Agricultural Development

Pastoralism has long been a hallmark of the cultural, social, and economic landscapes of the Sahel and West Africa, sustaining the livelihoods of over 20 million people. This age-old practice contributes nearly 15% to the GDP of Sahelian countries, serving not only as an economic mainstay but also fostering peace and resilience within communities. However, the sustainability of pastoralism is increasingly threatened by various external pressures, making robust global support essential to help the region adapt to the changing conditions.

Does Africa need food self-sufficiency to achieve long-term food security?

Not necessarily, according to new research from IFPRI.

With food security continuing to deteriorate across the region and an estimated 600 million people expected to be chronically undernourished by 2030, shoring up Africa’s food and nutrition security has become a priority for the region’s policymakers. This perceived need has been further highlighted by recurring shocks to global food markets, including the 2008 food crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Crop mapping—identifying what farmers are growing on their fields—is essential to agricultural and land use planning and management. It is used to generate yield estimates and crop acreage statistics, predict food prices and assess damages from disasters and also to evaluate ecosystem health—all functions essential for agricultural export nations such as Kenya.

Creating opportunities to more effectively link farmers in Africa south of the Sahara with local, regional, and global markets has become a key development focus in recent years. However, questions remain about the impacts that increased agricultural commercialization may have on household food consumption and food and nutrition security. A recent article in Food Security examines such impacts in Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe and finds both positive and negative trade-offs to increased market integration.

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.