South Africa: Fruit Juices in South Africa Are Getting a Free Ride - Why They Should Have the Same Health Warning Labels As Fizzy Drinks

South Africa is facing a sharp rise in obesity-related diseases like type 2 diabetes. Between 2010 and 2019, the prevalence of diabetes nearly tripled from 4.5% to 12.7%. This… Read more »

West Africa: West Africa's Trade Monitoring System Has Collapsed - Why This Is Dangerous for Food Security

A decade ago countries in West Africa set up a unique trade monitoring mechanism. Its purpose was to track intra-regional trade in agricultural products and livestock in the… Read more »

South Africa: Rural Women Farmers in South Africa - How Global Promises Aren't Translating Into Support On the Ground

It is well documented that women small-scale farmers are hard done by in an environment where they farm without security of tenure, which inhibits their ability to raise finance… Read more »

Kenya: Child Malnutrition in Kenya - AI Model Can Forecast Rates Six Months Before They Become Critical

Globally, nearly half of the deaths of children under five years are linked to malnutrition. In Kenya, it's the leading cause of illness and death among children. Read more »

Tanzania: Tanzania's Green Gold Rush - How Avocado Waste Is Hurting Farmers and What Should Be Done

Avocados have been grown in Tanzania since the early 1890s. The global appetite for the creamy fruit, also known as green gold, is booming. The industry's market value was over… Read more »

Tanzania: Mushrooms May Have Been Part of Early Human Diets - Primate Study Explores Who Eats What and When

Mushrooms may not be the first food that comes to mind when we imagine the diets of wild primates - or our early human ancestors. We tend to think of fruits and green leaves as the… Read more »

South Africa: Traditional Food Systems Nourish Communities and Protect the Environment - Lessons From South Africa's Amadiba

The global food system contributes to multiple planetary crises - and is vulnerable to them. Climate change, other ecological degradation and socio-economic inequality are all… Read more »

Africa: Economic Sanctions Need a Rethink - Evidence Shows They Raise Food Prices and Hurt the Poor Most

Economic sanctions are widely viewed by academics and policymakers as a better alternative to military interventions to pressure governments to change objectionable policies. The… Read more »

Africa: Chimpanzees Ingest More Than the Equivalent of One Alcoholic Drink a Day - New Research

Drinking more than you intended may be something that many humans do, but now research is showing that a taste for alcohol is surprisingly common among animals. In fact a new study… Read more »

South Africa: Reviving South Africa's Grasslands - Eastern Cape Villagers Explain the Challenges They Face

South Africa's Eastern Cape province has several million hectares of open land in rural areas, not privately owned but held in trust by the state on behalf of communities. The… Read more »

Malawi: Malawi Can End Hunger After the 2025 Elections If Bold Steps Are Taken to Transform Food Systems

Malawi has a history of peaceful democratic transitions. Since the advent of multiparty politics in 1994, power has regularly shifted between rival parties. Citizens and… Read more »

Ghana: Drought Can Make Farmers Feel Worried and Hopeless - Ghana Study Finds Social Networks Help

Droughts are a familiar hardship in Ghana's semi-arid north, where rainfall is erratic and agriculture is the mainstay of rural economies. The economic and environmental effects of… Read more »

Africa: Africa's Top Climate Change Challenges - a Fairer Deal On Phasing Out Fossil Fuels and Mobilising Funds

Nearly 600 million people across the African continent still lack access to electricity. Close to one billion rely on traditional biofuels for cooking. Africa is also very… Read more »

Africa: 33 Million Women Grow Food On Plots in Sub-Saharan Africa. Greener Farming Can Boost Their Earnings - Study

There are 33 million smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, making up 80% of the total farmer population. These farmers cultivate small plots of land of less than two hectares… Read more »

Africa: Nature's Underground Engineers - How Plant Roots Could Save Harvests From Drought

Ever wondered how a delicate plant root can push its way through hard ground? It's a feat of engineering happening beneath our feet. Read more »

South Africa: 8 Policies That Would Help Fight Poverty in South Africa's Economic Hub Gauteng

Poverty goes beyond income. It often arises when health, education and opportunities fall short of meeting people's needs. Read more »

Africa: Africa's Smallholder Farmers Are Using Bright Ideas to Adapt to Climate Change - G20 Countries Should Fund Their Efforts

Across most of Africa, rural communities grow their own food, relying on smallholder agriculture. But climate change is threatening this way of life. Read more »

South Africa: 3d Printed Food - Yuck or Yes? Researchers Ask South African Consumers

Would you eat food that was printed by a machine? 3D printed food is built up by equipment (a 3D food printer), layer after layer, using edible pastes, dough and food slurries in… Read more »

Africa: Hold Up, Humans. Ants Figured Out Medicine, Farming and Engineering Long Before We Did

Think back to a time you helped someone move a heavy object, such as a couch. While at first the task may have appeared simple, it actually required a suite of advanced behaviours. Read more »

Tanzania: Livestock and Lions Make Uneasy Neighbours - How a Fence Upgrade Helped Protect Domestic and Wild Animals in Tanzania

Protecting livestock in areas where large carnivores (like lions) live is increasingly important as human land use expands, wildlife habitat shrinks, and climatic changes reshape… Read more »

Sudan: Sudan's War Is an Economic Disaster - Here's How Bad It Could Get

Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a devastating war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. What began as a struggle for power has turned into a… Read more »

Africa: Many Fish Are Social, but Pesticides Are Pushing Them Apart

Scientists have detected pesticides in rivers, lakes and oceans worldwide. So what are these pesticides doing to the fish? Read more »

Africa: Autonomous AI Systems Can Help Tackle Global Food Insecurity

There is a growing and urgent need to address global food insecurity. This urgency is underscored by reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which… Read more »

West Africa: Discovery of 5,000-Year-Old Farming Society in Morocco Fills a Major Gap in History - North-West Africa Was a Central Player in Trade and Culture

A new discovery of an ancient farming society at Oued Beht in Morocco fills a centuries-old gap in history. It reveals that, 5,000 years ago, the Maghreb (north-west Africa) was… Read more »

Cape Verde: How Indigenous Beans Could Boost Food Security

With just over half a million inhabitants, Cabo Verde is heavily dependent on food imports. It spent $65 million importing food products in 2018. Read more »