When the Rains Came in Dokolo and Karamoja

Households in Northern Uganda are recovering from a prolonged dry spell which has devastated harvests and led to food shortages. Long-awaited rains are expected to replenish pastures, and communities are being encouraged to plant short-term crops. But those that can, fear losing their produce again, when the rains stop.

Africa Clinches Mega Development Prospects

The Week of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, focusing on the continent’s infrastructural development ended today with resolutions that could catapult huge advances for Africa.

Zimbabweans Align with Climate-Smart Agriculture Amid Food Deficits

With droughts wreaking havoc in vast areas of Zimbabwe, a majority of people here are fast falling in line with climate-smart agriculture (CSA) as food deficits continue.

African Experts Say the Continent Must Address Livestock Methane Emissions

Increasing calls for Africa to reduce methane emissions from livestock continue to be met with controversy, and livestock scientists say methane is a forgotten short-term climate pollutant with significant global warming potential that Africa cannot continue to overlook.

Africa Gears for Infrastructural Boom

The upcoming week for the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), which runs from November 13-17 in Abidjan, the capital city of Ivory Coast, is set to throw this continent into the full gear of infrastructural boom, development experts here say.

Improved Post-Harvest Fish Handling Brings Hope to Western Zambia

Hadon Sichali has been in the fish trade for over 22 years. But he says only now does he feel a true businessman—but why?

Opinion: From Despair to Hope – Fulfilling a Promise to Mothers and Children in Mandera County

Mandera in northeastern Kenya, has often been described as “the worst place on earth to give birth.” Mandera’s maternal mortality ratio stands at 3,795 deaths per 100,000 live births, almost double that of wartime Sierra Leone at 2,000 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Analysis: Press Freedom Shaken in Zimbabwe

Press freedom in this Southern African nation has been shaken abruptly, this time surprisingly, with members of the police force heavily descending on journalists working for state-owned media

Kenya’s Market-Based Youth Project Changing Lives

Though the Kenyan government has demonstrated a commitment to lift its youth out of poverty, particularly those in the informal settlements, projects designed for youth continue to be crippled by rampant corruption.

UN Targets “Hidden Source” for Development Funding

The United Nations has estimated a hefty funding requirement of over 3.5 trillion to 5.0 trillion dollars per year for the implementation of its ambitious post-2015 development agenda, including 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), approved by world leaders in September.

Zimbabwe’s Mega Dam Project Could Flounder in the Face of Climate Change

Zimbabwe's planned Batoka Gorge power project on the Zambezi River is expected to generate 2,400 megawatts (MW) of electricity, upward from an initial 1,600 MW, but the worsening power cuts that are being blamed on low water levels have renewed concerns about the effects of climate change on mega dams.

IITA Promotes a Solution that Puts Smallholders’ Food, Nutrition and Income in a Bag

Sometimes the best solutions can appear to be so simple that it’s hard to imagine why they weren’t invented centuries ago.

How Climate Change Threatens Zambia’s Already Fragile Nutrition Record

It is slightly after 10 o’clock in the morning and 48-year-old Felix Muchimba of Siamuleya village in Pemba district has just finished having breakfast – a traditional drink called Chibwantu, made of maize meal and grit.

Opinion: When Schools Become Barracks, Children Suffer

Surprise turned to confusion, then to horror, when the children at Kiata primary school realized that the soldiers they had spotted at the bottom of the hill were heading for their school and its occupants.

Zimbabwe’s Smallholder Farmers Seek Address Food Security and Health Risks with Air Tight Storage Technology

Last season, Mollene Kachambwa lost a tonne of the 5 tonnes of maize the family harvested to weevils and fungi.

Agricultural Keys to Malaria in African Highlands

Sixty-five years after a major international summit here on malaria, the mosquito-borne disease remains a scourge and its incidence may even be rising in parts of sub-Saharan Africa due to the combined effects of climate change, agricultural practices and population displacement.

Opinion: It’s Time to Put Local Communities in Charge of Liberia’s Forests

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf recently affirmed her commitment to the land rights of Liberia’s local communities, who rely on the forests for their livelihoods and have cared for them for generations.

Africa’s Senior Citizens Cornered By Poverty

Kenya has made tremendous steps towards ensuring that the elderly population does not slide into extreme poverty, hunger and, consequently, premature death.

Before Renewable Power Plant is Completed, Geothermal Overtakes Hydro in Kenya

In its quest to generate more reliable, climate-friendly electric energy, Kenya has become the first country in the world to make use of temporary geothermal wellheads, which are currently injecting an extra 56 megawatts into the national grid.

Kenya: Transforming Mandera County’s Deadly Reputation for Maternal Health

For many women in Mandera County – a hard to reach, insecure and arid part of North Eastern Kenya – the story of life from childhood to adulthood is one about sheer pain and struggle for survival.

Opinion: Africa’s Agricultural Potential Begins on the Ground

My friend Kofi Boa is a Ghanaian agronomist who is probably the biggest advocate for conservation farming in Africa. For decades, Kofi has taught farmers how to increase their yields using no-till, cover crops and other techniques.