Two international research institutes are joining forces to initiate a project called ‘Cultivate Africa’s Future’ (CultiAF). The research partnership will focus on innovation for smallholders, especially women. One focus topic of the $15 million project will be curbing postharvest losses. http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130716-908563.html
Archive | Food security
RSS feed for this sectionCanada and Australia Join Forces to Improve Food Security in Africa – $15 Million Project Call Launched
President Receives UN-FAO Award
President Mahama of Ghana received an award from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. His keynote address announced the theme of the 29th Farmer’s Day, ‘Reducing Postharvest Losses for Sustainable Food Security and Nutrition’. http://www.ghana.gov.gh/index.php/2012-02-08-08-32-47/general-news/1475-president-receives-un-fao-award
Postharvest Losses to be Reduced with Support from Government
Minister of Food and Agriculture Humado inaugurated a new representative body, the Conference of District Directors of Agriculture, that will provide increased attention to the needs of the agricultural sector throughout the country. In his address, Humado stressed a focus on reducing postharvest losses. http://www.spyghana.com/post-harvest-loses-to-be-reduced-with-support-from-government/
Why the Food Security Bill is Good Politics, Bad Economics
The Indian government passed the long pending National Food Security Bill as an ordinance. The controversial bill has incited much debate over the feasibility and impact of guaranteeing food grains to nearly 800 million Indians living in poverty. One question is whether the grain procurement and storage system can support the bill’s execution. http://www.ndtv.com/article/cheat-sheet/why-the-food-security-bill-is-good-politics-bad-economics-387468
Waste Not Want Not: A Weapon for Food Security
Betty Bugusu, Ph.D., Managing Director of the International Food Technology Center at Purdue University, gave a TED talk focused around food security and reducing loss. The talk featured Purdue’s dissemination of ‘Incubation Centers’. http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2013/06/29/waste-not-want-not-a-weapon-for-food-security/
2025: United Behind the African Agenda to Eradicate Hunger
Heads of States and Government of African Union Member States, together with representatives of international organizations, civil society organizations, private sector, cooperatives, youths, farmers, academia, and others adopted the Declaration to end hunger and malnutrition in Africa by 2025 at a three-day High Level Meeting hosted in Ethiopia. http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/179303/icode/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Strengthened Partnerships Can Guarantee Food Security in Africa
Heads of States and Government of African Union Member States, together with representatives of international organizations, civil society organizations, private sector, cooperatives, youths, farmers, academia, and others adopted the Declaration to end hunger and malnutrition in Africa by 2025 at a three-day High Level Meeting hosted in Ethiopia. http://www.fao.org/news/audio-video/detail-audio/en/?uid=9980&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social%20media&utm_campaign=FAOnews&utm_content=ac&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social+media&utm_campaign=faoknowledge
The Aspen Institute Launches Food Security Strategy Group
A new initiative by the Aspen Institute seeks to address what it calls a gap in the food security work currently being done on a global level. The group aims to bring together cross-sector thought-leaders to discuss the extent to which food security will be threatened in the coming decades by climate change, population growth […]
Obsolete Policies ‘Fanning Africa’s Hunger’
A FAO official says many African nations still lack agricultural policies founded in research, causing them to lag behind in food security matters. Experts call for a systematic mechanism for monitoring policy across the continent, and emphasize the need to focus more on smallholder farmers and their access to inputs, infrastructure, and markets. http://www.africareview.com/progress/Good-policies-key-to-Africa-food-security/-/1502374/1864828/-/oes15r/-/index.html?relative=true
Growth in Crop Yields Inadequate to Feed the World by 2050 – Research
University of Minnesota, United States, researchers say crop yields are far below targets for 2050, after analyzing 2.5 million agricultural statistics. Looking at maize, rice, wheat, and soybeans, they found yield improvement grew between 0.9% to 1.6%, far slower than the 2.4% necessary to meet calorie demands. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jun/20/crop-yeilds-world-population Report — http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0066428