Browsing: Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)

Worse still, the institute points to a much deeper conspiracy to force African farmers to buy agro-inputs from large corporations. In its report, the Oakland Institute says AGRA ‘imposes a regime in which farmers lose power over their own seeds and are forced to buy them back from large corporations year after year.’

“This system may also contribute to the marginalization of women.9 million smallholder farmer households, who are witnessing increased food security through AGRA’s direct interventions,” reads the report in part.

Then there is the matter overarching matter of climate change. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns that the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser will increase nitrous oxide emissions, which increase the atmospheric temperature significantly.…

The agricultural transformation in Sierra Leone has demonstrated that delivery changes in traditional sectors may significantly impact food production when implemented effectively and under the appropriate circumstances.…

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO drought in the horn of Africa) estimates that over $138 million in urgent funding is needed to assist 1.5 million vulnerable people in rural communities in the Horn of Africa whose fields and pastures have been hard hit by an extended drought.

FAO made the announcement while it released a comprehensive response plan calling for a range of support for agriculture in the region.

The organization revealed that the region, which is already prone to food insecurity associated with weather extremes, natural resource limitations, and conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2020-21 locust invasion, has stretched the coping capacities of rural communities to the limit, undermining agricultural productivity.

Now the third season of drought driven by La Niña is raising concerns that a large-scale hunger crisis could break out if the region’s food-producing rural communities do not receive adequate help …

East Africa has since late 2019 been fighting swarms of desert locusts which have posed a serious threat to crops and grazing across the region. 

The locust plague In Kenya is the worst in 70 years. In the last two months, new swarms have been breeding and hatching leaving farmers devastated as they try to cope with the negative effects from previous pests not to mention the dry spells and floods that hit the region further destroying crops. 

“We expect the worst if the young hatch in March and April,” Kelvin Shingles, Kenya Country Director for German Agro Action (Deutsche Welthungerhilfe) said in a press release. 

In Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya, it is reported that up to 38 percent of cropland and 48 percent of pastureland have been affected. 69 percent of households have also suffered losses due to the plague according to the Southern Africa Food and …

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) approved a $400-million revolving global credit facility agreement for the Export Trading Group (ETG).

Export Trading Group (ETG) is among the largest and fastest-growing integrated agricultural conglomerates in Africa.

The funds will address key challenges faced by African agricultural exporters, aggregating large values of produce in order to enable small and medium-scale enterprises(SMEs) access to regional and international markets.

The agreement will not only allow ETG  to keep playing its vital role in the agri-foods supply chain of efficiently connecting African farmers to markets but also expand access to key inputs to boost agricultural productivity in a continent with tremendous but yet unrealized potential.

Africa spent over $90 billion on food imports in 2019 despite possessing up to 60 per cent of the world’s remaining arable land according to Afreximbank.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Africa’s agricultural production of up to 50 …

The World Bank has approved a $43 million International Development Assistance (IDA) credit for Kenya as part of a larger regional Emergency Locust Response Project to respond to the threat posed by the desert locust outbreak and to strengthen Kenya’s system for preparedness.

Kenya is facing the worst desert locust invasion in 70 years that has affected the already vulnerable northern region of the country. The locust swarms, which crossed into Kenya from Ethiopia and Somalia on December 28, 2019 and have since spread to twenty-eight counties, pose a severe food security threat to about 3 million people.

According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) the current locust situation remains extremely alarming in East Africa where Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia continue to face an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods.

“New swarms from current breeding will form from mid-June onwards, coinciding with the start of the …

United States has announced $8 Million towards locust control operations in East Africa.

According to a statement from U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) by helping to reduce the size of the swarms, this aid is expected to have a positive impact on affected communities throughout the Horn of Africa.

“In response to the outbreak of desert locusts in East Africa, the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will be providing $8 million in humanitarian assistance to support regional operations to control locusts in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Republic of Kenya, and the Federal Republic of Somalia. By helping to reduce the size of the swarms, this aid is expected to have a positive impact on affected communities throughout the Horn of Africa,” a statement from the organisation reads in part.

The current outbreak of desert locusts is the worst to hit East …

The Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) announced that the country earned $103 million from export generated by industrial parks. The gain is a 40 percent increment compared to last year’s performance recorded at the same period.

According to Abebe Abebayehu, Ethiopia Investment Commissioner, 70 percent of the planned earning from industrial parks during  the stated period had been accomplished. He further noted that footwear and other leather products, as well as textile and apparel have been exported to Europe, USA, Asia and other export destinations. Statistics from Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) ranks Ethiopia the 5^th in the world and number one in Africa with the most cattle inventory.

Mr. Abebe, stating that industrial parks across the country have created employment for over 70,000 workers, said Ethiopia has been able to attract $2.5 billion foreign direct investment in the mentioned nine months.

However, the commissioner said, conflicts in different parts …