Sub-Saharan Africa is on the verge of a development boost in farming: it could skip entire generations of technological development. But how? About possible roles and potentials of digital services.
Benin: microfinancing in the agricultural sector; funding plays a particularly important role. Photo: Michael Brüntrup/DIE
Dr Michael Brüntrup is a senior researcher at the German Development Institute (DIE) in the field of Agricultural and Food Security with focus on sub-Saharan Africa
The mechanisation of the Sub-Saharan agricultural sector is one of the most extensive and difficult transformations the continent intends—and needs—to undergo. This may be hard to comprehend from the perspective of Europe, where agriculture has been reduced to a relatively marginal part of the economy and its far-reaching mechanisation has long been taken for granted. In Africa, however, mechanisation is a mammoth task which most countries have yet to tackle with satisfactory results. The success or failure of the endeavour will have very significant consequences for most residents of the region.
Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for two thirds of Sub-Saharan Africans, most of whom are smallholders. Between 50% and 85% of soil cultivation work is carried out manually. Africa only produces 20–30% of the yield it could achieve with good agricultural practices, and the continent is home to around 50% of the world’s non-cultivated arable land. Most young people do not consider agriculture as a feasible career path, as it involves hard manual labour and a low income. Due to ineffective storage, processing and marketing methods in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), 30% of agricultural produce is lost between the field and the consumers.
Mechanisation: potential along the whole value chain
Mechanisation can improve yields, reduce losses, increase incomes, lessen physical exertion and make agriculture more attractive to young people. It affects more than just the work in the field itself: irrigation, milking and feeding systems, transportation, processing, drying, storage and preparation can be mechanised, too.
Most businesses tend to focus on areas whose mechanisation will achieve the greatest possible progress. This primarily depends on the type of production and the size of the farm. Other factors include the non-agricultural alternatives available to the members of a family-run operation: the more workers quit, the greater the need for mechanisation becomes. The roles of men and women within and outside of agriculture play an important role, too.
Funding: a major obstacle
Aside from internal circumstances, there are many external factors that impact mechanisation: political support, neglect of the agricultural industry, low levels of education in rural regions, high tariffs on machines and spare parts, a lack of private business in rural regions, major fluctuations of crop yields and agricultural prices, and volatile business relationships between farmers and other companies.
Funding plays a particularly important role. Many machines, even the smallest, are prohibitively expensive for smallholders. Very few people have access to loans, and the larger, long-term loans required for machines (unlike farm inputs) are especially hard to come by. While small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), which organise most of the value chain down to the consumer level, tend to have a somewhat better state of mechanisation, many of them cannot afford sensible investments and lack creditworthiness. Without improving the available funding options, the sweeping mechanisation of the agricultural sector in Sub-Saharan Africa will remain out of reach.
A research project carried out by the German Development Institute (DIE) with funding from the special initiative Eine Welt ohne Hunger (SEWOH) has investigated experiences and possibilities of funding mechanisation in Sub-Saharan Africa. The researchers first evaluated the available literature on the effect of mechanisation on food security, as many fear that technological process could exacerbate the existing problems by squeezing out unskilled workers and smallholders. Their analysis found that most businesses (can) only mechanise their operations gradually and, in doing so, aim for the greatest additional benefit. This does not constitute a risk to food security. Rather, greater production volumes and better incomes for smallholders improve the situation. While excessive mechanisation and the resulting clustering of agricultural business without alternatives for smallholders can have the opposite effect, this rarely happens in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Stakeholders require multiple funding options
The study also found that the various stakeholders—smallholders, expanding farms, medium-sized cooperatives and large companies—have very different requirements that cannot be met by a single type of funding provider. In many cases, a single stakeholder can have a range of financial needs: a leasing company, for instance, is likely to fund specific machines but not the farm inputs that are required for good agricultural practices and that make the machines profitable in the first place. Credit providers often cannot (and are not authorised to) sell insurance policies. Larger loans, e.g. for a tractor or a cooperative investment, exceed the capacities of microfinance institutions (MFI), while single-farm loans for inputs or manual tools are too small for banks. Effective funding for mechanisation, then, requires a variety of funding instruments and institutions.
