• About
  • Become a Climate Reporter
  • Send Us Your Report
  • Submit A News
  • Support Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
Friday, May 9, 2025
NEWSLETTER
Africa Climate Reports
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • CLIMATE CHANGE
  • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
  • FOOD
  • FOREST
  • ENERGY
  • WASH
  • LAND
  • OTHERS
    • FINANCE
    • HEALTH
    • OCEANS
    • TOP STORIES
    • MOST POPULAR
    • COLUMNISTS
    • INTERVIEWS
    • OPINIONS
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEOS
Africa Climate Reports
  • HOME
  • CLIMATE CHANGE
  • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
  • FOOD
  • FOREST
  • ENERGY
  • WASH
  • LAND
  • OTHERS
    • FINANCE
    • HEALTH
    • OCEANS
    • TOP STORIES
    • MOST POPULAR
    • COLUMNISTS
    • INTERVIEWS
    • OPINIONS
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEOS
No Result
View All Result
Africa Climate Reports
No Result
View All Result

US Launches Initiative to Support African Farmers Amid Food Security Challenges

by Jiata Ekele
February 10, 2023
in Featured, FOOD
0
Home Featured
0
SHARES
4
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
FILE – Elijah Leshakwet, 4, and her grandmother, Marseyian Letooye, walk in Samburu County, Kenya, on Oct. 13, 2022. A U.S. official said Feb. 1, 2023, that there is an urgent need to develop crops that can withstand climate change and feed Africa’s growing population

WASHINGTON – In partnership with the African Union, the United Nations and others, the U.S. State Department has kicked off an initiative to help African farmers and governments prepare for and adapt to food security challenges caused by climate change.

Dr. Cary Fowler, U.S. special envoy for global food security, launched the new program Wednesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

“Crops adapted to climate, pests, diseases and the needs of the marketplace are a prerequisite for food security,” said Fowler. “Poor soils don’t produce rich harvest.”

Fowler, who recently visited Zambia and Malawi, warned there is an urgent need to develop crops that are prepared to withstand the effects of climate change and the agricultural productivity demands of Africa’s growing population.

RelatedPosts

Beninese Rice Farmers hail Climate Resilience and Regenerative Agriculture at Mega Field Day

South Sudan shuts schools for two weeks after students collapse due to extreme heat

“At a time when Africa is experiencing weather extremes and population growth is increasing, we see a real opportunity promoting soil health and climate resistant crops in Africa,” said Fowler. “By the end of the century, as you probably already know, Africa will be the world’s most populated continent, yet already there are 300 million people who are food insecure on the continent.”

Historically, most adaptation efforts have focused on a handful of crops such as maize, rice and wheat, said Fowler. That attention, he said, should include lesser known crops that are rich in vitamins and micronutrients.

“Other crops such as grains, such as sorghum, millet and teff, and almost all of the root and tuber crops, and the hundreds of indigenous African fruits and vegetables, have received much attention,” he said. “Not surprisingly, their yields are low and their potential unrealized. For many of these crops there has never been a single scientifically trained plant breeder working on them in all of agriculture history.”

This initiative is being launched in partnership with the African Union and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Ambassador Cindy McCain, U.S. permanent representative to the U.N. agencies in Rome, was at the launch. She said overlapping crises — armed conflict, COVID-19 and climate change — are straining global food systems. And that is affecting everyone, especially the more vulnerable around the globe.

“Throughout my travels as the U.S. ambassador to U.N. agencies in Rome, I’ve seen the effects of conflict, water scarcity and extreme weather conditions from Kenya to Madagascar, from Sri Lanka to Laos and more,” she said. “As global leaders sought climate solutions in COP 27 in Egypt last year and at the Negev forum in UAE last month, it is clear that we must leverage science and technology and innovation in agriculture to feed a growing population, and it demands a united global effort.”

Fowler said in addition to the FAO and AU, entities such as the Rockefeller Foundation, Columbia University and CGIAR, a global partnership that unites international organizations engaged in food security research, also are involved in this effort.

He said this is like a potluck dinner where the State Department brings some resources and maybe a main dish, but other partners need to contribute to the effort in order to make it a success. Fowler noted the process outlined is part scientific and part consensus- and commitment-building.

Tags: AfricaAUFAOFoodFood InsecurityFood SecurityUSA
ShareTweetSendShare
Jiata Ekele

Jiata Ekele

Jiata Ekele is a Staff Writer at the Africa Climate Reports (ACR).

Related Posts

Beninese Rice Farmers hail Climate Resilience and Regenerative Agriculture  at Mega Field Day
Atâyi Babs LIVE!

Beninese Rice Farmers hail Climate Resilience and Regenerative Agriculture at Mega Field Day

April 22, 2025

An expert displaying how decarbonisation practices reduce biogenic methane from rice cultivation By Atayi Babs Food and agricultural systems are...

South Sudan shuts schools for two weeks after students collapse due to extreme heat
CLIMATE CHANGE

South Sudan shuts schools for two weeks after students collapse due to extreme heat

February 26, 2025

Copyright AP Photo Brian Inganga Many schools in South Sudan have makeshift structures and no electricity for cooling systems. South...

Next Post
Climate Change: 490 million Children in Africa most vulnerable

Climate Change increases risk of Human Trafficking

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recommended

Beninese Rice Farmers hail Climate Resilience and Regenerative Agriculture  at Mega Field Day

Beninese Rice Farmers hail Climate Resilience and Regenerative Agriculture at Mega Field Day

2 weeks ago
Only seven countries met WHO air quality standards in 2024, data shows

Only seven countries met WHO air quality standards in 2024, data shows

2 months ago
South Sudan shuts schools for two weeks after students collapse due to extreme heat

South Sudan shuts schools for two weeks after students collapse due to extreme heat

2 months ago
‘Surrounded by an Ocean of Sand’: Desertification pushes Ancient City to the brink of oblivion

‘Surrounded by an Ocean of Sand’: Desertification pushes Ancient City to the brink of oblivion

2 months ago
UN urges immediate Climate Action to cool “Season of Fire and Floods” Worldwide

Botswana flash floods kill seven, displace thousands

3 months ago
Radio’s commanding power in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

Radio’s commanding power in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

3 months ago

Popular News

    Social Media

    ABOUT US

    Africa Climate Reports is Africa’s first and largest bilingual journal dedicated to opening new vistas in the coverage and reportage of climate change and the region’s environment. With a multi-lingual team of talented reporters from across the continent, we tell the African climate story in a refreshingly lucid, communally engaging and technically robust manner.

    SITE LINK

    • About
    • Advertise
    • Careers

    OTHER LINKS

    • About
    • Become a Climate Reporter
    • Send Us Your Report
    • Submit A News
    • Support Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us

    NEWSLETTER

    Be the first to get notified when we have something new to share. Get Africa Climate Reports newsletter directly into your email.
    we promise not to spam you!
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Careers

    © 2024 All Rights Reserved- Africa Climate Report - Designed by Prexy

    No Result
    View All Result
    • HOME
    • CLIMATE CHANGE
    • SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
    • FOOD
    • FOREST
    • ENERGY
    • WASH
    • LAND
    • OTHERS
      • FINANCE
      • HEALTH
      • OCEANS
      • TOP STORIES
      • MOST POPULAR
      • COLUMNISTS
      • INTERVIEWS
      • OPINIONS
      • PHOTOS
      • VIDEOS

    © 2024 All Rights Reserved- Africa Climate Report - Designed by Prexy