FAO Report: Africa's Plant Diversity Loss

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) unveiled a report in Nairobi on the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, revealing that Africa is losing crucial plant diversity at an alarming rate. This loss, driven by climate change and habitat destruction, threatens food security, nutrition, and livelihoods across the continent. Locally adapted crop varieties and wild food plants are disappearing faster than they are being conserved, making agrifood systems vulnerable to extreme weather events like drought. Experts like Chikelu Mba of the Food and Agriculture Organization and Éliane Ubalijoro of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry emphasize the urgent need for stronger policies, investment, and coordination to protect these irreplaceable resources. The report also raises concerns about the security of Africa's seed collections, with only a small percentage safely duplicated.