“Strengthening rural livelihoods in the face of rapid urbanisation in Africa” was the topic of a Brussels Briefing organised on 20 March by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), BMZ/GIZ and partners. Thomas Allen, from the Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat (SWAC/OECD) participated in a panel discussion on rural transformation and job creation. His presentation argued that although the farming sector will continue to provide the most jobs, labour is increasingly moving out of farming, requiring people to develop different skills. Read on

G20 agriculture ministers met on 22 January in Berlin to discuss their contributions to global food security and improved nutrition. They approved a 2017 action plan entitled, “Towards food and water security: Fostering sustainability, advancing innovation,” in which they pledged to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the COP21 Paris Agreement. Read on

Following the specialised technical experts’ meeting, ECOWAS ministers endorsed the new ECOWAS Regional Agricultural Investment Plan and Food and Nutrition Security (RAIPFNS) on 12 December 2016 in Abuja. They also adopted a strategic framework for 2016-20, including a results framework to measure the impact and progress made in its implementation. The new plan builds on an in-depth assessment of achievements and takes stock of the limits of the ECOWAS regional agricultural policy, known as ECOWAP. Read on

The food economy - rural and urban, primary, secondary and tertiary, formal and informal - is much larger than the agricultural economy alone and has the potential to create more growth and more jobs. Since it focuses on the domestic market, which has a high growth rate, it is not as volatile and should be the keystone of economic policies. Cross‑cutting and multi-sectoral strategies are needed to enhance the food economy’s potential. Read on