Africa Prepares For World Food Day 2022, Leaving No One Behind

World Food Day will be celebrated on October 16, 2022, with the theme "Leave No One Behind".

In Kenya, potato farmers are learning how to produce certified tissue culture planting material. Tissue culture is the cultivation of plant tissues or organs in a specially formulated nutrient solution in a lab or a controlled environment using mainly sprouts or tissue-like leaves, which are grown in a medium with nutrients and disease-killing chemicals. This way, an entire plant is regenerated from a single tissue.

Opposition party Azimio La Umoja - One Kenya, wants President William Ruto to re-impose the ban on Genetically Modified Crops (GMOs). The ban on genetically modified crops, imposed in 2012 by then-president Mwai Kibaki's administration, was due to the threat they posed to the livelihoods of small-scale farmers and the health of Kenya's people.

Zanzibar President Dr Hussein Mwinyi has reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring food security, safety and nutrition in the Islands. He also stressed the importance of the consumption of nutritious food and urged citizens to develop a culture of eating healthy foods, including consumption of milk, especially for children under five.

Meanwhile in Nigeria, where many farmlands are under water due to flooding in Benue, Kogi, Anambra and other states, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the country could be facing higher food prices. The IMF is urging the government to provide food and cash assistance to citizens, to get back on their feet.