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Articles on African agriculture

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Cassava makes up nearly 50 percent of the diet in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, where populations are projected to increase by more than 120 percent in the next 30 years. CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture

Research shows how to grow more cassava, one of the world’s key food crops

Cassava is a key food source in tropical countries, but yields have been flat for decades. New genetic research is identifying many options for boosting production of this valuable staple crop.
Lack of support for beneficiaries of land reform in South Africa has seen many new farmers fail to live off the land. Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

South Africa’s land reform efforts lack a focus on struggling farmers

South Africa’s government makes much of its efforts of putting more land in the hands of the previously disenfranchised black majority. Yet, many beneficiaries continue to wallow in poverty.
Drought tolerant beans in Malawi. Africa needs improved agricultural practices to be implemented by smallholder farmers. Neil Palmer/CGIAR Research Program/ Flickr

Africa’s agriculture projects are growing inequality, not food

The development community has overlooked the ethical dilemmas associated with raising one individual above others through farmer-to-farmer systems.
Cattle drink water from an almost dry dam in South Africa. The drought in the region is one of a number of troubling issues that remain largely hidden from public sight. Reuters/Rogan Ward

Southern Africa is hobbled by the language and legacy of its histories

One of the many intriguing ideas of the Austrian philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, was this: the limits of my language means the limits of my world. Does this explain the failure to see the gathering gloom…
The Sahel, the transition zone between the arid north of Africa and tropic south, has highly variable rainfall. Center for International Forestry Research.

Native shrubs: a simple fix for drought-stricken crops in Sub-Saharan Africa

Field trials in Senegal show native shrubs can access deep-soil water and make it available to adjacent crops – a technique that could alleviate drought conditions in marginal lands around the world.
An Ethiopian girl sells barley seeds in northern Tigray. The sub-Saharan Africa seed industry remains largely informal. REUTERS/Radu Sigheti

Local start-ups hold the key to transforming Africa’s seed industry

The seed industry in sub-Saharan Africa suffers from many challenges. India, which has one of the biggest seed markets in the world, offers some lessons on how these challenges could be overcome.

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