The research project also systematised the problems inherent to the provision of funding in terms of demand, supply and financial transactions. Recipients of funding, i.e. farmers and SME in rural areas, frequently lack sufficient education and formal knowledge of business and economy. Many of them are scattered throughout the region; they are disorganised and have few material loan guarantees. The loans required for mechanisation projects are often too high for group guarantees, which are accepted by many MFI. Smallholders also tend to have poor repayment habits—especially if they believe that their funding comes from government sources, if there have been repeated governmental debt relief initiatives, or if they are not interested in lasting business relationships. In theory, cooperatives and other formal agricultural associations could overcome the disadvantages that smallholders face, but they come with their own challenges. Their establishment and advancement, for instance, are socially sensitive issues that require a lot of time. Private mechanisation service providers, such as larger agricultural businesses, are often a more realistic alternative in the region.
Pure financial institutions, such as MFI, commercial banks, credit providers, insurance funds and leading companies, tend to lack experience in the agricultural sector. They are heavily underrepresented in rural areas and fear the sector’s dependence on weather conditions and similar inherent risks. In addition, larger machines are generally too expensive for MFI. More and more buyers of agricultural products wish to secure their supply volumes and product quality, however. In return for contractual farming agreements, they provide the producers with farm inputs and/or other services on credit. Once the farmers supply the ordered goods, the buyers offset their value against the outstanding debt (value chain financing). This settlement can also be carried out by a financial service provider who has been contractually approved by both parties (triangular financing). In many cases, such buyers only finance farm inputs and machines required to grow the produce they personally wish to buy. Larger, longer-term investments are rarely funded through value chain financing in cases, such as the sugar cane, where there are close, lasting business relationships that are difficult to dissolve in the long term.
Transaction fees tend to be very high in rural regions due to large distances and rough terrain, a lack of affordable transport and communication tools, and language barriers. The physical safety of money transports is a common problem in many remote areas, too. All these factors make financial and other services, the exchange of goods, conclusion of agreements, and implementation of controls expensive and high-risk endeavours in the Sub-Saharan countryside. This has a negative impact on the financing of mechanisation projects.
Benin: A farmer with a single-axle tractor ploughing his field. Photo: Michael Brüntrup/DIE
Digital services as a new funding opportunity
Digital services can lower the high transaction costs in rural regions. Their role in the funding of mechanisation is multifaceted. The digitisation of financial services such as savings, transfers and leasing contracts can reduce long, expensive overland journeys and increase security. Settling transactions through digital bank accounts makes it easier to determine creditworthiness, and non-financial digital services often improve the creditworthiness of rural stakeholders. A digital identification system can prevent excessive indebtedness and serial installment loans for farmers, who often lack official documents. Digital land registers can facilitate the use of land ownership as a credit guarantee. Overall, digital services can improve and stabilise the production and sales efforts of smallholders in many ways, e.g. through cultivation consultancy, the provision of weather/price/market information or the improvement/price reduction of certifications that will make their production more durable and profitable. All these factors are highly valuable tools for financial service providers wishing to assess individual creditworthiness, especially if they have doubts about the production, supply and repayment abilities of their clients. With digital services, higher-quality information about the sector and individual products is accessible faster and easier to process. They reduce the actual and perceived volatility of the sector.
The DIE project has compiled a list of examples of innovative mechanisation funding initiatives:
MyAgro in Mali and Senegal helps farmers save money in installments by means of prepaid cards. The cards can be used to buy farm inputs and small machines at a discount.
AccessBank in Madagascar and other East African countries offers highly flexible repayment conditions that can be adapted individually to seasonal cash flows and the changeable nature of agriculture.
Fundacion Capital, which was founded with a focus on Bangladesh and Latin America and is currently expanding to Africa, specialises in long-term graduation strategies for smallholders to enable them eventually to purchase their own machines. Information platforms and apps make it possible to monitor individual businesses, even if they work with multiple other companies and governmental authorities.
CumaBenin is working on a local adaptation of a French system of machinery rings, in which groups of farmers jointly buy and operate machines, but the company is currently struggling with organisational and maintenance issues.
NWK Agriservices in Zambia attempted to combine the financing of a mechanisation package with a sophisticated contract farming concept. Unfortunately, the economic crisis in the country has caused the investor to withdraw.
