Every week, RuralReporters.com collate reports on development issues in rural Africa and its environs.
This report includes some of our top picks from recent must-read research, interviews, blogs, and in-depth articles, carefully selected to help you keep up with global issues.
Here are some of the updates you may have missed from the previous week:
Rural Africa in motion: Dynamics and drivers of migration south of the Sahara
The atlas – Rural Africa in motion. Dynamics and drivers of migration south of the Sahara – also highlights the important role rural areas will continue to play in shaping the continent’s migration for decades to come.
“Population growth translates into a massive expansion of the labour force. Some 380 million new working age people are expected to enter the job market by 2030. Of those about 220 million are likely to be in rural areas. The challenge is to generate enough employment to absorb this booming labour force. This is why agriculture and rural development must be an integral part of any response to large migratory movements,” said Kostas Stamoulis, FAO Assistant Director-General, Economic and Social Development Department.
How Chinese grapple with language barrier in rural Uganda
Although he works and lives in Kyenjojo, a rural part of western Uganda, Wu Lee, a Chinese engineer is not completely isolated from the rest of his nationals living in Uganda. He is connected to them through media, including social media.
“Communication in rural parts of Uganda is not easy. People don’t know English. We don’t know it too. We have to communicate through third parties,” narrates Wu Lee, who is part of the Chinese tarmacking Kyenjojo-Kabwoya Road. Lee has spent about a year in Uganda.
As a solution, most Chinese migrants verify information by “engaging more people on the same issues,” and also, “some Chinese have lived in Uganda for long. We usually ask them to brief us on the current affairs.”
Low rural calving rates threaten Africa’s food security
During the Agribusiness Africa conference hosted by Farmer’s Weekly, Dr Riaan du Preez, manager of scientific affairs at Afrivet, highlighted a disturbing statistic about cow conception on the continent: six out of 10 cows in Africa do not produce calves. He spoke about the dangers this poses for food security, as well as possible solutions to the problem.
Rural banks want extension of December deadline for minimum capital requirement
The Association of Rural Banks is calling for an extension of the deadline to meet the minimum capital requirement for rural and community banks.
Bank of Ghana (BoG) has asked financial institutions in the sector to recapitalise in a move to address indiscriminate collapse of banks and protect depositors.
December this year is the deadline for rural and community banks and other commercial banks to meet the new minimum capital requirement.
World Bank to spend $52m to construct 300 rural roads in Plateau
The World Bank says it has earmarked 52 million U.S. dollars for the construction of over 300 rural roads in Plateau, under its Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP).
Mr Tesfa Michael, the Head of RAAMP, said this on Monday in Jos during an assessment visit, in the lead-up to the project implementation.
He said that the project was aimed at linking rural roads with major highways, with the view to reducing wastage of farm produce.
Nigeria enhances rural electrification through solar
In Nigeria, Sokoto State government declared that it has started the process of connecting a number of rural households to solar power in order to deepen energy usage and enhance rural electrification in the region.
According to the Vanguard, Alhaji Bashir Gidado, the special adviser to Governor Aminu Tambuwal on Public Private Partnership (PPP), made the disclosure at a news conference in Sokoto this past weekend.
Gidado said the project was a partnership between the state government and Nigeria Energy Support Project (NESP), GIZ of Germany and GoSolar.
Nasarawa women demand free healthcare
Some rural women in Nasarawa State have appealed to the Federal and State Governments to provide free healthcare services and soft loans to improve their lives.
The women made the call in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday from their respective communities in Garaku, Kokona Local Government Area. They said that improving basic amenities in their communities would go a long way in improving their standard of living and life span thereby contributing positively to overall development of the state and country.
Feature: How potable water is changing lives at a rural Nigeria community
Kenya’s ministry of environment is developing a raft of policy and legislative incentives to revitalize action on the growing pollution menace in the rural counties, officials said on Monday.
Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources Judi Wakhungu said new strategies are required to help county governments deal with ecological challenges like pollution, habitat loss and land degradation.
Officials Call for Investment in Rural Communities to End Hunger
Commercial farming will enhance food security, reduce hunger and malnutrition among children in rural areas, Gerardine Mukeshimana, the Minister for Agriculture and Animal Resources, has said.
Minister Mukeshimana also said the country cannot reach its targets without development in rural areas. She made the remarks last week as she joined residents in Karongi District to celebrate the World Food Day, commemorated in Rubengera Sector under the theme ‘Investing in food security and rural development.’