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This blog was originally posted on IFPRI.org . Written by Shahidur Rashid of the Markets, Trade and Institutions Division and Paul Dorosh of the Development Strategy and Governance Division .

In 2006, the African Union Special Summit of the Heads of State and Government, adopted the 12-Resolution “ Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for the African Green Revolution” , which aimed to increase Africa’s fertilizer use from the then-average 8kg per hectare to 50kg per hectare by 2015.  According to the International Fertilizer Industry Association, however, average fertilizer use in the region today is still only 12kg of fertilizer per hectare, compared to 150kg per hectare average in Asia.

This post contains excerpts from the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) blog .

The first Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA) , Africa Edition, was held on December 1-2 in Durban, South Africa.  The meeting brought together policymakers, private sector actors, farmers’ organizations, and international organizations to discuss innovations, investments, and policies for advancing Africa’s development through improvements in data collection to provide relevant and timely information for agricultural producers.

On December 12, nearly 200 countries signed a landmark climate change deal into effect. The COP21 Paris agreement pledges to keep global temperature increases "well below" 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to further limit increases to 1.5C by 2100. While individual countries' emission reduction targets are not legally binding, countries are legally obligated to review their progress every five years.

This press release was originally posted on FAO.org .

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the CGIAR research program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) today launched a new initiative to enhance global cooperation on measuring and reducing food loss and waste. The G20 agriculture ministers requested FAO and IFPRI to launch this initiative in Istanbul, Turkey, this past May.