The most high-profile example for digital mechanisation services in Sub-Saharan Africa is probably HelloTractor, a start-up originally launched in Nigeria. It provides businesses (often larger farms) with tractors and loans and operates an app through which it organises the tractor rental system, which improves utilisation rates and economic efficiency, as well as the invoicing process. The developers have also begun to manage other machine services through the app, too.
After all, direct digital services also include crowd funding from individual farmers and companies. While this is very rare in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is not unheard of: BaySeddo in Senegal is a good example.
Morocco: A farmer during the field work. Foto: Michael Brüntrup/DIE
Optimising digital service bundles
Many current digital funding models are pilot projects that are yet to be fully established or made into secure business models. There are still major obstacles that hinder the comprehensive roll-out of digital services in the field of financing mechanism and, at a more general level, agriculture. Electricity is but a minor problem: today, every rural market offers solar panels and mobile charging services. But language barriers and a lack of education prevent many smallholders from understanding written contracts and the conditions of digital services. Digital services may lessen the physical obstacles inherent to rural regions and the abundance of risks in production and distribution, but they cannot eliminate them completely. Many enthusiastic app developers working on market information systems, for instance, have had to learn that good information has very little effect on sales prices unless it also improves the market power of farmers. In some cases, the profit margins are simply too low and sales pressure is too high to allow for any changes in behaviour and distribution methods. The field of mechanisation, in particular, is fraught with barriers unrelated to the flow of information. The risks and costs are so high that individual digital services can barely make a dent in them.
It may be sensible and necessary, then, to bundle multiple services and offer them as a package. Digital services will need to be combined with conventional, non-digital services to provide that decisive value that will pave the way for greater mechanisation and the corresponding funding. That is the secret behind the success of contract farming. But that system, too, struggles with the limitations of mechanisation: it rarely provides lasting support for all operations of a business. Local, paid companies that derive a sustainable income from aggregation services might become an important business model. Digitisation also makes it easier to combine multiple services. But this requires clarification of data ownership rights and the transferability of data—not just to protect privacy rights but to facilitate competition and the development and establishment of new products.
For now, the digitisation of services in the Sub-Saharan agricultural sector is still in its infancy, at least for the vast amount of smallholders on the continent. But the economy of digital platforms has taught us that successful concepts spread rapidly and have a tendency towards monopolisation. The mechanisation of the agricultural sector may well advance very fast over the next years. And it well may escalate other issues of structural change in rural regions.
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The global fight against malnutrition needs more than just words - as demonstrated by the Nutrition for Growth summit in Paris. With comprehensive commitments and clear receivables, a signal has been sent: Healthy nutrition must become a global priority. But what do participants from countries such as Yemen and Timor Leste think?
In May, this year's "Partners for Change – SOILutions for a Food Secure, Resilient, and Sustainable Future" conference took place. Kah Walla, Moderator of the Conference and Director of Strategies!, summarises the discussions and declares that healthy soils are not just the foundation of agriculture, but the cornerstone of a resilient, equitable, and climate-smart future.
Two new podcast formats from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) bring stories from on-the-ground project work to life: "Over to you!" from Malawi and "Voices of Change – Beneficiary Story Book" from Zambia. At the heart of these podcasts are the people behind the changes toward sustainable food security.
The United Nations plan a Food Systems Summit - and now the Corona-Virus is dictating the agenda. The Chief Economist of the UN World Food Programme takes stock of the current situation: a conversation with Jan Rübel about pandemics, about the chromosomes of development - and about the conflicts that inhibit them.
African countries still face huge gender gaps in terms of access to work and capital. What are the consequences of Corona for women in Africa? Jan Rübel interviewed Léa Rouanet on lockdowns and gender-based violence. The economist works at the Africa Gender Innovation Lab of the World Bank.
Every year in October, the "Welthungerhilfe" aid organisation, with the Irish "Concern Worldwide" NGO, publishes the Global Hunger Index, a tool with which the hunger situation is recorded. What are the trends - and what needs to be done?
The first Climate Adaptation Summit put climate adaptation at the center of politics for the first time. The virtual meeting united global players with one goal: building resilience is just as important as climate protection itself. Around 15,000 participants discussed direct proposals.
Yemen is currently experiencing one of the worst disasters, due to war, hunger and disease outbreaks. The GIZ is locally engaged to improve the nutrition and resilience of Yemenites.
