Of agroecology and related terminologies that hogged the limelight in 2023 The year 2023 saw agroecology receiving a lot of attention as one of the main proposed solutions for combating climate change in harmony with nature. However, like many other buzzwords, agroecology continues to be diluted, generalized and coopted before its full potential can be Read more about Of agroecology and related terminologies that hogged the limelight in 2023[…]

Financial systems must be sensitive to local contexts and local knowledge There are several reasons why development-oriented financial systems should adapt to local contexts and local knowledge systems especially in African countries. When used in a sensitive manner, financial systems have power to redistribute, recognize and represent power in ways that enhance human dignity. They Read more about Financial systems must be sensitive to local contexts and local knowledge[…]

How African markets are defining and expanding Nature Based Food Systems Among several climate mitigation approaches under discussion at this year’s United Nations Climate Summit (COP28) in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December 2023 is Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). While the notion of NBS focuses mostly on the food production side including forest management, African Read more about How African markets are defining and expanding Nature Based Food Systems[…]

African mass markets demonstrate the value of contextualizing gender issues The notion of gender inclusion has been in African communities for decades but there has not been much adoption due to a number of contentious issues. One of the reasons for slow traction is that development organizations pushing gender inclusion have not invested enough time Read more about African mass markets demonstrate the value of contextualizing gender issues[…]

Benefits of consolidating government programs and development initiatives The benefits of collaborating and building partnerships to solve shared problems like climate change seem very obvious. Mounting evidence indicates that dividing issues into themes often breaks natural synergies, for instance, between agriculture, environment, energy, mobility and other issues that should be approached holistically.  However, the fact Read more about Benefits of consolidating government programs and development initiatives[…]

African Knowledge Management should start by consolidating food preservation innovations at colleges and universities Over the past few years, African institutions of higher learning like colleges and universities have added innovation to their mandate of generating higher level expertise, knowledge and skills. To that end, they have made some headway in research, innovation as well Read more about African Knowledge Management should start by consolidating food preservation innovations at colleges and universities[…]

Increasing the capacity of communities to process information and knowledge One of the reasons why democracy has taken long to germinate in African countries is because ordinary rural people lack capacity to process information from within their own communities as well as information from government sources, from members of parliament, from development agencies and mainstream Read more about Increasing the capacity of communities to process information and knowledge[…]

When you listen to banks talking about agriculture investment it would appear capital or money is more important than fundamental natural resources like land, water, labour and local knowledge. Yet it is clear that without land, water, fertile soils, local people and favourable climatic conditions, capital injected into agricultural projects will not generate meaningful returns. Read more about Reimagining agribusiness models that value farmers and the environment[…]

Bringing back dignity to African farming systems through mass markets Dignity is a fundamental human right. Depending on circumstances, dignity can be about choice. For farmers, it is about choosing what to grow, when, how to grow, how much and where to sell. For consumers, it is about choosing what to consume and where to Read more about Bringing back dignity to African farming systems through mass markets[…]

African governments and development organizations are increasingly being challenged to build the capacity of entire communities rather than continue investing in isolated projects that do not speak to each other. Several agricultural projects have failed to make a difference in many African countries because implementers have rushed into communities without investing adequate time to fully Read more about Pathways for transitioning from projects to community investments[…]