Although its size makes it fearsome looking, the hippo is often one of the most underrated animals in Africa in terms of its fearless and potentially bad-tempered nature. Hippos rank as one of the largest animals in Africa and are not known for their sunny dispositions, causing more human deaths in Africa annually than lions, leopards, crocodiles, or any other of the major predators.

What will the supply of avocados to China look like in a decade's time? Will it still tilt almost entirely to Latin America? Or could it have a strong African component?

The 40,000 sq km Serengeti-Mara plain that straddles the border of Kenya and Tanzania is famous for its abundant and diverse wildlife. It is also home to one of the wonders of the world: the Serengeti-Mara wildebeest migration. Each year about two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelles migrate from Tanzania to Kenya’s Maasai Mara in search of food and water.

As the packing of table grapes is South Africa’s late region continues to dwindle, it appears that this year’s total shipments could be below last year’s figure.

Action is at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). As the principle connection between people and planet, sustainable food and agriculture can fuel positive change. FAO’s new publication, Transforming food and agriculture to achieve the SDGs, presents 20 actions to help countries in incorporating sustainable agriculture and rural development into their broader development goals. These 20 actions offer a practical guide to implementing the 2030 Agenda. Here are some examples:

 Conflict and insecurity, climate shocks and economic turbulence continued to play a key role in global food insecurity, according to “Global Report on Food Crises,” a new report from the Food Security Information Network (FSIN). Food insecurity refers to the lack of secure access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life.

Coffee exporters in one of the world’s top producers are facing losses as they struggle to get their hands on beans, with weak prices dissuading farmers from selling.

When Microsoft founder Bill Gates spoke recently at the African Union’s annual summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he underscored two of the things about which he is most passionate: the African people and clean energy, or more precisely, the need to bring electricity to a growing population in a climate-friendly way.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is grappling with an increasing grain import bill as the current lack of a state-supported credit facility for farmers, poor basic infrastructure, surge in farm input costs and insecurity, especially in rice-growing regions, hamper efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in wheat, rice, corn, soybeans and other critical agricultural production.

he growing appetite for 'conservation holidays' has shone a light on the dark – and poorly regulated – industry of lion farming, where felines are destined not to be 'released into the wild' - but to be shot by trophy hunters and their bones exported to Asia for use in traditional medicine.

A rural farmer in Tanzania hovers over a wilting cassava plant with her phone. In seconds she gets a diagnosis of the disease affecting her plant and how best to manage it to boost her production.

The greatly excessive use of antibiotics in food production in recent decades has made many bacteria more resistant to antibiotics.

The agricultural mechanisation rate in SSA is the lowest in the world. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the European Agricultural Machinery Association, roughly 65% of land preparation is done manually by labourers in SSA, compared with around 40% in East Asia, 30% in South Asia and 25% in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Over half of Africa’s farmers are women. They could be our next generation of entrepreneurs, driving the agricultural revolution our continent needs to feed its growing population and boost its economies.

The dreaded crop-eating fall armyworm continues to spread across Africa like wildfire. This invasive insect pest, first reported in Africa in early 2016, is in more than 20 African countries including South Sudanand South Africa. Again in 2017 and in 2019. 

The contrast couldn’t be starker. As U.S. President Donald Trump’s government continues to champion isolationism and undermine decades-old international relationships, China is rolling out its Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, a project to build a new “Silk Road” that could change the meaning of globalization itself.

Africans need to reflect on the advice passed down the generations by Dakota Indians: when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.

The African continent is disproportionately affected by extreme climate. Droughts or floods are becoming more frequent. Many African regions are experiencing water stress because of too much – or too little – water.

Sub-Saharan Africa is already experiencing the realities of a changing climate – and the situation is only going to get worse.

An African woman with hoe in hand is the default symbol of agriculture in Africa, according to the late Calestous Juma, African academic and former Harvard Kennedy School professor. Mr. Juma used that image to convey the drudgery-filled farming that women on the continent face.