Ben Moses Ilakut: As the novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) continues to spread rapidly across the globe, countries across the world have shut down major socio-economic functions, putting livelihoods in a precarious situation.
A genuine fear that the worst is yet to come in regards to food and nutrition security is looming. The months of April, May and even the proceeding ones could pose some of the worst disruptions in food supply chains ever since the Global Food Crisis of 2007-2008 sparked off by rising food prices. The crisis reached an unprecedented peak in 2011 prompting ASARECA in partnership with the CGIAR to undertake evidence-based advocacy to curb food prices. The approach then was to keep policy-makers well informed of the food trends and their implications to avoid ad-hoc policy actions, which could have worsened the situation.
Policy options
Some of the recommendations given to the leaders at the time included: Working collaboratively as a region to allow food to move from production zones and areas of surplus to areas of deficiency; and making efforts to turn the crisis into a stimulus for domestic production, regional trade and integration. The arithmetic of doing this in the face of the Coronavirus is complicated since a balance has to be made between stopping the spread of the disease through restricted person-to-person contact on one hand, and ensuring emergency movements to provide families with food on the other hand. But the balancing act can be done.
A good example is the approach taken by Uganda. In his regular briefings, on measures to contain the spread of the disease, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has literally shut down all functions that could compromise social distancing. He, however, has consistently been careful not to extend restrictions to cross-border and internal cargo movement, especially the movement of food supplies. Inbound and outbound cargo has been spared the travel ban, just as internal deliveries have been. This is a move that Governments across the world could exercise since, according to FAO, “there is still enough food to feed all people.”
Open markets like this in most African suburbs get supplies from rural farms
Where things are going wrong
The CGIAR, the largest global AR4D grouping, has highlighted key areas where things could go haywire if not addressed. They include The food systems which have been significantly affected, and whose impacts will grow if processing enterprises cannot restart production in a near future; production of staple food crops if the outbreak continues into critical planting periods; domestic and international trade disruptions, which may trigger food price panics; restrictions on mobility which may lead to labour shortages, among others.
Resourcing the rural food baskets
Luckily, the African rural areas are not as vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19 as are the cities. Many Governments have already taken measures to stop the urban populations from transferring the virus to the rural areas, which are naturally the food baskets. However, there is a danger that restrictions of movement could affect farm productivity due to shortage of fertilizers, veterinary services and other inputs, while the closure of food cooking businesses could curtail fresh produce and fisheries products, affecting producers and suppliers. The Governments should, therefore, move to ensure that the rural areas are resourced with agricultural inputs and resident extension services to encourage them to produce more to feed the urban populations. Given the currently favourable rain patterns, this could turn out to be an opportunity for farmers to reap big from their urban folk who have been grounded and are requiring more food supplies.
Logistics for movement of food
There is also a need to put in place logistical systems including storage, transport and protective gear, to move food from places of production and surplus to places of deficiency. Noting that the Corona pandemic could escalate before it calms down, governments could besides securing lives from the virus, invest in postharvest facilities to store, and move food where it is most needed.
Areas for emergency action
According to the CGIAR, action now needs to focus on: Increasing support for production entities; ensuring the smooth flow of trade and making full use of international markets to secure food supply and demand; ensuring smooth logistical operations of regional agricultural and food supply chains; monitoring food prices and strengthening market supervision; explaining issues related to wet-markets and livestock-wildlife interface and how to mitigate future zoonotic disease and supporting one-health approaches; increasing resilience and mitigation of social disruptions by increasing local food productivity and water access. It is clear from this list that coordinated regional action towards production and keeping food circulation has an important place in pushing back the impacts of COVID-19.
It is arguable that if policy leaders desist from interrupting food exports and imports, the impact of Corona Virus on food and nutrition security will be minimal
Finally, as the world grapples with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FAO has attempted to answer critical questions in the face of the pandemic globally. Some of the key questions posed and answered by FAO are:
Will COVID-19 have negative impacts on global food security?
Whose food security and livelihoods are most at risk due to the pandemic?
What are the implications of the COVID-19 situation – now and in the future – for food production, agricultural and fishery/aquaculture supply chains and markets?
How will the pandemic affect food demand?
What is the connection between COVID-19 and animals?
