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The broad moderation in grain prices underscores improved global supplies in the 2023-24 season. Photo: Martin Schutt/dpa

Global grain production good, but Southern Africa’s white maize crop hit by drought

South Africa imports all its rice and half its wheat so the exchange rate is a factor to watch

Migrants of various nationalities are rescued by the Spanish NGO Open Arms in international waters on September 30, 2023. The migrants are from Syria, Bangladesh, Sudan, Eritrea, Palestine, Guinea, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Egypt, Chat, Senegal and Mali. (Photo by Jose Colon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Europe brewed its so-called ‘migrant crisis’

Decades before today’s migrants boarded small boats to Europe to ‘take their jobs’, European fishing ships were trawling West African waters, taking food and jobs from the…

ZAPORIZHZHIA, UKRAINE – JUNE 21: A view from agricultural fields in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine on June 21, 2022. Farmers in Ukraine, one of the largest grain producers in the world, have been struggling to sell their product due to the war. Due to the war that started on Feb. 24, crops have been waiting in the warehouses that they are not sent abroad by ships and due to the fuel shortage in the country the transportation costs have increased. (Photo by Abdullah Unver/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Much more than food for thought

The effects of the war in Ukraine have brought much of the world’s attention to energy prices. But food insecurity is also rising and will likely get worse

Ailing power utility Eskom has warned it will have to ramp up load-shedding during the winter months.(Photo: David Harrison/M&G)

Winter is here: Inflation, debt cools the economy

There is a lot bearing down on South African consumers and, without growth, the economy stands to decline

Bring women farmers to the food security table

‘Put farmers at the heart of food systems’ to feed the world

The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s QU Dongyu says food systems have to be transformed to make them more resilient and inclusive.

Voracious: Destructive desert locusts swarming over fields in Ethiopia last month. Swarms can destroy a crop within hours. Photo: Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Locust pot is stirring in the Karoo

There’s a new plague in town — and this time it’s biblical

Andrew Makenete brings his considerable expertise to Africa Agri Tech

Andrew Makenete joins Africa Agri Tech as an event ambassador

Makenete has a wealth of experience in the agricultural sector

The number of people facing severe food insecurity has increased for a sixth consecutive year, according to the latest Global Report on Food Crisis, with an estimated 15  million more people across sub-Saharan Africa that experienced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2024 than in 2023.  (Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters)

Food insecurity rising in Africa

The continent’s farmers have to become more resilient to survive changing climate patterns and extreme weather events

Women power: Tenning Ngom

International aid profits Senegal’s women

Programmes to promote gender equality and counter poverty gain ground

Traditional leaders

More people went hungry in Africa in 2017, but new initiatives also bore fruit

There were some African food security initiatives from 2017 that deserve a special mention for the precedent they set.

South Africa may have attained political emancipation but economically the chains largely remain.  (File photo)

Sub-Saharan Africans worst affected by undernourishment

Africa is lagging behind in tackling hunger with reports showing that over 25% of Africa’s population suffer from acute undernourishment.

Shark fin soup disappearing from Chinese menus

Shark fin soup disappearing from Chinese menus

Couples marrying in Hong Kong and China have been swayed by conservation groups’ campaign to ban the shark fin trade.

Aid groups ready to work with rebels

Aid groups ready to work with rebels

Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels in Somalia will accept help from relief groups, lifting the two year ban on foreign aid.

Reactor fear at Japan plant as toll tops 10 000

Global food scare widens from Japan nuclear plant

Australia, Canada and Singapore joined a list of countries shunning Japanese food imports as radioactive steam wafted anew from a nuclear plant.

UN: Food prices triggering global unrest

United Nations food agencies on Friday warned that record high prices for basic commodities are helping generate unrest around the world.

Food costs at record highs, UN warns of volatile era

Global food prices tracked by a UN agency hit their highest level on record in January, a problem set to worsen after a massive snowstorm in the US.

Food insecurity, prices top agenda at UN talks

The United Nations food agency, the FAO, opened high-level talks in Rome on Monday aimed at tackling food insecurity and price shocks.

Big business subverts world health

Big business subverts world health

UN official spells out how lobby groups stall and water down progressive regulation.

UN: 23-million go hungry in Horn of Africa

The UN says the Horn of Africa is one of the most critical hunger areas in the world, with 23-million people not getting enough to eat.

UN hunger summit vows urgent action

A UN summit on food security vowed on Monday to take ”urgent action” to eliminate hunger affecting more than one billion people worldwide.