Lifestyle
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Diversity key to achieving food sovereignty and resilience in Africa: AFSA
Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) is of the view that diversity, not false solutions, is the key to achieving food sovereignty on the African continent. Below, is the AFSA statement on the African Development Bank (AfDB)’s Dakar 2 Food Summit: As 34 heads of state and 70 ministers return home after three…
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Nestlé shares healthy and nutritious recipes
By Nestlé East and Southern Africa Today’s generation has grown up in restaurants and fast-food canteens and the tradition of cooking healthy nutritious meals together slowly starts to disappear. Although the fast-food route might seem convenient, it comes at a price. Restaurant meals and fast foods are usually high in saturated fats, salt and…
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Climate Change and Food Sovereignty defining issues of our time
By Charles Dhewa That Climate Change and Food Sovereignty are defining issues of our time is no longer debatable. It follows wherever elections are done across the world, from local councilor to President, leaders should be voted on the basis of their plans to tackle climate change and food sovereignty. It is good that climate…
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African Development Bank challenges heads of State to revolutionise agriculture
By Baboloki Semele Dakar, Senegal: Heavy debt burdens following the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, unrest and conflicts in Africa, rising food prices, and the war in Ukraine have added more to Africa’s food insecurity. The continent is facing its worst food crisis ever with more than one in five Africans; a record 278 million people…
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Feed Africa Summit: AfDB commits $10 billion to enhance continent’s agriculture productivity
The African Development Bank Group will commit $10 billion over the next five years to boost Africa’s efforts to end hunger and become a primary food provider for itself and the rest of the world. Bank Group President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, announced Wednesday at the Dakar 2 Africa Food Summit in Diamniadio, east of the…
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Time to use mass food markets and seed fairs in decolonizing gene banks
By Charles Dhewa A very important step in decolonizing African food systems is re-defining and contextualizing the meaning of a gene bank. The conventional scientific notion of a gene bank[1] as a type of bio-repository that preserves genetic material ignores the socio-cultural dimension of genetic material. For instance, scientific gene banks for plants are built through vitro storage, freezing…
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A rare treasure of Zaka: Danda rock art discovery
By Nimrod Ushe The discovery of an unusual precolonial hunter-gatherer art site close to the Muparudzi River and Danda Primary School in the Zaka District is greatly appreciated by archaeologists. The Danda rock painting is of special value because it is an uncommon place within its locality and it exhibits beautiful scenes of the Bush…
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Back-to-school shot in the arm as Dost Eli donates to Darwendale students
One good turn deserves another, the adage goes, and this was put into action when Dost Eli of Turkey descended on Darwendale with yet another extended giving hand that targeted children of school-going age and disadvantaged families in the area. Adam Wadi, the Zimbabwe Trustee and Representative of Dost Eli said the gesture of benevolence…
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ICIEC, Al Rajhi International sign MOU to implement Agricultural and Food Security Project
The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) (http://ICIEC.isdb.org) yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Al-Rajhi International Investment Company (RAII) of Saudi Arabia whereby the two parties would cooperate in synergizing coordination, business development and efficient implementation of projects in the vital agricultural and food security sectors in ICIEC’s…
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US focuses on Africa for food sustainability
By Hillary Munedzi The United States of America is focusing on Africa as the continent holds 60% of the world’s unused arable land as it reaffirms the commitment of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), and the Malabo Declaration and its call to Action at the recently held US-Africa Leaders Summit. The Malabo Declaration…
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AU Member States Pledge to Improve Nutrition and Food Security in Africa
