News & Events
How small farms could feed the world
Reuters AlertNetAs an African Union summit on agricultural investments opens in Libya, donors and non-profits are calling participants' attention to the role smallholder farmers – mostly women – can have in feeding their communities.
Agricultural development decides economic growth, food security in Africa
XinhuaThe 13th summit of the African Union (AU) will take place from Wednesday to Friday in Sirte, Libya with the theme "Investing in Agriculture for Economic Growth and Food Security" during which member states are expected to explore and work out strategies in the light of local conditions to boost investment in agriculture in a bid to expand crops plantation, raise production and address the food shortage facing the continent.
African farmers say they need subsidies too
ReutersAfrican governments must provide subsidies to help farmers in the world's poorest continent produce more food and compete internationally, delegates at an agribusiness conference said on Wednesday.
AGRICULTURE-AFRICA: Seeking Diversity, Resilience and Farmer Control
Inter Press ServiceThe Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) claims that its "stress breeding", high-yield seed program and its emphasis on grassroots farmer input will boost agricultural production among poor, small scale farmers. But NGOs and environmentalists say AGRA’s Programme for Africa’s Seed System (PASS) is essentially a top-down, corporate driven approach that further threatens food security on the continent.
Kenya’s Sh3b stimulus package for irrigation
The Standard (Kenya)The Government has unveiled a Sh3 billion-investment plan as part of a new programme to reduce the country’s reliance on rain-fed agriculture.
AGRA: Early Accomplishments, Foundations for Growth
AGRA is increasingly integrating the work of its four programs to maximize impact in high-potential breadbasket areas, where relatively good soil and rains, basic infrastructure, and large numbers of smallholder farmers--combined with government commitment to agricultural development--give it strong agricultural potential. June 2009
11 June 2009
Breadbasket Development Key to Achieving African Food Security and Avoiding Future Global Food Crisis
At a plenary at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, Mr. Kofi A. Annan, Chairman of the Board of AGRA, called for the development of key African breadbaskets that would produce food surpluses of staple African food crops. June 11, 2009.
AGRA Introduces New Strategy for an African Green Revolution (Download PDF, 8.6MB))
AGRA: Early Accomplishments, Foundations for Growth (Download PDF, 776 KB))
9 June 2009
A Policy Forum on the Wings of the World Economic Forum
Just ahead of the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, South Africa, African Monitor partnered with AGRA and others to host a policy forum to bring attention to home-grown, practical solutions to combating poverty and hunger in sub-Saharan Africa. June 9, 2009.
Taking Advantage of Science and Partnerships To Unlock Growth in Africa’s Breadbaskets
Dr. Akin Adesina addresses the Science Forum 2009, in Wageningen, The Netherlands, describing the agricultural science for development and the global linkages and partnerships needed to make that science relevant to millions of resource-poor farmers, particularly in Africa.
1 June 2009
13 May 2009
Meeting on Role of Markets in Spurring African Green Revolution Opens in Nairobi
A conference sponsored by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), drawing on support from over 17 organizations involved in the CGIAR Regional Plan for Collective Action, will assemble the continent’s leading authorities on agriculture and market development to examine the role of markets in increasing Africa’s economic growth and improving rural livelihoods. They meet in Nairobi this week to discuss successes, challenges and opportunities that exist in Africa’s farm sector. Participants will outline new strategies for opening up domestic and regional markets to African farmers, while at the same time improving their livelihoods, and lowering food prices for urban consumers.
Different Shades of Green in Africa
Time Magazine
9 April 2009
AGRA Launches Fund To Jumpstart African Seed Industry
AGRA and the African Agricultural Capital (AAC) group launch the African Seed Investment Fund (ASIF). Over the next five years, it will invest in at least 20 small- and medium-size seed companies in Southern and Eastern Africa, infusing equity and expertise into an industry that has languished for decades, and paving the way for raising the productivity and incomes of at least one million farm households.
19 March 2009
AGRA, Standard Bank Partnership Opens Up Millions in Affordable Loans to African Farmers and Entrepreneurs
18 March 2009
AGRA, Standard Bank Partner to Provide US $100 million in Loans for Small-scale farmers [Français]
Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank, has teamed up with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to create an innovative fund for Africa’s smallholder farmers. The fund will operate in Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda, opening loan opportunities to smallholder farmers and small- and medium-sized agricultural businesses previously considered too risky for lending. AGRA and other partners are providing a US$10 million loan guarantee fund, and in turn, Standard Bank is making US$100 million available for lending over three years.