In the News

Igloo Software, the leading provider of digital workplace solutions, is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2021 Digital Transformation Awards. The annual honor acknowledges customers who are leveraging Igloo’s digital workplace solutions to create a more connected, productive, and engaged workplace.

Heifer International has opened discussions with Diaspora Nigerians with a view to scale up investments in livestock production in Nigeria. The Country Director, Heifer International-Nigeria, Rufus Idris, made the disclosure yesterday at the 4th edition of the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit with the theme: “Partnerships and Linkages for Post-COVID Economic Growth,” in Abuja.

Xun Zi, one of China’s ancient thought leaders, once said, “When you concentrate on agriculture and industry and are frugal in expenditures, Heaven cannot impoverish your state.” That statement still applies to Africa today. Recently, we talked about the spending habits and revenue shortage of Africa’s largest economy and the closure of British banks. The issues addressed in these articles show that Africa needs radical economic shifts to reach its potential.

Hunger impacts millions around the world. In fact, it’s believed that 820 million people internationally face hunger in some way, a number which has increased in recent years. Many charities and organizations have dedicated their missions to combatting these struggles and lowering that number—whether in specific communities, focused on specific people, or more generally around the world.

The Global Environment Facility has announced 10 new winners of its Challenge Program for Adaptation Innovation, a competition that provides seed funding for innovative initiatives designed to help vulnerable countries cope with the worsening climate crisis.

Receiving gifts is easy, but finding a gift to give? That’s much harder, especially when the person you’re shopping for seems to have it all. Maybe it’s for your mother, someone who already buys what she wants when she wants it, or maybe it’s your girlfriend who’s living a minimalist lifestyle and doesn’t want another tchotchke weighing her down.

Agriculture is a pillar of Africa’s economy, with the continent heavily dependent on the sector. It contributes 23% of the continent’s GDP and 49% of employment in the continent. But the covid-19 pandemic has disrupted agricultural activity in the continent with considerable effect, as smallholder farmers, who contribute most of the food supply, face movement restrictions, reductions in people’s purchasing power, and other factors. The pandemic has strained Africa’s food systems and economies at large.

Poultry farming used to be an enviable venture that churned out millionaires. Anyone with determination, passion and some capital was almost guaranteed to get good returns. That was then. Now, apathy exists among many Kenyan farmers, largely due to the overall increase of taxes over the last decade and higher costs of production that have seen returns continue to diminish with every passing year.

The onset of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic brought local and global supply chains to a virtual standstill, threatening food production and distribution systems. To continue the critical transfer of food and agricultural services, local communities were prompted to repurpose transportation methods. Through bicycles, “agriambulances” and tuk tuks, smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs found creative ways to access markets despite movement restrictions.

The ongoing projects in which the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has invested billions of francs are primed to support Rwanda’s agriculture and food security efforts once completed.