African leaders gathered for a three-day meeting to draw attention to the 2022 African Union Year of Nutrition. The meeting ended with the signing of an “Abidjan Declaration” African Union Member States met in Abidjan and called on governments to speed up investment, coordination, and implementation of programs to improve nutrition and food security in…
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How fragmented agricultural projects are undermining African food systems
By Charles Dhewa If there was more harmony and consolidation between agricultural interventions in Africa, most African countries would have defeated food and nutrition insecurity many years ago. Unfortunately, it seems there are people who benefit more from projectizing agricultural interventions than properly organizing and coordinating food systems. Fragmentation is due to the fact that…
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US-Africa Leaders Summit commits to nutrition investment
By Baboloki Semele African leaders and the United States government have underlined the need for increased investment and prioritization of nutrition across the African continent. According to a press statement from the African Development Bank, the bank through the African Leaders for Nutrition, the Nutrition CEO Council, and the African Union Commission convened a high-level…
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Achieving Zero Hunger in Africa is within reach: Global leaders
By Baboloki Semele Eradicating hunger in Africa by 2030 is possible, said global agriculture leaders in Rome. Meeting ahead of the African Food Summit (Dakar 2) to be hosted by President Macky Sall in Dakar, Senegal, from 25-27 January 2023, President of the African Development Bank Group Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, the International Fund for Agricultural…
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Climate-smart agriculture increases food production, promotes regional trade and integration
Mr. Pardon Njerere, a Value Chain Expert under the COMESA’s European Union-funded Regional Enterprise Competitiveness and Access to Market Programme (RECAMP), commended the role of Climate Smart Agriculture initiatives in catapulting production gains of food systems to promote regional trade and integration. He made the remarks during the COMESA Regional Dissemination Meeting on Climate-smart Agriculture…
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COMESA promotes climate-smart agriculture best practices in the region
The Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) is implementing 5 Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) pilot projects in the Kingdom of Eswatini, Madagascar, Seychelles, Uganda, and Zimbabwe with funding from the European Union (EU) under the Intra-ACP (Organisation of Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States) and the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+)…
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New BBC Channel for DStv announced
A sixth BBC channel will be added to the DStv platform in December, adding to the variety, quality and creativity of the British-made content available through the various BBC channels on DStv. Liz Dziva, publicity and public relations manager of MultiChoice Zimbabwe, said BBC UKTV would launch on Thursday December 15 on channel 134 and…
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Pan-African Parliament youth dialogue focused on ending hunger and malnutrition
Young parliamentarians have been challenged to take the lead in the formulation of policies and strategies that enhance the full participation of the African youth in political and decision-making processes. The call was made yesterday at the official opening of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) Youth Dialogue, hosted by the Parliament of the Kingdom of Morocco,…
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Pan-African campaign “My Food is African” launched
Diverse actors from 30 countries call for a comprehensive Africa Food Policy that addresses Africa’s need to feed itself in the face of global uncertainty and climate change. The social movements’ call came following the conclusion of the 4th Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) Biennial Food Systems Conference, which was held in Yaoundé, Cameroon,…
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Whole Grain Impact on Global Food Security
By David Kamau and Peiman Milani The world is facing a global food crisis like none other, with food prices at historic highs, supply chains disrupted by war and disease, and climate change threatening harvests in virtually all geographies. Global food insecurity is rising so rapidly that hunger pushes one child per minute into severe malnutrition and in 2021, up to 828…
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What if removing middlemen can kill over 60 percent of food markets?
