For reduced market barriers, diversified enterprise and livelihood opportunities. How are youth being gainfully employed as mechanization service providers in the African region? About one-third of Africa’s nearly 500 million youth aged 15-35 are unemployed. The high rate of youth unemployment remains a critical concern for governments as it results in poor living conditions. This can prove a key driver
Morocco, the only country in the region to practice Conservation Agriculture (CA) at scale, will now become a hub for dryland sustainable agricultural systems, boosted by decades-long joint research on CA between ICARDA and the National Agricultural Research Institute (INRA) of Morocco. Conservation Agriculture is a sustainable agricultural production system guided by three core principles: no (or minimal) tillage
For Nigeria’s rapidly growing population, the aquaculture sector offers new opportunities for sustainable livelihoods and nutritious diets. As aquatic food consumption continues to rise, the Nigerian aquaculture industry—the second largest in Africa—looks to innovate to keep up with surging demand and nourish a nation. Read more.
In an interview hosted by UN News’ Sachin Gaur, WorldFish’s Global Lead for Nutrition and Public Health Shakuntala Thilsted explained the significant role of aquatic foods in sustainable healthy diets and their inclusion in national nutrition policies and program interventions to tackle malnutrition. Read more
A Divisional Stakeholder Consultation Workshop was co-hosted by WorldFish and Bangladesh’s Department of Fisheries (DoF) recently in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, to look at measures to transform the country’s fisheries and aquaculture sector into a more dynamic and sustainable venture by identifying and overcoming production bottlenecks. Read more
While for many of us, climate change remains largely an abstract notion, farmers are seeing the evidence firsthand in their fields and on their harvests. Extreme weather patterns, extended droughts, and a rise in crop pest and disease outbreaks are just some of the changes that are placing the food security and livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers under threat,
The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as COP26, concluded with a new global climate agreement as nations reaffirmed pledges to hold warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the number set out in the 2015 Paris Accords and largely considered the threshold to stave off the worst impacts of climate change. Read more
Sustainable intensification (SI) is widely regarded as a key concept to increase yields while reducing the impact on the environment especially in the context of smallholder farming. SI revolves around identifying the major factors limiting agricultural production and addressing these without adverse effects on the environment, while supporting livelihoods of farmers and rural populations. The meaning and usefulness of the