Many African countries, particularly those in West, central, and East Africa, are being negatively impacted by anthropogenic (human-induced) climate change. The continent is climatically diverse, both within and between countries, but as the frequency and/or severity of extreme weather events increases, the temperatures rise and rainfall patterns shift, agricultural stress is escalating almost everywhere. These issues are made more difficult by the continent’s and the world’s violent conflicts, rapid population growth, urbanisation, post-pandemic economic vulnerability, and high food import dependency (more than 30% for cereals, according to United Nations data).The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) definition of food security calls…
Anna Trapido
African elites: multiple pathways By Anna Trapido ‘‘History is a graveyard of aristocracies,” the Italian sociologist Vilfredo Pareto famously wrote. In fact, Pareto introduced the word “elite” to the social sciences. In the early twentieth century he argued that a minority will always rule without recourse to what he considered to be outdated notions of heredity or class. In contemporary political discourse, attacking the elite is a popular pastime. Internationally, United States President Donald Trump ran a successful 2016 electoral campaign based on a rejection of the “establishment”. Closer to home, two years ago Julius Malema told his 1.24 million…
African food entrepreneurs need government support to protect the value of their heritage products When it comes to international food fashion, Africa is the new Asia. So, say über-influential, absurdly chic London food design studio Bompas & Parr. Their 2018 report, The Imminent Future of Food, predicts that internationally the “obsession with food from Asian countries will dwindle in favour of African cuisine because (Africa) is arguably the main remaining world food culture left to be adopted, adapted and commercialised. “Bompas & Parr has already worked on African-focused projects for European commercial clients which reveal starkly different flavours, consumer expectations…
