Grasslands can store carbon reliably under increasingly hot and dry climates. Shutterstock Susanne Vetter, Rhodes University Tree planting to restore forests, capture carbon and improve the land has gained strong momentum in recent years. The Bonn Challenge and its offshoots such as AFR100, initiatives focused on forest restoration, have persuaded ...

Agricultural mechanisation can reduce work burden, increase prosperity and enhance diets. Shutterstock Thomas Daum, University of Hohenheim Agricultural mechanisation is on the rise in Africa, replacing hand hoes and animal traction across the continent. While around 80-90% of all farmers still rely on manual labour or draught animals, this is chan...

Cinemas in Kampala, Uganda, remained poorly attended after reopening in November. Xinhua/Hajarah Nalwadda via Getty Images Ribio Nzeza Bunketi Buse, University of Kinshasa Arts and culture play an important role in all societies. They contribute not only to the social well-being of people but also to the social and economic development of countries...

A South African woman mourning her husband who died of AIDS covers herself, according to custom, during the burial. Per-Anders Pettersson via Getty Images Renee Schatteman, Georgia State University At a time when the U.S. is experiencing one of the worst COVID-19 infection rates among wealthy nations, Americans could take some cautionary lessons fr...

David Corio/Redferns/Getty Images Rogers Orock, University of the Witwatersrand African jazz has lost another of its best-known icons. Emmanuel N’Djoké Dibango, popularly known as Manu Dibango, was, like Hugh Masekela who died last year, a global star of Afro-jazz and funk. The saxophonist Dibango leaves a huge legacy spanning more tha...

Coverage of Chinese presence in Africa has been somewhat misleading. Shutterstock Simon Manda, PhD, University of Zambia The rise of China in Africa has triggered an ongoing debate about whether Chinese capital is a barrier that entraps African governments in practices that hinder poverty reduction. The most recent contribution to these debates is ...

A deserted street in Cairo after the government ordered the closure of shops, restaurants and cafes. Photo by Ziad Ahmed/NurPhoto via Getty Images Alex Broadbent, University of Johannesburg and Benjamin T H Smart, University of Johannesburg Suppose you had the choice between two health policies, A and B. Policy A would result in the death of a lot ...

On Feb. 18, 2020, in Seoul, South Korea, people wearing face masks pass an electric screen warning about COVID-19. AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon Suresh V Kuchipudi, Pennsylvania State University The coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19, is a frightening reminder of the imminent global threat posed by emerging infectious diseases. Although epidemics hav...

African nations can look to Nigeria and Tanzania for recent examples of smart policies that boost the middle class. Flag map via www.shutterstock.com Yvan Yenda Ilunga, Rutgers University The global financial crisis felled many nations and companies, leading to the collapse of banks and recessions in the biggest economies in the world. But most Afr...

Livestock, like these goats in the Rift Valley of Tanzania, are critical to household economies in East Africa. Katherine Grillo, CC BY-ND Mary Prendergast, Saint Louis University – Madrid and Elizabeth Sawchuk, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York) Visitors to East Africa are often amazed by massive herds of cattle with a...

In Season 3 of ‘Parts Unknown,’ Anthony Bourdain took viewers to Tanzania. CNN Jacob Henry, University of Hawaii Anthony Bourdain might have been a celebrity chef, but viewers of his Emmy Award-winning travel show, “Parts Unknown,” didn’t tune in for curry and noodle recipes. Cooking was simply the conceit Bourdain use...

Hard work and poor prospects for smallholder farming households in Africa. Swathi Sridharan (formerly ICRISAT, Bulawayo), CC BY-SA David Harris, Bangor University; Jordan Chamberlin, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and Kai Mausch, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) A great deal of research on agriculture in Africa is organ...

Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/ EPA-EFE Mosoka Fallah, Harvard Medical School There wasn’t an Ebola outbreak in Lesotho – but for a few hours in November 2019, you may have heard that there was. On November 14, Lesotho public health authorities conducted a simulation exercise involving a woman who was rushed to hospital and tested positive fo...

One of the first dilemmas that black people face is whether to let strangers touch their hair – and under what circumstances. Thomas Mukoya/Reuters Hlonipha Mokoena, University of the Witwatersrand “Your hair feels like pubic hair.” That was one of the first insults that someone hurled at my hair. She was a junior at my school. Sh...

Digitisation includes the delivery of agronomic advice and information via text messaging and interactive voice response. www.cta.int/ Abdul-Rahim Abdulai, University of Guelph; Emily Duncan, University of Guelph, and Evan Fraser, University of Guelph Digitisation could change the game for agriculture in Africa. That’s a key message in a repo...

The development of an industry in edible insects such as these mopane caterpillars has been slow. Shutterstock Robert Musundire, Chinhoyi University of Technology There is a wealth of indigenous knowledge about capturing and eating insects in sub-Saharan Africa. But the development of edible insects as a food industry has been very slow, despite it...

Coding can enhance children’s creativity and their understanding of mathematics. wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock Bitange Ndemo, University of Nairobi Across the world, the conversion of information into a digital format – also called “digitalisation” – has increased productivity in the public and private sectors. As a resu...

A fake Lucky Sibiya investigated by the art school. Gerard de Kamper, University of Pretoria The art world has been dealing with fakes for more than 2 000 years, with perhaps the most notorious case being the forgeries of Dutch master Johannes Vermeer’s paintings by artist Han van Meegeren during the Second World War. Now African art is becom...

Mongezi Feza on trumpet at the concert in 1964 that is the source of the rare new photos of The Blue Notes. Norman Owen-Smith Lindelwa Dalamba, University of the Witwatersrand In 1964 a young South African student and photography enthusiast, Norman Owen-Smith, took his Leica camera along to a jazz concert at the then University of Natal Pietermarit...

When you talk of unemployment the first nation that comes in perspective is the African continent. Yes, it is a big challenge that needs to be addressed at all costs. Some of the main causes of high unemployment rate include The rural-urban migration Inadequate innovation skills Corruption Poor governance High population rate However, with the help...