From the lab to the masses: Maria Andrade bred varieties of biofortified sweet potatoes which are now widely used all over the continent. She sets her hope on the transformation of African agriculture.
The lockdown due to COVID-19 hit the economy hard - including agriculture in particular with its supply chains and sales markets. What creative coping strategies have those affected found? The Seminar for Rural Development has begun a research study on th
African inland fisheries are increasingly reliant on the capture of small fish species that are sundried and traded over long distances. They make an important contribution in alleviating “hidden hunger”: consumed whole, small fish are an important source of micronutrients. Only that, unfortunately, politicians haven’t yet realised this.
A contribution by Jes Weigelt and Alexander Müller
What is required to make food systems provide sufficient, healthy food while not harming the planet? How should food security be maintained given the threat posed by climate change? Our authors look at some aspects of tomorrow’s food systems against the backdrop of the corona crisis.
Freshwater deficits are affecting more and more people throughout the world. In order to counter this, our global food system will have to change, our author maintains. A case for more research on alternative crops and smart water solutions.
Lack of seasonal workers and virus explosion in slaughterhouses, rising vegetable prices, climate crisis – all this demonstrates: Our food system is highly productive and (at least for the rich inhabitants of planet earth) guarantees an unprecedented rich and steady food supply - but it is not resilient.
A contribution by Kerstin Weber and Brit Reichelt-Zolho (WWF)
Biodiversity and sustainable agriculture ensure the nutrition of whole societies. But there is more: These two factors also provide better protection against the outbreak of dangerous pandemics. Hence, the question of preserving ecosystems is becoming a global survival issue.
Double interview with Tony Rinaudo and Volker Schlöndorff
Tony Rinaudo uses conventional reforestation methods to plant millions and millions of trees – and Volker Schlöndorff is filming a cinema documentary about the Australian. The outcome so far: An educational film on behalf of the BMZ (Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development).
A study by Markus Hanisch, Agustina Malvido, Johanna Hansmann, Alexander Mewes, Moritz Reigl, Nicole Paganini (SLE)
Post-Covid-19 lockdown: How food governance processes could include marginalised communities - an extract of the results of an SLE study applying digital and participatory methods.
If there is a lack of fertile soil and rain, hunger breaks out quickly. Maria Smentek from the World Food Programme (WFP) explains how farmers and pastoralists can counter climate change with hydroponic-systems.
Insect farming is economical and environmentally sustainable, they are high in protein and they live on agricultural waste. Marwa Abdel Hamid Shumo thinks: They are the best weapon to combat hunger
Urban gardening is becoming increasingly popular in northern metropoles. People who consider themselves part of a green movement are establishing productive gardens in the city, for example on rooftops or in vacant lots. In severely impoverished regions of the global South, urban agriculture is a component of the food strategy.
Supporting groups of smallholding women substantially contributes to strengthen rural operations economically. The organisation and associated group activities can help to reduce extreme poverty and improve the food situation.
The majority of producers in developing countries are women. Although they contribute significantly to the food security of their families, they remain chronically disadvantaged in male-dominated agriculture in terms of access to land, credit, technology and education.
A contribution by Nadine Babatounde and Anne Floquet (MISEREOR)
To prevent malnutrition among young children and strengthen the role of women in their communities, Misereor, together with the local non-governmental organisation CEBEDES, is implementing a programme on integrated home gardens in Benin - a series of pictures.
Even though COVID-19 poses a threat to the health of humanity, the reaction to the pandemic must not cause more suffering than the disease itself. This is particularly relevant for poor developing countries, where the impact of the corona crisis on food security is even more severe!
In most African countries, the infection COVID-19 is likely to trigger a combined health and food crisis. This means: In order to cope with this unprecedented crisis, consistently aligning our policies to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is more important than ever, our author maintains.
COVID-19 has unprecedented effects on the world. As always, the most vulnerable are the hardest hit, both at home and - especially - abroad. A joint appeal by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ) and the Department for International Development (DFID).
A contritbution by Essa Chanie Mussa (University of Gondar)
Rural youth need viable livelihood opportunities to escape out of poverty and realize their aspirations. How could they be helped to fully unleash their potential? This is an aloud call that needs novel strategies among governments, policy makers, and international development partners and donors.
