Underinvestment in livestock-based systems in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya havecontributed to the extreme food insecurity in the Horn of Africa. Governments need to build a coalition of support for pastoralists to tap their potential for economic development in east Africa, a top US official said on Thursday. Read More.

This short film from the STEPS Centre brings together an engaging cast of characters including a farmer, a scientist, a regulator and a seed policy analyst. Each has a different view about how best to secure seeds for farmers growing maize – Kenya’s key staple crop - in drought-prone regions of the country.

The film shows the importance of informal seed systems, as well as formal ones, for food security in these areas. It shows how policy changes underway could have serious impacts on farmers struggling for sustainability in a changing climate.

FAC's work on pastoralism features in this article by a Kenyan daily, The Star on how pastoralists, faced by perenial drought are innovating new strategies to cope with difficult conditions. Read full article.

More on the future of pastoralism.

Download FAC's new publication, the Long Conversation: Customary Approaches to Peace Management in Southern Ethiopia and Northern Kenya.

In the wake of some articles in Significance’s June issue (www.significancemagazine.org) and (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291740-9713) on global food security, the Royal Statistical Society and Significance are jointly organising a one-day Special Meeting  - a so-called ‘Hot Topic’ conference - at our headquarters in London, on the subject of Food Security for Cities. The current price rises in food commodities worldwide, and their social and political effects, are reason enough to make it of vital current concern. The meeting will start from 11:00 - 17:00, registration from 10.30am. Go here for more information.