By Charles Dhewa Middlemen are often blamed for reaping off farmers and consumers. However, most of the criticism is based on a poor understanding of how markets function and the gaps closed by middlemen. All markets have unique ways of assigning roles to different actors. If middlemen were not important in coordinating supply chains and…
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Beauty Mutanga, a story of perseverance, determination, and hard work
Zimbabwe Women Empowered in Business (ZIWEB) empowers women in Zimbabwe with the opportunity to start and sustainably run their own business by becoming sub-distributors for Nestlé East and Southern Africa (ESAR) From seeking to survive and sustain her family, to be able to afford luxuries that she once only dreamt of is the story of…
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Mushrooms bring emancipation and formalisation to women in Mutasa South
By Kudakwashe Tagwireyi The unpredictable weather conditions that were being experienced in Mutasa South District and the persistent cyclones that had ravaged Manicaland, had placed women in the surrounding villages, in the limelight of dependency syndrome to their husbands and the donor community. Fate however has been in their favour this year as with the…
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Cimas iGo half-marathon raises awareness of men’s health issues
Cimas Health Group is marking Men’s Health Awareness Month by offering Cimas members prostate cancer screening at all its clinics throughout November, broadcasting a prostate cancer talk show on Friday (November 18) and holding an iGo Movember Half-Marathon on November 26. The month of November was first dubbed Movember in 2003 in Australia when men…
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Egypt, FAO launch FAST Initiative to transform agri-food systems, improve food security
Egypt’s COP27 Presidency and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) launched the Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation or FAST, at COP27 yesterday. The new initiative will increase climate finance contributions for agriculture and food systems to support the most vulnerable communities. FAST will reimagine agrifood systems to deliver triple wins for people, climate action, and nature.…
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Pan African Parliament, AUDA-NEPAD pushing for continent’s food and nutrition security
The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) is pushing legislation toward the promotion of food and nutrition security on the continent as evidenced by a model law on the theme that it tabled during the first session of its sixth Parliament in Midrand, South Africa while the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) is leading the awareness of the…
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Nestlé injects US$ 100 000 in Africa Food Prize
By Hillary Munedzi Nestlé in conjunction with Africa Food Prize will award US$ 100 000 to individuals and institutions that are pioneering agricultural and transforming food systems in Africa and strengthening the continent’s food security as rich and emerging economies come together under a “climate solidarity pact to keep the 1.5 degrees celsius within reach.”…
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Chihana offside on Zimbabwe’s land reform: Tatenda Mavetera
Malawi’s Mzimba North West parliamentarian Hon Enoch Chihana, who is a member of the Pan African Parliament (PAP) is again off-tangent regarding Zimbabwe’s land reform programme, Hon Dr. Tatenda Mavetera has said. This emerged today in Midrand, South Africa, the seat of the PAP, during a debate on the Model Law on Food Security and…
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Thousands of Pfumvudza/Intwasa farmers receive Crop Insurance Pay-out from AFC Holdings
AFC Holdings, partnered with a consortium of insurance companies and the Government of Zimbabwe to run a pilot project on Area Yield Index Insurance for farmers who received Pfumvudza inputs in the 2021/2022 Season in Rushinga and Mwenezi districts. The project was monitored and evaluated through the assistance of PULA, a technical advisor on Area…
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PAP engages stakeholders to craft model law on food and nutrition security
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) is hosting a Technical Consultative Workshop for Experts on the Draft Model Law on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN). The technical consultative workshop is taking place from 05 to 06 November 2022, in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, the seat of the PAP. “The model law shall govern issues related to…
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Hon Stars Mathe has confidence in the PAP to deliver on its mandate
Hon Stars Mathe-Thebe, the Member of the National Assembly for Nkayi South Constituency in Zimbabwe has expressed confidence in the power of the Pan African Parliament (PAP) to deliver on its mandate. She revealed this to Spiked Online Media on the sidelines of the ongoing First Session of the Sixth Parliament of the PAP. “We…
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Nature-based solutions: another way to obstruct food system transformation?
