Burkina Faso: New Farming Technique Brings Trees Back to the Sahel

Yacouba Savadogo is a farmer, community leader and natural resource innovator from the village of Gourma, in the Yatenga Province of Burkina Faso. Yacouba began to experiment with… Read more »

Africa: Women Are Behind 80 Percent of Continent's Food Production

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) considers gender mainstreaming, or involving women in farming development efforts, an essential component of its efforts… Read more »

South Africa: Women Farmers Play Vital Role in Food Security

In South Africa's not-too-distant past, the image of a commercial farmer usually brought to mind middle-aged white men in short pants or, in a few cases, black farmers struggling… Read more »

Kenya: Reconstructing Food Security in Africa

Kenya 's Rift Valley province is famed for large-scale food production alongside images of dying animals and hungry people. Read more »

South Africa: Snapshot Descriptions of Woman Farmers

Below are snapshots of some of South Africa's successful women farmers. All of them are recent winners of a female farmer competition run by provincial departments of agriculture,… Read more »

South Africa: Land Reform Moves Slowly in Post-Apartheid Era

Land reform has always been a popular part of political rhetoric for a democratic South Africa, but agrarian transformation has not been realized in the post-apartheid era. The… Read more »

Africa: FAO Launches Key Land Initiatives

People's rights to work the land – an indispensable pre-condition for food security in Africa – are the subject of two key initiatives by international agencies working… Read more »

Africa: French Court Blocks Probe of Three Presidents

A French Appeal Court in Paris yesterday rejected the demand of the Transparency International (TI) organization for leave to open a probe in France into the estates of three… Read more »

South Africa: Critics Welcome Rejection of Genetically Altered Potato

The recent rejection of a permit application for the general release in South Africa of a potato that has been genetically altered has received a standing ovation from the African… Read more »

South Africa: New Potatoes - Blessing Or Curse?

The debate around genetically modified (GM) crops in South Africa has flared up once again after the rejection of a permit application for the general release of the SpuntaG2, a… Read more »

Mauritania: Desert Locusts Threaten Region

A potentially serious infestation of desert locusts has broken out in Mauritania, but experts are hopeful that quickly implemented countermeasures will prevent a  repeat of… Read more »

South Africa: Urban Subsistence Farmers Spread Wings

A project which began as an effort to empower citizens of Cape Town's poorest neighbourhoods to grow their own food has mushroomed into a scheme for selling vegetables for the… Read more »

Africa: Agriculture Group Finds Targeting Women Improves Food Security, Family Incomes

Gender inequalities are a key impediment to achieving food security in many households in sub-Saharan Africa. Although women do most of the farming on the continent, growing an… Read more »

Africa: Food Crisis Forces Changes on GM Crops

Daniel Mataruka is director of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) in Nairobi. The non-profit organization aims to improve the lives and agricultural output of… Read more »

Africa: Digital Soil Mapping Helps Continent's Farmers

Digital mapping has been used in the West to ascertain soil variation and help determine why some crops perform better than others in particular regions. In Africa, digital… Read more »

Somalia: Piracy Surges in Indian Ocean

European Union (EU) naval forces seized seven suspected Somali pirates on Tuesday after an attack on a French fishing vessel east of Mogadishu. Read more »

Guinea: Europe Imposes Sanctions on Junta

The European Union (EU) has placed an arms embargo on Guinea and banned members of its military junta from travelling to Europe. Read more »

Liberia: Post-War Farmers Persevere Amid Multiple Challenges

Nathaniel Ziayee and his family live in a single-room hut built with mud bricks and palm branches, held firmly together by sticks cut from the bushes that surround their small… Read more »

Africa: Green Revolution Requires Supporting Farmers, Says Agriculture Expert

Akin Adesina, vice president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), talked to AllAfrica about the work of the young, Nairobi-based institution and how its… Read more »

Africa: New Beginnings, Enduring Challenges: American Foreign Policy to Continent from Kennedy to Obama

Following is the text of the first Senator Edward Kennedy Memorial Lecture delivered at the University of Pretoria in Pretoria, South Africa Read more »

Liberia: Displaced by War, Families Grow Own Food

"The cassava we are eating today is from that small garden you see over there," said Hayford Quaye, a 50-year-old father of four. His cassava garden was planted just behind a large… Read more »

Sudan: Obama Team Launches 'Calibrated' Policy to Tackle Dual Conflicts

After protracted debate, the Obama administration last week rolled out a policy blueprint for Sudan, Africa's largest country in land area. The policy is designed to address the… Read more »

South Africa: A Difficult Partnership - The United States and South Africa

The U.S. and South Africa have shared interests in many areas, including peacekeeping, climate change, economic development and counter-terrorism. However, the national interests… Read more »

Algeria: Security Clampdown Conflicts With Bouteflika's Aims

The clashes between police and young people protesting poor housing conditions in Algiers earlier this week reflect growing efforts in recent weeks to stem public demonstrations by… Read more »

Africa: 'AU Effectively Tackling Economic, Political Problems'

The African Union has a mandate that spans political, economic and financial, cultural and technological matters affecting its 53 members, which include all nations on the African… Read more »