À l’occasion de la Journée internationale de la femme 2020, le Forum pour la recherche agricole en Afrique (FARA) se joint à la communauté internationale pour rendre hommage aux femmes de science, aux femmes agricultrices, agripreneuses, chercheuses, dirigeantes, décideuses et bien d’autres qui ont grandement contribué à la promotion de l’AR4D en Afrique et au-delà.
Cette année, la Journée internationale de la femme marque une étape importante dans la recherche agricole pour le développement sur le continent avec le lancement du CAADP XP4 qui place l’intégration du genre au cœur des activités menées par le FARA. Pour maintenir l’élan imprimé et intensifier les actions visant à autonomiser les femmes sur le continent, le FARA a lancé le programme de Bourse de recherche et d’innovation en agriculture pour l’Afrique (ARIFA) qui vise une participation des jeunes femmes à hauteur de 50%. Ce programme permettra de promouvoir les investissements dans la science, la technologie et l’innovation (STI) ainsi qu’un accès élargi à l’éducation, à l’apprentissage, au financement, aux affaires et aux possibilités d’emploi pour les jeunes hommes et femmes de la recherche agricole pour le développement sur le continent.
Le FARA estime que les jeunes sont la clé qui permettra de libérer le potentiel de l’Afrique à travers des perturbations créatives. Dans le cadre des efforts déployés par le FARA pour intégrer la dimension de genre dans ses programmes et du partenariat avec des initiatives internationales en faveur de la jeunesse telles que la Plateforme des jeunes professionnels pour la recherche agricole pour le développement (YPARD), nous souhaitons reconnaître que les multiples rôles que jouent les femmes, individuellement et collectivement, à divers moments de leur vie, sur les lieux de travail, dans les familles, sur les marchés, dans les universités, les laboratoires, au niveau des conseils d’administration et dans les organismes publics ont contribué au fil des ans à assurer la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle en Afrique. Les femmes représentent 70% de la main d’œuvre agricole en Afrique et 10% de la main d’œuvre dans le secteur de la transformation alimentaire. Elles réalisent également 60 à 90% des activités de commercialisation en milieu rural, principalement à travers des circuits informels.
Nous devons donc mettre tout en œuvre pour établir un espace commercial et mettre en place une stratégie de collaboration en vue d’atteindre la parité des sexes et faire en sorte que les hommes et les femmes jouissent d’un accès équitable aux possibilités au sein du système alimentaire en Afrique.
Aujourd’hui, nous vous engageons tous à œuvrer en vue d’améliorer les droits et accroître les chances offertes aux femmes et aux filles pour leur permettre d’atteindre leur plein potentiel. Au cours de la 8e édition de la Semaine africaine des sciences agricoles prévue à Accra en juin 2020, nous étudierons davantage les possibilités d’intégration du genre dans l’Agenda scientifique pour l’agriculture en Afrique.
En tant que principal acteur de la marche vers la réalisation de la vision de l’Afrique que nous voulons, le FARA rend hommage aux femmes africaines dans l’AR4D et continuera à intégrer le genre en renforçant sa collaboration avec les femmes et les filles dans la communauté de l’AR4D en Afrique.
On the occasion of the 2020 International Women’s Day, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) joins the global community to celebrate the highly adaptable women of science, farmers, agri-preneurs, researchers, leaders, policy makers and many more, who have greatly contributed to advancing AR4D in Africa and beyond.
This IWD marks important milestones in Agricultural Research for Development on the continent, through the launch of the CAADP XP4 with gender mainstreaming at the heart of FARA’s activities. In an effort to maintain momentum and scale-up actions towards empowering women on the continent, FARA launched the Agricultural Research Innovation Fellowship in Africa (ARIFA) targeting 50% participation of younger women. This will provide a platform to promote investment in Science, Technology and Innovations (STI) as well as expand access to education, apprenticeships, finance, business and employment opportunities for young women and young men in Agricultural Research for Development across the continent.
Furthermore, FARA believes that the youth are the key to unlocking Africa’s potential through creative disruption. Through its gender mainstreaming efforts, and in partnership with global youth initiatives such as Young Professionals in Agricultural Research & Development (YPARD) we wish to acknowledge that the roles played individually and collectively by women at various life stages, in the workplaces, households, marketplaces, universities, laboratories, board rooms and government agencies, have helped towards making Africa food and nutrition secure over the years. Women constitute 70% of the work force in the agricultural sector in Africa and 10% in basic food processing. They also carry out 60 to 90% of the total rural marketing, which is mostly through informal channels.
