Agricultural productivity
Featured blog
Tracking soil health managers in Uganda
Soil degradation, mainly caused by soil erosion and nutrient depletion, is a key factor undermining agricultural productivity, food security, and livelihoods in low- and middle-income countries. Soil degradation is a key problem in Uganda, which has seen growing soil health challenges. To address this issue, IFPRI, the CGIAR Initiative on NEXUS Gains, and Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) have initiated a new round of a long-term, gender-disaggregated soil health survey in Uganda.
Africa Food Systems Forum Summit 2024: Advancing gender equality and nutrition for sustainable agriculture
The Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) has consistently served as a pivotal platform for shaping agricultural policies and practices across the continent. By convening a wide array of stakeholders, the AFSF fosters discussions that promote inclusive and sustainable food systems and address key issues such as gender equality and nutrition. This year’s AFSF Summit, held September 2-6 in Kigali, Rwanda, revolved around the theme “Innovate, Accelerate, and Scale: Delivering Food Systems Transformation in a Digital and Climate Era.”
Conference: Navigating Sudan’s conflict – research insights and policy implications
Since the onset of civil war in April 2023, millions of people in Sudan have suffered from loss of livelihoods, destruction of infrastructure, and disruption of essential services. With the war still underway, Sudan is facing the world's largest displacement crisis—with 6.5 million displaced people internally and another 1.7 million driven into neighboring countries—and a surge in acute food insecurity, soaring poverty levels, and extensive losses in income, employment, and productive assets.
Transforming African Agriculture through Inclusive Agricultural Value Chain Development
Africa’s agricultural sector has the potential to drive important economic growth and development in the region. Agriculture accounts for 16 percent of Africa’s annual GDP and employs over half of its labor force, particularly youth and women workers. Despite the sector’s vast potential, however, African agriculture remains hampered by low resource productivity and little or no value addition; shocks like climate change, ongoing regional and local conflict, and supply and market disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and global conflicts have only exacerbated these challenges.
How is Kenya’s National Fertilizer Subsidy Program working?
The Kenyan National Fertilizer Subsidy Program (NFSP), implemented during the short rainy season in September 2022, has emerged as a pivotal policy in the government’s efforts to expand food production and mitigate soaring food prices.