Friday, May 27, 2022
Agribusiness, Research and Rural Economies
Poverty in Africa is predominantly rural.
The continent is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030.
About 380 million women, children and men in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than US$1.25 a day, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
However, with 80 million small farms in sub-Saharan Africa producing 80 per cent of agricultural goods, smallholder farmers have a pivotal role in resolving the financial and food crises and unleashing Africa’s potential to feed itself. This is even more crucial when we consider that even rural families buy around 50% of their food.
Research and encouraging the involvement of women and youth could help change this trajectory. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and IFAD work to address the continent’s most pressing challenges: hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and resource degradation.
With over 60% of all employed women in sub-Saharan Africa working in agriculture and producing up to 80% of foodstuffs for household consumption and sale in local markets, research on their roles in the sector is crucial.
Getting Africa’s youth involved in agriculture and agricultural research was the IITA’s CARE project’s mainstay.
CARE, an acronym for Enhancing Capacity to Apply Research Evidence CARE, was a programme during which 80 young researchers were mentored with training in methodology, data analysis, and scientific writing to produce research evidence and recommendations for policymakers.
The research findings of this group highlighted the dire need for inclusive and “youth-friendly” policies in agribusiness and rural economic activities.
Inter Press Service (IPS) has followed the programme from its inception and highlighted many of the successful advances made by the participants. It highlighted critical findings, including that the key to resolving Africa’s food crisis was “youth engagement” in the sector.
While the CARE project may have come to an end, IITA Africa-wide network of scientists continues to grapple with ways to improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity.
IPS has had a strong involvement in this project and since 2018, IPS trainers and journalists have worked with IITA and CARE in capacity building of journalists in order to create awareness and understanding of agricultural research, agribusiness, and the involvement of youth in the sector.
IPS has been following and reporting on agriculture research in Africa and the developing world. This collection brings together a broad range of features and opinion editorials, highlighting the impact on addressing food security and employment.
IPS is an international communication institution with a global news agency at its core,
raising the voices of the South
and civil society on issues of development, globalisation, human rights and the environment
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