It is therefore imperative that we work hard to create a market space and engagement strategy towards achieving gender parity and to ensure that women and men have access to equal opportunities within Africa’s food system.
Today, we call all of us to work together towards enhancing the rights and opportunities of women and girls to attain their full potentials. During the 8th Africa Agricultural Science Week in Accra in June 2020, we shall further explore the prospects of gender mainstreaming into the Science Agenda for Africa’s agriculture.
As core stakeholders in the match towards realising the vision of the Africa we want, FARA celebrates African women in AR4D and will continue to mainstream gender by strengthening its engagement with women and girls across the Africa’s AR4D fraternity.
The Communications Specialists in the CAADP XP4 institutions have set in motion collaborative working plans towards the implementation of the visibility and communications strategy of the EU-funded project.
The CAADP-XP4 aims at strengthening the implementing organisations to collectively support African countries to contribute to the delivery of CAADP results through inclusive regional and international partnerships; production and exchange of climate-relevant agricultural knowledge; effective communication, monitoring and evaluation; promotion and effective use of science, knowledge and innovation; and representation of the sub-regional and national, regional at continental levels.
In the two-day consultative meeting, Communications persons in the CAADP XP4 implementing organisations; FARA, AFASS, ASARECA, CCARDESA AND CORAF, familiarised themselves with the technical components of CAADP XP4 and got a deeper understanding of the communications and visibility expectations of the project.
The team also developed a joint communication and visibility strategy that will assure coherence and alignment in coordinating and disseminating, tracking and evaluating the communication and visibility of the CAADP XP4 project. A joint action plan for implementing the CAADP XP4 communication and visibility strategy has also been developed where areas of common interest have been identified in each organisation’s communications and visibility work plan.
AFAAS, ASARECA, CCARDESA, CORAF and FARA are co-implementing the Ex- Pillar 4 Africa Regional and Sub-regional Organizations for Agricultural Research and Innovation (CAADP-XP4) Project. The project which aims at strengthening these institutions to carry out their mandates is financially supported by the European Union (EU), and administered by International Fund for Agricultural Development for a period of four years, 2019-2023.
Les spécialistes de la communication des institutions chargées de l’exécution du projet CAADP XP4 ont commencé à mettre en place un plan de collaboration en vue de la mise en œuvre de la stratégie de visibilité et de communication du projet.
Le CAADP-XP4 vise à renforcer les organisations de mise en œuvre pour qu’elles puissent aider collectivement les pays africains à contribuer à l’obtention des résultats attendus du PDDAA grâce à des partenariats régionaux et internationaux, la production et l’échange de connaissances agricoles pertinentes vis à vis du climat, une communication efficace, le suivi et l’évaluation, la promotion et l’utilisation efficace de la science, des connaissances et de l’innovation.
Au cours de la réunion consultative d’une durée de deux jours, les spécialistes de la communication des organisations chargées de l’exécution du projet CAADP XP4 (FARA, AFASS, ASARECA, CCARDESA et CORAF) se sont familiarisés avec les volets techniques du projet. Ils ont également acquis une meilleure connaissance des attentes en matière de communication et de visibilité du projet.
L’équipe a également élaboré une stratégie commune de communication et de visibilité qui permettra de garantir la cohérence et une harmonisation de la coordination et de la diffusion, du suivi et de l’évaluation de la communication et de la visibilité du projet CAADP XP4. Un plan d’action commun pour la mise en œuvre de la stratégie de communication et de visibilité du CAADP XP4, dans lequel les domaines qui présentent un intérêt commun dans les différents plans de travail en matière de communication et de visibilité des organisations ont été définis, a également été élaboré.
L’AFAAS, l’ASARECA, le CCARDESA, le CORAF et le FARA mettent conjointement en œuvre le projet CAADP-XP4. Le projet, d’une durée de quatre ans (2019-2023), vise à renforcer ces institutions pour qu’elles puissent s’acquitter de leurs mandats. Il est soutenu financièrement par l’Union européenne (UE) et géré par le Fonds international de développement agricole.
