Agricultural Development

During the 2017 rainy season (June – September), parts of the Sahel in West Africa received erratic and below-average rainfall, according to a special report from FEWS Net. Some areas of the region received rainfall more than 25 percent below average. This has led to pasture and water deficits that are expected to last at least until July 2018.

This post originally appeared on VoxDev . By Tanguy Bernard, Alan de Janvry, Samba Mbaye, and Elisabeth Sadoulet.

Agriculture market reforms that allow quality recognition enable farmers to capture higher prices and lead to adoption of better technology

The FAO Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) has released several new country briefs and updates for Africa south of the Sahara.

Variable rainfall could negatively impact agricultural production in southern Africa, according to reports from FEWS Net and the SADC’s Food Security Early Warning System (Agromet).

Food security has long been a development goal in Africa south of the Sahara, as well as in other developing regions. However, in recent years, it has become increasingly recognized that basic food security – simply having enough food to eat – is not enough to ensure long-term, sustainable growth and development. Rather, nutrition security – having enough high-quality, nutrient-dense food to eat – is needed to improve health outcomes, drive economic growth, and end hunger in all its forms.