Agriculture

Conversations about climate change often focus on future effects, but according to the latest Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, changes to the global climate have already had a significant impact on food production. Global agricultural productivity has declined over the past 30 years by 1-5 percent per decade, and this deterioration is expected to continue, even if we only experience low levels of warming (+2 ºC).

Since it was first cited in a 1972 paper by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the idea that women perform 60-80 percent of agricultural labor in Africa has been a central theme in the broader debate about gender and development. A new study released by the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMSISA) initiative is now calling this commonly accepted wisdom into question, however.

“Rural youth are leaving agriculture in droves.” “Women perform the bulk of farm work.” “Few farmers use fertilizers and other modern inputs.”

These statements tend to be widely accepted, but are they actually true? Yes and no, and the answer will continue to change, said experts at Monday’s conference on “Agriculture in Africa: Telling Facts from Myths.”

The 2014 Malabo Declaration reiterates African countries’ commitment toward attaining an agriculture revolution in the continent. A special commitment to “Mutual Accountability, Actions and Result” has been made to facilitate peer reviews, mutual learning and mutual accountability processes.

To translate commitments into actions and measurable results, AUC and NEPAD Agency developed an implementation strategy and roadmap to guide the implementation of CAADP and African agriculture development from 2015-2025.

The article is originally published on African Farming .

The Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System - Eastern and Central Africa (ReSAKSS-ECA) has launched a new web tool to track investments made for African agriculture.

The new web tool, AgInvest Africa, was developed by ReSAKSS-ECA and funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).