Africa

In Focus: Family Farming in Africa

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about two-thirds of the African population depend on family farms, comprising of 62% of the land, for food and employment. These farmers depend mostly on traditional modes of farming such as non-use of irrigation, chemical fertilizers, and commercial seed varieties. As such, they contribute to ecosystem preservation and environmental protection and are crucial for food security in the region. However, these same farmers are

New mobile application launched to combat Fall Armyworm in Africa

The Fall Armyworm Monitoring and Early Warning System (FAMEWS) mobile app has recently been launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to combat Fall Armyworm in Africa. Through the application, farmers, agricultural workers, and other partners can “identify, report the level of infestation, and map the spread of this destructive insect, as well as describe its natural enemies and the measures that are most effective in managing it” (FAO, 2018).  “The

Closing the gender gap with ComDev: Dimitra

Rural women face challenges such as isolation, illiteracy and low social status. In occasion of the International Women’s Day, we are glad to highlight a successful FAO initiative focusing on gender equality and communication for rural development. Dimitra is a participatory communication project that aims to help close the gender gap in agriculture by boosting social dialogue and cohesion. Since 2006, it gives voice to rural women in various African countries and increases their

Call for papers: Indigenous language media, language politics and democracy in Africa

The proposed book seeks to place indigenous language media in Africa in a particular socio- historical context with a view to highlighting their role in enhancing the participation of Africans in the political process in their local environs. Significantly, the book proposes to have chapters that demonstrate(1) an understanding of the political contributions of the indigenous language media in colonial and post-colonial African contexts; (2) the (un)shaping of local language