Enabling smallholders to trade across regions and borders promotes food security and economic growth. Although everyone is calling for exactly that, implementation is still difficult
A report by Bettina Rudloff and Annette Weber (SWP)
The Corona-Virus exacerbates existing crises through conflict, climate, hunger and locusts in East Africa and the Horn of Africa. What needs to be done in these regions? To face these challenges for many countries, all of these crises need to be captured in their regional context.
A report by Alexander Müller and Jes Weigelt (TMG)
As the climate changes, the population of Africa is growing and fertile land and jobs are becoming scarcer. New ways are currently leading to urbanisation of agriculture and a new mid-sized sector in the countryside
A contribution by Michael Brüntrup (DIE) und Daniel Tsegai (UNCCD)
Droughts are the natural disasters with far-reaching negative consequences. While rich countries are still vulnerable to drought, famines are no longer found.
A study by the World Bank predicts that millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa will have to leave their homelands because of climate change. We have spoken with one of the authors
Nutrition experts from all over the world are coming together in Rome. They are not only distilling 2000 ideas to improve food systems - they are also preparing for the big UN summit in New York in September. An interview.
Journalist Jan Rübel spoke with Joao Campari ahead of the UNFSS Pre-Summit. The Chair of Action Track 3 highlights key challenges in transforming existing food systems towards sustainable production and shares his expectations for the Summit.
A contribution by Dr. Karin Gaesing and Prof. Dr. Frank Bliss (INEF)
Especially in densely populated areas, land pressure leads to overexploitation of available land and a lack of conservation measures. The West African country of Benin, with heavily depleted soils in many places, is no exception.
Interview with Paul Newnham, Director of the SDG 2 Advocacy Hub.
The UN Food Systems pre-Summit in Rome dealt with transforming the ways of our nutrition. How do you bring that to a broad public? Questions to Paul Newnham, the Director of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 Advocacy Hub.
Interview with Martina Fleckenstein (WWF), Michael Kühn (WHH) and Christel Weller-Molongua (GIZ)
After the summit means pre-summit: It was the first time that the United Nations held a summit on food systems. Martina Fleckenstein, Michael Kühn and Christel Weller-Molongua reviewed the situation in this joint interview.
A Contribution by Emile Frison and Nick Jacobs (IPES-Food)
While having failed to solve the hunger problem, industrial agriculture appears to be causing additional ones both in environmental and health terms. Emile Frison and Nick Jacobs call for a transformation.
Fish is important for combating malnutrition and undernourishment. But it is not only notable for its nutritional value, but also secures the livelihoods and employment for 600 million people worldwide.
Three quarters of the world's population do not have secure land rights, which hinders investment and innovation. The project "Improvement of Livelihood and Food Security" supports smallholder farmers in acquiring land.
Vertically growing plants, magnetic cotton. Hairy leftovers fertilizing fields, tractors running on algae? These six innovations could lead agriculture’s next Green Revolution!
Climate change already affects the daily lives of people in the Global South. What are the challenges they face and what do these imply for negotiations at the climate conference in Glasgow?
A Contribution by the Forestry Research Institute Nigeria
The 'Domestication of Small Monogastric and Ruminant Animals' (DSMR) project led by a Nigerian research institute works with local communities to solve the bushmeat crisis.
In the run-up to the G7 summit, experts from politics and civil society discussed sustainable and more effective options for action by the G7 states to combat hunger.
The G7 is responding to the worsening global hunger crisis by mobilizing an additional $4.5 billion for this year alone. A key milestone for this in the run-up was the international conference on global food security "Uniting for Global Food Security".
Healthy, productive soils are a prerequisite for global food security – one of the priorities of German development cooperation. State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth on Germany’s efforts to support sustainable land management and why the VGGT are more important than ever today.
How can we reach more people with successful approaches to food security? In Berlin, an international conference organized by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationaler Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) addressed this issue.
Whether it's banana bread made from brown bananas, conscious shopping plans or foodsharing, we give you five tips on how to reduce your everyday food waste.
Why are short- and long-term responses important to address current and future global crises? Sebastian Lesch, Head of the Agriculture Division at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), provides answers to these and other questions in an interview with the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GDPRD) and explains how much Germany welcomes all donors pulling together and acting in concert.
How to maintain functioning food markets in global food supply chains in the face of vulnerability and disruption? Markets that support local and territorial food systems are part of the solution. Thomas Forster presents proposals for these markets to cope with future shocks.
