What's New

For the second year in a row, Malawi is facing a national maize deficit. In the 2016-2017 marketing year, the maize supply gap is expected to be 953,000 MT, according to a new Food Security Outlook from FEWS Net.

FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) has released two updated country briefs for Africa south of the Sahara. The country brief series provides information regarding countries’ current agricultural season and harvest prospects for main staple food crops, as well as estimates and forecasts of cereal production, cereal imports, and food prices and policy developments. This latest round of updates includes new information for Kenya and Senegal .

The latest Africa Agriculture Status Report , launched last week by the Alliance for a Green Revolution Africa (AGRA) , reports significant progress in Africa’s agricultural sector following a decade of intensified attention from governments and the international community. Investment in agriculture by both governments and private sector actors has increased in many countries in the region, and there is evidence of increased agricultural productivity, enhanced nutrition, and increased off-farm job opportunities in the region’s expanding agri-food system.

In 2003, the member countries of the African Union launched a new initiative aimed at increasing food security and reducing poverty through the growth and development of the region’s agricultural sector. The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program , or CAADP, set a target of 6 percent annual average growth in the agricultural sector, as well as the allocation of 10 percent of total annual government expenditures to the sector.

Several new country briefs for Africa south of the Sahara have recently been released by FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning Systems (GIEWS). The GIEWS country brief series provides an overview of the food security situation in prioritized countries, focusing on the current agricultural season, harvest prospects for staple food crops and livestock, estimates and forecasts of cereal production, and food price and food policy trends.