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Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Southern Africa Continue to See Reduced Food Supplies and Access
As the lean season nears an end in Southern Africa , maize supplies and prices remain mixed across the region, according to the latest FEWS Net alert. In Zambia and Tanzania, maize supplies have improved slightly due to ongoing harvests; in contrast, southern Mozambique and Zimbabwe are seeing below average maize supplies due to poor 2015-2016 production levels. Maize prices are following a similar trend, with price decreases in Zambia, northern and central Mozambique, and northern Malawi and either stable or abnormally increasing prices in southern Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
Helping Food Reach Cities: How Urbanization Is Changing Africa's Food System
The latest African Economic Outlook , published by the OECD, finds that despite a weakened global economy, lower commodity prices, and some serious weather shocks, Africa saw positive economic growth in 2015.
New Country Briefs Provide Food Price, Production Snapshot
FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning Systems (GIEWS) has released several new country briefs for Africa south of the Sahara. This series of briefs provides an overview of the food security situation in monitored countries, focusing on the current agricultural season, harvests prospects for staple food crops and livestock, estimates and forecasts of cereal production, and food price and food policy trends.
Harnessing value chains to improve food systems
This was first published as an IFPRI blog .
The recently adopted UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) prioritize improved nutrition and environmental sustainability. Chapter 6 of the 2016 Global Food Policy Report highlights the need to reach this goal by adapting food systems to support nutritious and sustainably-produced diets throughout the world.
Decade-long Agricultural Growth in Ethiopia Driven Partly by Use of Fertilizers, Improved Seeds
Agricultural growth can stem from a multitude of factors, including increased investment in inputs and rural infrastructure, expanded land dedicated to cropping, a more productive workforce, and favorable prices on local and international markets. Over the past decade, Ethiopia has experienced strong agricultural growth due to a number of these factors, according to a new research note and related working paper from IFPRI’s Ethiopia Strategy Support Program ; however, the country also faces a number of challenges to continued growth in the future.