Africa

This report highlights the current status of youth in sub-Saharan Africa and present the opportunities and potential that the region’s ‘youth bulge’ and ‘youthening’ generation brings to agriculture. »

This paper (PDF) by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), examines whether local or global food chains are better at delivering food security and safety, decent employment, protecting the environment and contributing to economic growth. Using case studies from Senegal and Peru, the authors show a new and complex reality that challenges ideological views about re-localising food production and consumption. It points to the dilemmas but also to the potential and limits of national policies and food chain practices in a context of market globalisation. »

This article (PDF) in the Agricultural Systems Journal, demonstrates how informal seed systems’ social relationships are structured in two communities and suggests that community-based agrobiodiversity initiatives could use networks to promote more equitable improved seed distribution. Community-based agrobiodiversity management projects have been at the forefront of integrating informal seed systems into food security initiatives. »

This research brief identifies institutional and policy shortcomings in the Ethiopian livestock sector. Detailed interdisciplinary research provides clear empirical evidence of the potential benefits of a comprehensive livestock master plan (LMP) for Ethiopia. The brief identifies four institutional and policy issues for attention. »

This paper by Eugenie Maïga, Luc Christiaensen, and Amparo Palacios-Lopez, investigates the extent of youth engagement in agriculture in six African countries using unique data from the Living Standards Measurement Surveys-Integrated surveys on agriculture (LSMSISA). They employ both descriptive and regression analysis to compare the hours worked per week in agriculture by the youth (16-35) and the prime-age group (36-60). »

To build policy-knowledge communities in Africa, the Knowledge Platform on Inclusive Development Policies (INCLUDE) organised a two-day working conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference, held on 11-12 May 2015, brought together about 70 policy stakeholders, including Platform members, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from international development organisations and NGOs from Africa and beyond. A policy-knowledge communities »