rock-bottom prices since the November 8 demonetisation.
The Public distribution system (PDS) is an Indian food Security System for the poor people established by the Government of India under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution. While the Central government is responsible for procurement, storage, transportation, and bulk allocation of food grains, the State governments …
Although the measurement and determinants of poverty have been widely studied, vulnerability, or the threat of future poverty, has been more difficult to investigate due to data paucity. This paper combines nationally representative household data with objective drought and price information to quantify the causes of vulnerability to poverty in …
International poverty estimates for countries in Africa commonly rely on national consumer price indexes to adjust trends in nominal consumption over time for changes in the cost of living. However, the consumer price index is subject to various types of measurement bias. This paper uses Engel curve estimations to assess …
