It is with mixed emotions that we announce that NGI’s CEO, Dr. Steven Were Omamo, is stepping away from NGI to take on the role of Director of Development Strategy and Governance at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Dr. Omamo will start with IFPRI on 07 October 2024. He will be based on […]
NGI’s CEO, Dr. Steven Were Omamo, has just published a new book titled, “At the Center of the World in Ethiopia.” It is available on available on Amazon and Apple Books, both paperback and ebook versions. Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Center-World-Ethiopia-Steven-Omamo-ebook/dp/B0BJTCFFZ3 Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/at-the-center-of-the-world-in-ethiopia/id6443926761 Please grab a copy and spread the word! ========== At the Center of the […]
New Growth International recently estimated that food system transformation in Africa requires investments of US$15.4 billion/year to 2030 from the public sector. Further analysis indicates that continent wide, US$5.9 billion (39 percent) should be devoted to improving rural transport infrastructure, US$5.4 billion (36 percent) should be spent on boosting crop and livestock productivity, and US$3.3 billion […]
Africa Food System Investment Targets by Steven Were Omamo and Alexander Mills Africa’s cereal yields are stagnant. Food imports are surging. Hunger is on the march again across the continent. The need for large and sustained investment in Africa’s food systems could not be more urgent. But at what scale and intensity? In 2016, the […]
Analysis with the NGI Index and related variables yields benchmarks for assessing food system performance based on indicator levels associated with “low hunger” as represented by a Global Hunger Index score of 9. Poor performance relative to the yield benchmark (see below) helps explain why so many African countries are struggling to meet their food needs.
Strategic Priorities for Food System Strengthening and Transformation: Insights from the NGI Food System Index and Typology High performing food systems are fundamental to prospects for achieving major global goals, particularly Zero Hunger. But hunger is on the march again due to climate shocks, COVID-19, and conflict, including the ongoing war in Ukraine. New […]
Much has been said and written of late about the linkages between conflict and hunger. Typically, two claims are made. First, that conflict breeds hunger. This claim is supported by ample evidence. Second, that hunger contributes to conflict. Support for this claim is largely anecdotal, but perhaps the lack of definitive evidence of causality […]
As our CEO left the World Food Programme at the end of 2021 and reflected on the amazing work done by his former team at the intersection of crisis and transformation in Ethiopia’s agrifood industry, it struck him that 10 viewpoints had come to loom large in his day-to-day activities. Here they are: The […]
Our CEO wrote this piece on agricultural transformation a while ago and it has been on his mind of late. Here it is again: science and politics In a sense it is a tribute to his late father, William Odongo Omamo, who lived the idea of agricultural transformation in so many ways. It is also […]
Introducing PRISM – A Strategy Implementation Support Tool Has your organization or team recently developed a new strategy or refreshed an existing one? Are you confident that staff at all levels of your organization are fully aware of the rationale, logic and components (building blocks) of the new strategy? Do your team leaders and staff members […]