Feeding Africa: how small-scale irrigation can help farmers to change the game: A farmer watering his crops in Namong, Tone district, Togo. Photo by: Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Unlike large-acreage government irrigation schemes, small-scale irrigation is typically farmer led. Farmers decide what technologies to use to extract water, be it manual lifting or …
South Africa’s small-scale fishers have been marginalised since apartheid — what needs to change: Small-scale fishers in Durban are drawn to southern Africa's sardine run. Rajesh Jantilal/AFP via Getty Images South Africa is home to tens of thousands of small-scale fishers and fishing households. Some fish purely for consumption and subsistence, while others make up …
South Africa’s small-scale farmers still can’t find a place in the food value chain: Workers at a fig processing operation Klaus Vedfelt / Getty Images Value addition is a central theme in agriculture. The concept involves adding value at every step, from production to delivery of a product. This creates opportunities for farmers and companies …
COVID hurt West and Central Africa’s small-scale fishers. They need more support: Coastal communities in West and Central Africa were severely affected by COVID which brought many aspects of food and seafood supply chains to a halt. Shutterstock From Senegal through Ghana to Cameroon, small-scale fishing is both a livelihood and a way of life …
Small-scale gold miners in DRC challenge the view that they can’t cut it: Bisimwa Hardy, 22, emerges from a shaft at Luhihi in South Kivu with a bag full of stones destined to the crusher to separate the stone from the gold. Photo by Guerchom Ndebo/AFP via Getty Images Artisanal and small-scale mining in Africa …
African marine rules favour big industry, leaving small-scale fishers in the lurch: Traditional blue boats moored at the harbour of Essaouira, Morocco. Marco Bottigelli/GettyImages The African marine fisheries sector is huge. It’s valued at more than US$ 24 billion per year. The sector is comprised of two main players. One is the continent’s artisanal or …
Financial inclusion: how Nigerian small-scale farmers are locked out, and some answers: Financial inclusion in Nigeria must target smallholder farmers. i_am_zews/shutterstock Food security for Nigeria’s 200 million people relies on small-scale farmers. Despite their importance most struggle to accumulate savings and capital, invest in economic opportunities, adopt technologies to boost production and mitigate risks and …
Climate change is best tackled through lots of small-scale solutions – here are nine reasons why: Andre Nery / shutterstock Massive amounts of public money are being mobilised to kickstart economies out of COVID-induced recessions. Many countries are allocating parts of their stimulus packages towards ensuring the recovery is green. As we emerge from the COVID …
Small-scale modular housing could provide a lifeline for people experiencing homelessness: There are 280,000 homeless people in the UK, and homelessness has been projected to increase even more. A key driver of homelessness is a shortage of affordable housing, and particularly social rented properties. In Cambridge, an innovative approach to the problem has now been …
Lifting the lid on Ghana’s illegal small-scale mining problem: Shutterstock Small-scale gold mining in what is modern day Ghana can be traced as far back as the 15th century. It continues to be an important means of livelihood for many relatively low-income Ghanaians and is highly significant for the economy as a whole. In fact, …
Small-scale fisheries are throwing away fish that could feed those in poverty: Waste not, want not. Benjamin Jones, Author provided At least 7.3m tons of fish (usually dead or dying) are thought to be discarded each year from marine fisheries around the world. But these estimates come mostly from observations of large-scale industrial fisheries. Limited …