Presented by Eleanor Crook Foundation
The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa is no more — the organization will now be known only by its acronym, AGRA. My colleague Rumbi Chakamba brings us the latest on AGRA’s new five-year strategy, released last week at the organization’s buzzed-about gathering in Kigali.
Along with the excitement of being back at a large event in person, the African Green Revolution Forum — now to be known only as AGRF — took a serious look at the future of agriculture on the continent amid rising global food insecurity. AGRA was forced to rethink how Africa should produce, distribute, and consume food because of the numerous shocks experienced by the agrifood sector, Hailemariam Desalegn, AGRA’s board chair, said at the launch of the strategy.
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“The business as usual model cannot work anymore,” Desalegn said. “The only solution is for Africa to transform its food systems and to move onto a sustainable development pathway.”
But critics of AGRA — which was found to have had a mixed impact on inclusive finance, output markets, and farmer outcomes in an independent evaluation released earlier this year — say the new strategy is just more of the same. Timothy Wise, a senior adviser at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, tells Rumbi that the fact that AGRA still supports the use of commercial seeds and synthetic fertilizer shows they remain committed to a “failed” Green Revolution approach.
“At this point the name change means that AGRA now stands for nothing, literally and figuratively,” Wise says.
+ What do you think of AGRA’s rebrand? Were you in Kigali? What were your main takeaways from AGRF? Write to me with your thoughts at dish@devex.com.
Read: Does AGRA's new $550M strategy address past failures? (Pro)
Rumbi also took a look at the top megatrends in African food systems, according to the 2022 Africa Agriculture Status report, and how they are shaping food production on the continent.
Read: 6 megatrends shaping African food systems
+ Devex Pro members can also read about how IFRC is adjusting its cash assistance program to meet demands caused by inflation in Asia-Pacific. It's the latest in our Pro series on how organizations are responding to the food crisis. Not yet a Pro member? Start your 15-day free trial today.
‘Absolute famine’
This week, we’re bringing you a follow-up to my colleague Sara Jerving’s recent harrowing report out of Somalia — pockets of which are undoubtedly experiencing famine already, even though a blanket declaration has yet to be made. Sara explores why the famine declaration isn't official, even though top United Nations officials warn that it’s “at the door” in Somalia.
In an exclusive interview, Somalia’s Minister of State for Environment and Climate Change, Adam Aw Hirsi, tells Sara that the government is wary of a “declaration of a blanket famine” when the areas with the most elevated levels of food insecurity are concentrated in hotspots. Such a declaration could “mislead responders and donors” as well as “chase away potential investors” in other areas of the country, he says. “There is an absolute famine in some chunks of the country,” Hirsi tells Sara, but he also says other regions are faring better than neighboring countries
Somali official: Blanket famine declaration could ‘throw a wrench’ in programs
ICYMI: 'The cavalry hasn't arrived' — Somalia on the brink of famine
Stay UNGA-ry, stay foolish
World leaders gather in force in New York next week for the first “normal” high-level week of UNGA since 2019. I’ll be there, trying to remember how to hustle around Manhattan without getting too many blisters (what are heels? I’ve forgotten) as I walk between meetings to avoid getting caught in motorcades. While schedules remain a bit up in the air due to the fact that many world leaders will now attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday, I’m still expecting U.S. President Joe Biden to chair a Global Food Security Summit to discuss the latest on the food crisis … at some point.
Your next job?
Bringing home the bacon
Technical Officer (Diet & Nutrition)
World Health Organization
Yemen
I hope you’ll also join us — in person or virtually — for Devex @UNGA77, a packed two days of programming on all the most pressing global development issues, including food systems. I’ll be moderating panels on malnutrition, the role of faith organizations in food aid, and speaking with U.S. Ambassador to the Rome-based U.N. agencies Cindy McCain and IFAD President-elect Alvaro Lario. You won’t want to miss it, and you can register here.
+ Will you be in New York next week? Get in touch at dish@devex.com if you’d like to set up a meeting. It would be great to have the chance to connect in person.
ICYMI: Devex Pro members can check out the Devex news team’s preview of what we’re watching at UNGA next week.
Number munching
$40 million
—That’s the amount the U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power announced in humanitarian support to help Sri Lankan farmers buy fertilizer and other key agricultural inputs during her trip there last week. U.S. humanitarian assistance is also supporting school meals for 1.1 million children for 60 days and access to nutritious food for pregnant and lactating mothers.
The funding announcements come as the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme warn in a new report that 30% of Sri Lanka’s population is acutely food insecure.
A mouthful
“The goal should not simply be giving more food aid. It should be to ensure no aid is needed in the first place.”
— Bill Gates, co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationMy colleague Stephanie Beasley brings us the grim news from the latest Gates Foundation Goalkeepers Report, which (unsurprisingly) finds that we are wildly off track to meet the SDGs by 2030. She reports that the foundation is prioritizing climate-resilient food production in Africa as it seeks to help the world regain ground.
Read: Dismal Gates Goalkeepers report centers on women's power, food security
Chew on this
A million metric tons of grain are trapped in India’s ports because customers won’t pay the government’s new export tax. [Reuters]
The food crisis is an opportunity to strengthen resilience against future shocks, writes SUN Movement Coordinator Gerda Verbug. [World Economic Forum]
Talks to allow fertilizer ingredients to be exported from Russia through the Black Sea are “moving in the right direction,” a U.N. official says. [Financial Times]
About the author
Teresa Welshtmawelsh
Teresa Welsh is a Senior Reporter at Devex. She has reported from more than 10 countries and is currently based in Washington, D.C. Her coverage focuses on Latin America; U.S. foreign assistance policy; fragile states; food systems and nutrition; and refugees and migration. Prior to joining Devex, Teresa worked at McClatchy's Washington Bureau and covered foreign affairs for U.S. News and World Report. She was a reporter in Colombia, where she previously lived teaching English. Teresa earned bachelor of arts degrees in journalism and Latin American studies from the University of Wisconsin.
