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Bringing back neglected crops: A food and climate solution for Africa

Jun 8th, 2023 • by LYSIANE LEFEBVRE, DAVID LABORDE, AND VALERIA PIÑEIRO

As the food and climate crises continue to cause suffering around the world, one under-appreciated solution—neglected crops—could be a powerful tool to alleviate both crises in one of the worst affected regions: Africa.

How to achieve food system transformation to prevent future food crises

May 15th, 2023 • by S. Gustafson

With multiple crises plaguing food systems across the globe, Africa south of the Sahara remains particularly hard hit. As a result, policymakers and development partners in the region are faced with the need to balance sometimes conflicting priorities: ending hunger and reducing poverty, making diets healthier and more affordable, improving the productivity and livelihoods of smallholder households, and adapting to and mitigating the impacts of climate change.

Building Better Bean Value Chains: Evidence from Uganda

Mar 27th, 2023 • by S. Gustafson

Beans play an important role in the diets of rural Ugandans, making up as much as 25 percent of average daily protein intake. They are also an important cash crop within the country, with biofortified beans holding the potential for significant value-added production and income generation. However, this potential is constrained by Uganda’s weak seed systems and uncoordinated value chains, which limit productivity.

Policy seminar: Leveraging Kenya’s new Bottom-Up Economic Plan for food system transformation

Feb 1st, 2023 • by JUNEWEENEX MBUTHIA AND LENSA OMUNE

Kenya’s new government has developed an ambitious Bottom-Up Economic Plan to tackle complex domestic and global challenges. “The Bottom-Up approach is about making sure that markets work, and more importantly, work for the poor,” Cabinet Secretary Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u explained during a recent policy seminar hosted by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) and IFPRI Kenya as part of the CGIAR Research Initiative on National Policies and Strategies (NPS) seminar series.

Potentials and Pitfalls in Africa's Agrifood Processing Sector

Jan 13th, 2023 • by S. Gustafson

The sustainable transformation of Africa’s agrifood processing system has been increasingly recognized as crucial to ensuring the region’s food security, reducing poverty rates, and supporting economic development. The ReSAKSS 2022 Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR) takes an in-depth look at the status of the system, as well as the major challenges threatening further development and policies that can support sustainable growth in Africa’s agrifood sector.