Africa can feed itself in a generation, says author, if leaders take up cause

"Africa can feed itself. And it can make the transition from hungry importer to self-sufficiency in a single generation." This is the claim of a new book that argues that the world's poorest continent could break its dependence on foreign aid and become a food exporter by realising its rich agricultural potential. Researchers led by Harvard University professor Calestous Juma said they were challenging pessimistic views of Africa, a continent often associated with images of famine and campaigns such as Live Aid and Comic Relief. One in three Africans is chronically hungry, according to the UN, despite $3bn (£1.9bn) spent on food aid for the continent annually and $33bn in food imports. Population growth and climate change are growing threats.

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Reuters: Rwanda's happy hip-hop pigs help combat poverty

Edmund Ndizeye, self-styled pig DJ, stoops to adjust the amp at a farm in the wrinkled hills of northern Rwanda. The wires leading from his room feed a varied diet of hip-hop, reggae, R and B, love songs and local music to his pink curly tailed audience who, according to Ndizeye's boss, are thriving on the beats and melodies.

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Bloomberg: Rwanda Plans to Boost Coffee Output With Drought, Disease-Resistant Trees

Rwanda will distribute half-a- million high-yield coffee saplings to growers this year, amid plans to more than double production, said Alex Kanyankole, director of the country’s coffee-development authority.

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Rwanda Aims for 26,000-Ton Coffee Harvest on Favorable Weather

(Bloomberg) -- Rwanda aims to achieve its coffee output forecast of 26,000 metric tons this season following “positive results” with most of the crop harvested, said Alex Kanyankole, managing director of the Rwanda Coffee Development Authority. Field reports indicate that the harvest, which started in April, “has yielded a better crop,” Kanyankole said today by phone from the capital, Kigali. “We are optimistic that we shall achieve our target,” he said. The projection is 8.3 percent higher than the 24,000 tons the country produced last year because of more rain, Kanyankole said. It’s lower than an initial projection of 27,000 tons, which was revised after earlier field reports, he added.

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