Agriculture

By elaborating the business case for banks and policy-makers, the projects helps to reorient policy and financial resources towards farmers. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

In April this year, a US$379mn initiative was launched to combat the devastating impacts of pesticides and plastics in agriculture

The project which involves a collaboration between the govenments of Ecuador, India, Kenya, Laos, Philippines, Uruguay, and Vietnam aims to address the significant risks that these chemicals pose both to human health and the environment. Highly hazardous pesticides and mismanaged agricultural plastics release toxic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) – chemicals which don’t break down in the environment and contaminate air, water, and food. These inputs being cheaper than sustainable alternatives, gives farmers little incentive to adopt better practices.

However, the five-year Financing Agrochemical Reduction and Management (FARM) programme led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is projected to prevent over 51,000 tons of hazardous pesticides and over 20,000 tons of plastic waste from being released, while avoiding 35,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions and protecting over three million hectares of land from degradation as farms and farmers convert to low-chemical and non-chemical alternatives.

By elaborating the business case for banks and policy-makers, the projects helps to reorient policy and financial resources towards farmers, thus helping them to choose low- and non-chemical alternatives over toxic agrochemicals, in turn facilitating a transition towards better practices. The FARM programme will support government regulation to phase out POPs-containing agrochemicals and agri-plastics and adopt better management standards, while strengthening banking, insurance and investment criteria to improve the availability of effective pest control, production alternatives and trade in sustainable produce.

“Food productivity and safety is reliant on identifying better practices and safer alternatives to highly hazardous pesticides,” said director of UNEP’s Industry and Economy division, Sheila Aggarwal-Khan. “Adoption is key to scaling these alternatives. There is no real option other than a strong, coordinated response to the pollution crisis.”

A smallholder farmer in Ethiopia's Awash River Valley inspects higher-yielding, climate-smart wheat supported by the Bank's Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation programme. (Image source: AfDB)

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group along with the Government of Ethiopia has entered into partnership with Netherlands, fertiliser company OCP-Africa, and the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) to launch a US$94mn project to boost Climate Resilient Wheat Value Chain Development (CREW) in Ethiopia

The financing will support 500,000 smallholder farmer households in the Ethiopian states of Afar, Amhara, Oromia, and Somali, to increase wheat productivity from three to four tonnes per hectare, generating an additional 1.62 million tonnes of wheat. The project will also support expansion of irrigation into the lowlands of Afar and Somali regions.

The CREW project comprises two main components. The first one includes using climate-friendly methods to improve farming  while the second entails the expansion of post-harvest and market infrastructure, while also enabling access to agri-finance through innovative mechanisms.

In his statement, the country’s Minister of Agriculture, Dr Girma Amente, who officially launched the project emphasised the importance of agriculture for the Ethiopian economy. “The CREW project is aligned with over 80% of the objectives of Ethiopia’s Ten-Year Development Plan, the overarching development agenda for the country,” he said.

The new guidelines seek to reflect the realities of African food systems to improve the ways in which African governments engage with the informal sector in their efforts to improve the safety of foods. (Image source: flickr)

The African Union (AU) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) have entered into partnership to produce the first framework to improve food safety in the informal food sector

Africa's informal food markets comprising street vendors, kiosks, and traditional market sellers, among others are critical for food security, employment and livelihoods, particularly for the continent's urban poor, with around 70% of Africa's urban households buying food from these markets. However, neglect and mismanagement of food safety in these domestic markets has resulted in around 90 million Africans falling sick from foodborne illness every year. This has in turn cost an estimated US$16bn in productivity losses, thus prompting the development of these new guidelines. 

The new guidelines seek to reflect the realities of African food systems to improve the ways in which African governments engage with the informal sector in their efforts to improve the safety of foods. Embracing and engaging with the informal food sector as a cornerstone of food systems transformation is likely to play a key role in the post-Malabo agenda. Published in 2021, the AU’s continental-wide Food Safety Strategy for Africa is the base upon which the new draft guidelines have been developed. 

While compliance with food safety standards has improved in Africa’s exported goods, progress has been limited when it comes to the domestic informal sector, which is typically fragmented and under-resourced. The guidelines are informed by ILRI’s research and interventions for improved food safety across Africa. This has included a 'push-pull' approach in Burkina Faso, which involved both food hygiene training for chicken grillers as well as awareness campaigns for consumers, and inclusive professionalisation of the informal milk sector in Kenya through training and marketing.

By consulting with informal sector actors and partners, the AU and ILRI are helping to refine the guidelines from 10 June. The consultation process with member states will continue throughout 2024 and 2025 before the framework is scheduled to be presented to the AU policy bodies for approval in 2025.

“Western approaches to improving food safety, which include compliance with strict requirements and involve complex documentation processes, are really only suited to the formal sector, which is regularised and has sufficient financial resources,” said Silvia Alonso, senior scientist epidemiologist at ILRI. “The reality is most African consumers buy food from the informal sector, which requires different approaches for food safety management. With the right support, governments can unlock the informal food sector as a vehicle for healthy and safe foods for all, and a source of decent and dignified employment for men and women, especially youth, in Africa.”

In addition, food safety officer at the African Union International Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), John Oppong-Otoo believes that these new guidelines will provide realistic and practical guidance to help governments work with the informal sector and gradually transform it to safely and sustainably sustain the population.

Assessment meetings on progress of agricultural activities in Eritrea. (Image source: Ministry of Information, Eritrea)

Focusing on the first quarter’s progress and the five-year strategic plan, the Ministry of Agriculture conducted an activity assessment meeting on 30 May in the port city of Assab

Reports presented during the meeting highlighted the key elements of the five-year strategic plan, including land development, natural resource management, crop and livestock development, integrated and sustainable agro-business, and human resources development.

Omar Mahmud, acting Director General of Agriculture and Land, shed light on the utilisation of both rainfall and irrigation farming methods to conduct various agricultural activities in the region. He also noted the completion of micro-dams in Afambo and Debaisima, with another in Romoda, South Dankalia being currently under construction.

Extensive discussions then ensued among participants, who adopted several recommendations that included providing support to irrigation farmers, strengthening forestry safety and developing sweet potato farming, among others.

Speaking at the event, Minister Arefaine Berhe highlighted ongoing initiatives aimed at increasing agricultural production. He also called for reinforced efforts in developing household poultry farms, cultivating sweet potatoes, bee farming, and expanding date and other fruit farming, laying specific emphasis on the importance of strengthening participation among relevant institutions, agricultural experts, administrators, and the public. Moreover, the need to strengthen the information and data systems was also discussed by Ambassador Mohammed-Seid Mantai.