By IPES Food With international climate negotiations in Egypt fast approaching (COP27), and food systems high on the agenda for the first time, the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) is warning that a growing number of green buzzwords are being used to obstruct food system transformation. Our new briefing, ‘Smoke…
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World Food Day: Regenerative agriculture topical
By Hillary Munedzi Food giant Nestle has championed regenerative agriculture as the panacea to domestic food price inflation, a development that has cushioned household food security as the world commemorates World Food Day. Zimbabwe is leading the world’s top ten countries worst affected by domestic food price inflation, all because of supply chain disruptions fuelled…
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USAID, WFP food assistance partnership targets 700 000 needy people during lean season
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has today contributed US$36.7 million on behalf of the American people to help the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) provide food assistance at the peak of the lean season between October and March next year. In a year marked by COVID-19, climatic shocks, food and fuel…
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Nestlé appoints Nicole Roos as First Woman CEO for East and Southern Africa
Staff Writer Nicole Roos is the first woman to be appointed as Nestlé’s Chief Executive Officer for East and Southern Africa Region (ESAR) taking over the reins from Bruno Olierhoek who served as Chairman and Managing Director in the region since 2018. Roos is currently the Business Executive Officer (BEO) for Coffee and Beverages for…
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FAO integrates biodiversity into agriculture to ensure food security
By Hillary Munedzi The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has underscored the critical importance of mainstreaming biodiversity across agriculture sectors to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There were calls to place emphasis on SDG 2 on Zero Hunger, SDG 12 on responsible consumption and production, SDG 13 on climate change,…
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Prioritise the right of all people to food, and nutrition security
By Ms. Farayi Zimudzi – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Representative in Ethiopia On 16 October 2022, Ethiopia joined the rest of the world to commemorate International World Food Day under the theme– “Leave no one behind. Better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life”. The theme calls…
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Global hunger, carbon emissions could both spike if war limits grain exports
If Russia’s invasion and the ensuing war significantly reduce Ukrainian grain exports, surging prices could increase food insecurity and carbon dioxide emissions, as marginal land is pushed into crop production. That’s the chain reaction predicted by modeling from a research team that includes Amani Elobeid, a teaching professor of economics at Iowa State University.
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The 92 Nutrients and Antioxidants in Moringa
Own Correspondent As a superfood, Moringa contains an impressive 92 nutrients and antioxidants. Moringa is undeniably the best superfood out there. Moringa is a great addition to your daily diet. Great for inside and out due to its properties. If you’re looking for a natural way to improve your health, then Moringa is the way…
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What Climate Change Means For Africa’s Food Crisis
By Emily Barone The African continent is no stranger to famine. In the 1970s and ‘80s, countries across the Sahel plunged into a drought-induced food crisis. In the mid-80s, an estimated one million people died from food shortages in Ethiopia. Somalia faced widespread famine in the ‘90s. Both those countries, along with neighboring East African…
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Nestlé injects one billion Swiss francs into regenerative agriculture
By Hillary Munedzi Nestlé has invested over one billion Swiss francs in the Nescafé Plan 2030 which seeks to help coffee farmers to transition to regenerative agriculture, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve farmers’ livelihoods in seven countries. The food giant will be working with coffee farmers to test, learn and assess the effectiveness of…
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Search begins for iconic ‘My Zim Plate’ cuisine show
A Zimbabwean food show is to be launched on DStv’s Honey Channel, and a call has been made for Zimbabwean foodies to bid to be the presenter of the series. Liz Dziva, publicity and public relations manager of MultiChoice Zimbabwe, said the show would be called My Zim Plate. “It is in the style of…
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Kadoma entrepreneur celebrates birthday with the elderly
By Chimeno Azriel Kadoma youthful entrepreneur, Mr. Godwin Gwara celebrated his birthday with the elderly at a ceremony held in Kadoma last Saturday. The youthful businessman celebrated his birthday in style by giving out maize to the Kadoma senior citizens in the Rimuka high-density suburb. Instead of throwing big parties and receiving presents, Gwara decided…
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David Mascott Country School a centre of excellence for sports and wellness
Norton-based David Mascott Country School is becoming a centre of excellence for sports and wellness in Zimbabwe as evidenced by the multiplicity of stakeholders who thronged the elite educational institution on Saturday 24 September 2022. Addressing participants during the highly-subscribed event yesterday, Hon Temba Mliswa, the Member of the National Assembly for Norton, said sports…
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‘My Food is African’ campaign launched at the National Seed Fair
Zimbabwe launched the My Food is African campaign at the National Seed Fair which was graced by the Guest of Honour, Dr. George Kembo, the Director-General of the Government’s Food and Nutrition Council (FNC). Zimbabwe’s National Seed Fair is hosted by the Zimbabwe Seed Sovereignty Programme (ZSSP), which the Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Zimbabwe…