AJF:Newsletter[quarterly]"Africa NOW" No.97

Africa Japan Forum (AJF) works with African People for African People's better life.

Africa NOW No.97

Issued on February 28, 2013 by Africa Japan Forum (AJF)

Special Topic: Think about food crisis in Africa and beyond

In Africa, growing population and never-ending food insecurity demand urgent actions for making a reliable system for food security. Therefore African governments, international cooperation agencies, NGOs and people living there should make efforts for food security. On the contrary, there are races for land of African continent by foreign countries and companies. In this situation, what are we to do? This issue of "Africa NOW" features challenges for achieving food security in Africa and beyond.

pp.3-12 "Where we are now on food security in Africa - Challenges for access to safer, tastier and more reliable foods in Africa and Japan"
by WATANABE Naoko, MAMADA Yuka, KATSUMATA Makoto, TSUYAMA Naoko, SAITO Ryoichiro

Africa Japan Forum (AJF), Hunger Free World (HFW), Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC) and International Peace Research Institute Meiji Gakuin University (Prime) held series of seminars on food security in African countries every year from 2008. These seminars featured soaring food price, bio-fuel and food, land-grabing in African countries, food and nutrition, and challenges of small markets. Also they raised questions such as what is food security, and how we can access safer, tastier and more reliable foods etc. Some members of the co-hosts of these seminars reflect on the results of them and express their visions for the next year's series of seminars.

pp.13-15 "Themes of the seminars on food security"

pp.16-17 "South Africa: Garden activities from school to community" by HIRABAYASHI Kaoru

Ms. Hirabayashi, as the representative of Together with Africa and Asia Association in South Africa, has been leading an initiative for community garden activities in KwaZulu-Natal. This initiative started as school garden activities funded by JICA Partnership Program and now is developing in communities. Products of this initiative enrich the dietary life of community people and help them to have some income. Hirabayashi reports that there are many challenges such as how to get water for gardens, who to do garden works and so on, but initiatives are developing steadily.

pp.18-19 "Connecting people who produce food and those who eat it", by UNO Haruka

Ms. Uno came to AJF office on a Waseda University internship and took part in improving AJF web-pages on food security in August 2011. Then she found that to improve food production is not enough to make people to have access to food but also to improve supply-chain is needed. Making reference to her experiences in a rural village of India last summer, she introduces the "Handbook for research of supply-chain in developing countries".

pp.20-23 Interview with KURITA Yoshiko-2
"The Future of "Two Sudans": Reflections from a Historical Perspective"

Making reference to "Sudan's Springs" in 1950s and 1960s, Ms. Kurita recommends that we observe people's struggle for democracy in Sudan closely, and points up the need for democracy in South Sudan to prevent it from becoming a puppet in the hands of USA and Israel.

Back cover To readers ("Hitotsu no musubime toshite" in Japanese) and Daily Information from the secretariat of AJF to readers.

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