The Global Alliance for Food Security (GAFS), jointly launched by the German G7 Presidency and the World Bank, released the Global Food and Nutrition Security Dashboard during COP27: A Rapid Response Tool for Coordinating Global Action for Food Security.
Development cooperation needs to place good governance and a sustainable agri-food systems transformation at its center: After the first 100 days in office have passed, Dirk Meyer from the German Development Ministry (BMZ) spells out the goals, guidelines and priorities of the Ministry’s new lead.
Rising food and gas prices, physical destruction and supply chain disruptions: Why the Black Sea region matters and how the war in Ukraine affects global food security.
A Contribution of the 'Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains' (INA)
Fair Trade organisations and the Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains (INA) have launched the #ichwillfair campaign during COP26 to highlight the link between global supply chains and climate change.
New insights on trade and value addition in the rice sector in West Africa
Low import tariffs, smuggling activities, unpredictable tax exemptions and weak enforcement of food safety standards: The potential of local rice value chains is undermined in West African countries.
Four interviews kick off the relaunch under the new name „Food4Transformation“, asking the same questions from different perspectives. Mareike Haase and Stig Tanzmann from Brot für die Welt explain why the right to food, inclusivity, agroecology and food sovereignty are the central levers for a successful transformation.
A Contribution by Dr. Fatima Olanike Kareem and Dr. Olayinka Idowu Kareem
High agricultural prices affect developed and developing countries alike, but the problem is aggravated for the latter through the lack of or inadequate resilience measures. Dr. Fatima Olanike Kareem, AKADEMIYA2063, and Dr. Olayinka Idowu Kareem, University of Hohenheim, explain what can be done to mitigate the negative effects on food security.
The consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine have enabled many countries to open up new export markets for their agricultural goods. However, smallholder farms have been largely left out. Drawing on his experience in India, our author gives a brief overview of how this can be changed.
A contribution by the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development
Two years following the UN Food Systems Summit, the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development and the Shamba Centre for Food & Climate hosted an official side event at the UNFSS+2. The event explored how public donors can increase the impact of their investments.
Iraq suffered many years of war, sanctions and economic crises. However, Ally-Raza Qureshi from the World Food Programme in Iraq sees progress. But now the effects of climate change are becoming apparent in the country. What is to be done?
In a world facing crises – from pandemics, armed conflicts, and climate change – how do we ensure everyone has enough food within planetary boundaries? A new podcast by Food4Transformation discover solutions talking to government officials, scientists, NGOs and farmers around the world.
The Gaza Strip depends heavily on humanitarian aid, more than ever with the current war. Gaza population is very young: Half of them are children. What is their situation on the ground? Questions for Lucia Elmi, Unicef Special Representative to the State of Palestine.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, not all financial institutions (FIs) have access to knowledge about how to implement processes to enhance rural financial inclusion. The pan-African Community of Practice (CoP) plays a pivotal role in supporting these institutions along this transformative journey.
How can agriculture engage more young people in rural areas? Advocacy and education campaigns can play an important role here. Simeon Kambalame, Timveni Child and Youth Media Organisation, has launched such a campaign in Malawi.
Women and girls in poorer countries are affected in particular ways by the multiple crises the world is currently facing. Uncovering the linkages between gender, resilience and food security, experts from International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) look at ways to support women and girls’ capacity to respond to crises.
The armed conflict between Israeli forces and the Hamas is escalating. What does this mean for a Gaza, region that was already heavily dependent on external aid? Questions for Dr. Muriel Asseburg, Senior Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin.
Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Podcast of the Federal Government
At the start of World Food Week around World Food Day on 16 October, Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that the fight against global hunger will only be successful with international responsibility and solidarity (german only).
From measures to promote biodiversity in Germany to more sustainable cocoa cultivation methods in Ecuador: WWF works at many different levels. At the Green Week, it will be demonstrated just how multifaceted nature conservation work is and what role each individual's decision plays.
The Agriculture and Food Security Cluster of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Zambia shows how synergies among different projects and partner organisations can help people to eat healthier, diversified food. A delegation of the Bonn based Division of Agriculture and Rural Development learned this in a field visit in the Eastern Province of the Southern African country.
Felix Phiri has been Head of the Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS at the Ministry of Health in Malawi for almost 20 years. A conversation about constants and change.
