New agriculture plan ignores small scale farmers

The Tanzanian government is celebrating a new agricultural plan that it says will revolutionise small scale farming in the country. However, the Kilimo Kwanza (Tanzanian Green Revolution grand plan) is no different to previous food security policies as its conception process neglected the needs of and priorities of small scale farmers. The entire deliberation process [...]

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Improving quality and quantity of crops

A joint four-year programme (SIMLESA) developed by researchers in Australia and five African countries aims to increase the quality and quantity of maize and legume crops through the use of new or improved technologies. This, in turn, is expected to raise farmers’ incomes and make more food available in local and international markets. The aim [...]

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Food security: groups seek empowerment for small scale farmers

Small scale farmers comprise 90% of farmers in Nigeria. However, their constant marginalisation hampers their ability to actively participate in any development process in Nigeria. They have no means to verbalise their interests on policies and development issues. In addition, the tendency for donors to pressure governments to demonstrate participatory approaches to African development means [...]

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Governing development in Africa

With the slow economic growth in Africa, due to failed economic recovery strategies, there is a need for a structural overhaul of the economic system. This overhaul could entail the reformation of certain institutions. The idea is that the reform would create efficient and effective mechanisms for planning and implementing economic policies with more development-oriented [...]

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Women’s forum to focus on food security

The role of women in development has always been neglected. One could repeatedly bring in the traditional explanation of patriarchy as the determining factor in negating the role of women or the capacity issue, whereby women, apparently, do not understand the dynamics of poverty. But this conventional wisdom is challenged by the reality that it [...]

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African farmers can feed the world

A cyclone of events has hit us globally – high food prices which are the prelude to civil unrest, crop failure and climate change. All continents face these challenges but Africa is the hardest hit. The inability of Africa to sustain its agricultural deliverables has increased malnutrition and poverty. A shift in how we conceptualize [...]

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Conservation agriculture offers solutions

Soil deprivation, crop failures and declining fertility are not new terms to agricultural specialists and policy makers. The severity of these problems is widely known to impact the state of food security on the African continent, especially Southern Africa. A new tool has been developed to minimize these effects. Conservation agriculture seeks to ensure minimal [...]

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Stakeholders seek better strategies to fight malnutrition

Nigeria has placed new emphasis on food nutrition in an effort to tackle malnutrition, one of the effects of food insecurity. The argument suggests that the only way to battle malnutrition is to optimize food and industrial potential which is underutilized. As to what foods and industrial potential should be used, the article is pretty [...]

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Ghana benefits from food security package

A new food security package has been introduced in Ghana as a means to upgrade the country’s present capacity and training to ensure food security is long-term and sustainable. The aim of the security package is to train key players in agricultural development and in doing so deepen the understanding of country compacts and investment. [...]

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New Approach to agriculture will ensure food sufficiency.

A predictable pattern of droughts has emerged in Kenya over the last few years. The author refers to this pattern of climate change as devastating. But the inability of policy-makers in Kenya to acknowledge this predictability is disastrous. The author details the different responses from ministers of agriculture and special programmes, including one who, when [...]

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