The COVID19 pandemic continues to invite developing countries to consider both hard and soft data when making decisions. Hard data refers to numbers and facts in addition to concrete statements…
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July 6, 2020
Beyond transporting commodities from production zones to markets, transporters have a much more important knowledge brokering role in African food systems. Transporters are unique informants who get information from diverse…
Read MoreTo the extent combinations of food systems, arts, culture and sports can be a full expression of national identity, the African Union should ensure every African country has a government…
Read MoreCOVID-19 has revealed the importance of understanding roles of different actors in Africa’s food systems. When roles and responsibilities are unclear, smallholder farmers are exposed to conmen. For instance, in…
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Lockdowns as a major method for containing COVID-19 has undoubtedly destroyed social fabrics that sustain most low income economies. While governments have tried to soften the pandemic’s blow by providing…
Read MoreWithout belittling the importance of celebrating independence, African countries should now be using 25 May (Africa Day) to take stock of knowledge-based achievements and gaps. If all African countries had…
Read MoreBy restricting movement between rural and urban areas, there is no doubt that lockdowns in African countries have weakened domestic trade and social fabrics that sustain most low income economies….
Read MoreAmong other revelations, COVID-19 has shown the extent to which formal and informal African economies do not work in isolation but are more like Siamese twins. African economies are structured…
Read MoreIn addition to disrupting food supply chains, COVID-19 has presented a pricing headache for smallholder farmers in African countries. If government directs supermarkets to revert back to pre-COVID19 prices they…
Read MoreThe majority of developing countries are still to tear themselves away from the colonial set up where major food markets were located in cities or towns in order to provide…
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