In Himachal Pradesh, India, natural disasters are becoming more frequent and climatic conditions are changing – with negative consequences for apple production and farmers' livelihoods. Holistic and multidimensional innovation bundles are required for the entire value chain in order to make the food system more resilient in the future.
A Contribution by Emmanuel Atamba & Larissa Stiem-Bhatia
Drawing on dialogues with experts in Kenya, TMG Research releases its latest policy brief highlighting the critical need to strengthen coordination mechanisms in food systems governance. Emmanuel Atamba and Larissa Stiem-Bhatia from TMG Research summarize the results.
Diversifying our protein supply to include plant-based foods and cultivated meat can be a game-changer for climate mitigation and climate adaptation, especially in the countries of the Global South. However, a great deal of research is still required to capitalise on this potential. And political support, as Ivo Rzegotta, Good Food Institute, demonstrates.
With a simple but effective idea to combat malnutrition: in Nairobi, Fabio Rappenecker and his start-up TenX Nutrition produce mandazi, which become a real power biscuit thanks to added micronutrients. The aim is to strengthen food security through local, affordable and healthy food.
Amid rising global hunger, urbanization, and shrinking international funding, informal food systems are crucial for food access and livelihoods in low-income African urban areas. The TMG Think Tank’s paper, “Working with Informality for Food Systems Transformation and Resilient Communities,” highlights the importance of recognizing and working with informality to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2.
In Togo’s capital, Lomé, home-grown rice costs almost twice as much as the imported product from Thailand. Yet there are good reasons for preferring the local product
Every child in Germany knows Ritter Sport – but most of the children harvesting cocoa on western African plantations have never even eaten chocolate. Can a chocolate manufacturer change the world? Conversation with Alfred Ritter about the power and powerlessness of a businessman.
Happy youngsters in rural areas, green development and the connection to the digital age – professor Joachim von Braun believes in this future sceneraio for Africa. For three decades the agricultural scienties has been researching how politics can create prosperty on the continent.
By leasing a three hundred hectare fruit plantation in Ethiopia, Lutz Hartmann has realised a long-cherished dream: to run his own business in Africa. Now he has a personal interest in the issue of Africa’s development.
Small holders around the world are often forced to sell their harvests below market value due to a lack of market and pricing information. A new app by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is going to change this.
A quick and cost-effective method calculates living wages and incomes for many different countries. The GIZ together with Fairtrade International and Richard and Martha Anker have developed a tool that companies can use to easily analyse income and wage gaps.
Oxfam’s supermarket scorecard, which is in its third year, shows one thing in particular - it works! Supermarkets can change their business policies and focus more on the rights of those people around the world who plant and harvest food. However, this does not happen without pressure.
The Federal Government is fine-tuning a law that would require companies to ensure human rights – a supply chain law. What are the consequences for the agricultural sector? Dr Bettina Rudloff from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) discusses linking policy fields with added value.
Why aren’t bars of chocolate made where cocoa is grown? Author Frank Brunner analyses the industry’s fragile value chain from the plantation to the supermarket
The soybean is a natural crop that can be used to make a lot of food. So, Tata Bi started a small processing business first on her own, then with a few other women, which provides the women with an additional source of income year-round besides selling the soybeans.
‘Fair’ and ‘sustainable’ are key words in Germany’s EU Council Presidency. At the same time, Germany pursues ‘modernization’ of the WTO and ‘rapid progress’ on free trade agreements. Are these goals really compatible? Can we be concerned about fairness and sustainability while continuing with ‘business as usual’?
Corona makes it even more difficult to achieve a world without hunger by 2030. So that this perspective does not get out of sight, Germany must play a stronger role internationally - a summary of the Strategic Advisory Group of SEWOH.
The Cashew Council is the first international organisation for a raw material stemming from Africa. The industry promises to make progress in processing and refining cashew nuts - and answers to climate change
As President of the IABM cooperative in Muhanga, Alphonsine Mukankusi is not simply focused on the figures. She has learned how to deal with people and how to take on responsibility. At the same time, her work helps her to come to terms with the past
In the tropics rainforests are still being felled for the production of palm oil, meat and furniture. It is high time to act. Proposals are on the table.
