Blog Category

Market-related

Can urbanization benefit rural populations?

• by S. Gustafson

Increasing urbanization plays a major role in shifting patterns of food supply and demand and thus in transforming food systems. These transformations carry significant implications for the livelihoods of rural populations, presenting both challenges and opportunities. A new paper published in Food Security examines some of these impacts in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA) and South Asia, as well as the enabling environments needed to help rural communities benefit from the changes.

Making the most of intra-African trade: Insights from the 2021 Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor

• by JULIE KURTZ

This post originally appeared on IFPRI.org

With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting livelihoods, and the new African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) now beginning to influence food flows, agricultural trade in Africa is in a state of flux, with both challenges and opportunities. While AfCFTA implementation has begun, some crucial negotiations remain to be completed, and the full scope of its impact is not yet clear.

New book released: Moving Malawi beyond subsistence agriculture

• by Todd Benson

Most of Malawi’s 4 million households still rely primarily on rainfed crop production with limited use of agricultural inputs for their food needs. But subsistence farming is failing to meet the dietary requirements of all Malawians: In recent years, several hundred thousand households annually have faced acute food insecurity. Insufficient harvests have resulted from either too little or too much rainfall and from limited use of inputs, while landholdings shrink as the population grows. Yet the country’s policy approach to food security continues to center on subsistence production.

Survey: COVID-19’s varied impacts on fresh fruit and vegetable supply chains in Senegal

• by ANNA FABRY, KAAT VAN HOYWEGHEN, HENDRIK FEYAERTS, IDRISSA WADE and MIET MAERTENS

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Senegal declared a state of emergency on March 23, 2020, followed by a range of policy measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus: Transport was significantly restricted, wet markets were closed, and shops were required to limit their hours. These moves disrupted food supply chains, in particular those of highly perishable products such as fresh fruits and vegetables (FFV).