Agricultural Development

On July 10, agricultural experts from Africa, Europe, and Asia met in Lilongwe, Malawi for the latest meeting of the Malabo Montpellier Forum . The Forum provides a platform for informed dialogue and exchange among African policy makers, politicians and decision-makers on African agriculture and food security.

In April 2016, the President of Malawi declared a state of emergency in response to the second consecutive year of failed maize harvests. Domestic maize production in early 2016 only reached 2.4 million metric tons, compared to the 3.2 metric tons harvested in an average year. The international aid community and the private sector responded with the Food Insecurity Response Program (FIRP), which provided aid to almost 40 percent of the Malawian population.

Gender equality plays a pivotal role in food security, poverty reduction, and overall development. In a new project note , an ongoing project from IFPRI’s Markets, Trade, and Institutions Division looks at how women in Africa can be better integrated into emerging high-value cash crop production markets.

This blog originally appeared on Agrilinks . By Sheryl Hendricks .

Dramatic change has been happening in Africa for at least the past decade. Much of the progress can be attributed to the revived focus on agriculture as a driver of inclusive economic growth through the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP). The CAADP was initiated through the 2003 Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in Africa and sought to achieve Millennium Development Goal One (MDG-1) to halve the turn of the century levels of extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.

Latest FAO GIEWS Country Briefs and Special Alerts

FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) has released several new country briefs and special reports for Africa south of the Sahara.