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Message: [QUOTE="Nehanda, post: 24856, member: 2262"] East Africa faces pivotal agricultural challenges in 2025 despite vast resources and opportunities for growth. The region holds more than 280 million people, including 30 million pastoralists and agro-pastoralists, with extensive arable land, livestock, and rich biodiversity. Recent threats have emerged through droughts, floods, landslides, and destructive pests like Desert Locusts and Fall Armyworms. Limited technology adoption, climate change, conflicts, and rising food costs have hindered development across the region. The Food and Agriculture Organization reports that 864 million people experienced severe food insecurity in 2023, representing 10.7 percent of the global population. Africa accounts for 58 percent of these cases. East Africa has seen food insecurity rise by 50 million people since 2019. The International Authority on Development indicates that 63 million people face acute food insecurity across seven member countries in 2024. This represents 25 percent of the regional population. East Africa houses more than half of Africa's chronically hungry despite comprising just a quarter of the continent's population. Technology offers new solutions for these pressing challenges. Innovations like drought-resistant seeds, smart irrigation, data analytics, drones, and satellite imaging help farmers improve production without harming natural resources. FAO initiatives demonstrate technology's impact. In Somalia, drone and satellite surveillance tracked locust movements, enabling targeted interventions. Ethiopia adopted improved grain storage through enhanced silos and hermetic bags, reducing waste and improving food safety. South Sudan implemented early warning systems for climate disasters. The region's youth present opportunities for agricultural transformation. People under 30 make up 70 percent of East Africa's population. Young entrepreneurs create mobile apps for farming advice, use drones for precision agriculture, and build e-commerce platforms for agricultural products. Policy implementation remains a critical challenge, particularly regarding youth engagement in agriculture. The African Union's Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme provides frameworks for action, but practical outcomes need strengthening. FAO's Eastern Africa division serves eight nations: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda. The organization emphasizes partnerships to support small-scale producers and family farmers through affordable, context-specific innovations aimed at sustainable agriculture. [/QUOTE]

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