A new $120 million initiative will target the sustainable management of land, soil, water and genetic resources in sub-Saharan Africa to build the resilience of food production systems.

The website of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) reports on the Integrated Approach Pilot program Fostering Sustainability and Resilience for Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa to build a multi-stakeholder framework that will involve important actors working together to advance food security, especially in regions prone to extremes of weather.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the world's lowest crop yields and soil quality is poor throughout much of the region. Achieving food security depends on reliable water supplies, healthy soils and maintaining the indigenous and adaptive crop varieties and livestock breeds upon which millions of smallholder farmers depend for their survival.

The article discusses some of the efforts and adaptive practices already proving successful in Africa in management land, water, trees and genetic resources. These include agroforestry systems that replenish valuable nutrients in the soil and integrate high value trees with food crops to diversify production landscapes.

The challenge lies in scaling-up these practices in the absence of appropriate frameworks that engage all relevant actors, including governments, smallholder farmers, the private sector and research institutions. The new GEF program hopes to create a platform where all stakeholders can play their respective part in working towards achieving sustainability and resilience for food security.

Read the full story: GEF to Launch Innovative Food Security Initiative in Africa