Today, panelists for the East Africa Postharvest Technologies Competition 2017 selected three innovators to split $30,000 in seed capital to scale up and disseminate their technologies to reduce postharvest food losses. Poor postharvest practices currently result in the loss of 60 percent of all food that is produced in Africa.
Today in Nairobi, U.S. Ambassador Robert F. Godec helped launch East Africa’s agribusiness reality TV show “Don’t Lose the Plot,” which was supported by the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative and the United States Agency of International Development (USAID).
<p>As the responsibility for leadership passes to the next generation, Africa’s future and its global competitiveness will be driven by academically gifted and entrepreneurial young people empowered to lead. USAID is providing state of the art education to millions of Kenyan children, expanding educational and employment opportunities for young adults, and preparing a new generation of young African leaders with the skills and mindset to transform the region and the continent.
The Regional Office of Food for Peace (FFP) supports or directly manages food assistance operations in 14 countries in East and Central Africa. Humanitarian needs - specifically food insecurity - in this region have been rising at an unprecedented rate due to cyclical drought, political insecurity, prolonged conflicts, environmental degradation and disease outbreaks. Currently, the number of people facing crisis- and emergency-levels of food insecurity in the region has nearly doubled from 12 million to 24 million and the number of refugees in the region had risen to 4 million. Vulnerable populations are being driven further into poverty and hunger due to a variety of factors, from drought and floods to record-breaking inflation of over 700%. These disasters include political unrest, ethnic violence, election disputes, security threats and large-scale human displacement that are resulting in humanitarian needs that span borders.
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Last updated: June 21, 2017
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