Agnes Kalibata, AGRA president since 2014 and former minister of agriculture and wildlife in Rwanda, is convinced that Africa's economy will only grow sustainably if small-scale agriculture is also seen as an opportunity.
On the podcast ‘From the Field to the Shelf’, Marie Nasemann calls for new attempts to promote fair fashion. An evening about burnt returns, filterless washing machines and a lot of room for improvement.
The global trade in spices currently has a volume of over 10 billion euros. But at what price do these spices refine our Christmas cuisine? On closer inspection, aspects of the value chain leave a bitter taste.
Saskia Widenhorn, Head of the Cotton Component in Cameroon and the Sub-Saharan Cotton Initiative at GIZ, reports on the Bremer Cotton Week, which brought together international industry experts. The agenda included supply chain transparency, sustainability and new forms of cooperation between the private sector and partner countries.
An Artikel by the Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains (INA)
A study published by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) examines the differences between globally traded agricultural commodities and domestic niche products in terms of economic, environmental and social impact on the region of origin. The results provide new evidence to make supply chains more sustainable.
Until Easter 2022, GIZ publishes a new episode every fortnight introducing people who are committed to fair and sustainable cocoa in Côte d'Ivoire and Germany.
The oceans are important for our food supply, but they are overfished. To halt this trend the global community is now taking action against illegal fishing. Journalist Jan Rübel spoke with Francesco Marí, a specialist for world food, agricultural trade and maritime policy at "Brot für die Welt," and others.
Organic cotton is extremely popular – but farmers still find it difficult to change their conventional cultivation methods. A new project addresses this dilemma: Bundesliga football teams in Germany are promoting the switch to organic cotton in India. And thereby setting an example.
The complex interrelationships of the sustainable transformation of agricultural and food systems are not always easy to understand - the Agri-Food Map, an interactive online app, makes the comprehensive relations accessible by providing a wide range of comprehensibly prepared information.
gebana, a Swiss fair trade company, follows the principle of "sharing" with its corporate philosophy: farming families in the Global South participate directly in the sales of their online shop. Caroline Schaar, Marketing at gebana, explains the company's approach.
A Contribution by Initiative für nachhaltige Agrarlieferketten (INA)
The demand for sustainable products and supply chains is constantly increasing. DIASCA is an alliance that works on interoperability of digital solutions in agricultural supply chains through the development of open standards for forest monitoring, farm income and traceability.
Female founder Ebun Feludu wants to bring the coconut value chain to Nigeria with her start-up Kokari. In this interview, she explains why she envisions every coconut palm tree bearing its own name in the future and how digitalization can contribute to this.
The textile industry contributes significantly to environmental pollution as it produces over 100 billion garments every year, resulting in huge CO2 emissions and water consumption. Fashion designer Paul Kadjo uses banana silk as an environmentally friendly alternative to make textile production more environmentally conscious and socially just.
Allan Mubiru was standing in front of a shelf in Kigali, Rwanda, and discovered a local type of coffee. He took it, tasted it and was thrilled. A story about a grocery shopping trip that became the beginning of a successful business idea.
Many of ALDI SOUTH Group supply chains begin in the Global South. How does the food retailer assume its responsibility? Questions for Sally Roach, Senior Manager - International Sustainability Department at the ALDI SOUTH Group.
The Nyayo Tea Zones Development Corporation is committed to the preservation of forests in Kenya: The establishment of so-called buffer zones counteracts deforestation by planting trees and tea. In addition to the production of environmentally friendly tea, the project benefits the resources of the forests and the livelihoods of the communities living near the forests, says project manager Wallace Gichunge.
Maura Oerding has a mission: With the specialty coffee Angelique's Finest, she not only wants to enter new markets but also revolutionize the coffee industry. Her recipe for success? Empowering women from Rwanda and Uganda from cultivation to marketing. Oerding’s goal: quality, fairness, and self-determination in every bean.
For everyone in the supply chain to benefit, it is essential that politics and business work together. The measurable successes of such partnerships are demonstrated by the following six projects: they show how cooperation with the business sector can make supply chains fairer, more resilient, and more sustainable step by step.
A Contribution by Carlos Castellanos & Yvonne Bielfeld
The shoe manufacturer Cueros Vélez as a good example of private sector responsibility: the photo gallery shows how the bark of the rubber tree becomes a reliable yet deforestation free companion on our roads.
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