Food insecurity and poverty, a major challenge to meeting SDGs target 2.1 in sub-Saharan Africa

With millions suffering from severe food insecurity in the region

Bukar Tijani, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa.

23 February 2017, Freetown - The second edition of the Regional Overview of Food Insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa (2016) reveals that some 153 million people, representing about 26 percent of the population above 15 years of age in sub-Saharan Africa, suffered from severe food insecurity in 2014/15.

“What it means is that, around one out of four individuals above 15 years of age in sub-Saharan Africa was hungry  but did not eat or went without eating for a whole day for lack of money or other resources for food”, remarked Bukar Tijani, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa.

“This assessment underlines the significance of the challenge facing the region in meeting SDGs’ target 2.1 and the relevance of sustainable and substantial support to food security and nutrition policies and programmes in the region”, he added.

On the aggregate level, sub-Saharan Africa achieved adequate food availability over the 2014–2016 period, with a Dietary Energy Supply (DES) of 110. However, several countries in the region remain highly dependent on food imports to ensure adequate food supplies, with some sub-regions depending on imports for up to a third of their cereal needs.

Training of Trainers on Sustainable Land Management

Sustainable Land Management Project, (SLMP) a unit under the Participatory Integrated Watershed Management Project (PIWAMP), organized a six days training of trainers on Sustainable Land Management for sixty multi-level partner stakeholder institutions.

SLMP project seeks to address interlinked problems of rural poverty, food insecurity and land degradation.

After the training, trained participants are expected to conduct a step-down training for extension workers and farmers in their respective regions.

Participants were divided into two groups-participants from Western Gambia-West Coast, North Bank and Lower River Region respectively were group one and Easter Gambia comprises participants from Upper River, and Central River North and South were group two.

The training was held at the Agricultural Rural Farmers’ Training Centre at Jenoi in Lower River Region from 11-13 April for Western Gambia, and 14-16 April, 2012 for Eastern Gambia participants respectively.