Resource frontiers and agglomeration economies: The varied logics of transnational land-based investing in Southern and Eastern Africa

Actor-level data on large-scale commercial agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa are scarce. The peculiar choice of transnational investing in African land has, therefore, been subject to conjecture. Addressing this gap, we reconstructed the underlying logics of investment location choices in a Bayesian network, using firm- and actor-level interview and spatial data from 37 transnational agriculture and forestry investments across 121 sites in Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. We distinguish four investment locations across gradients of resource frontiers and agglomeration economies to derive the preferred locations of different investors with varied skillsets and market reach (i.e., track record). In contrast to newcomers, investors with extensive track records are more likely to expand the land use frontier, but they are also likely to survive the high transaction costs of the pre-commercial frontier. We highlight key comparative advantages of Southern and Eastern African frontiers and map the most probable categories of investment locations.

Assessing the impacts of agricultural managements on soil carbon stocks, nitrogen loss and crop production — a modelling study in Eastern Africa

Improved agricultural management plays a vital role in protecting soils from degradation in Eastern Africa. Changing practices such as reducing tillage, fertilizer use or cover crops are expected to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, with climate change mitigation co-benefits, while increasing crop production. However, the quantification of cropland managements’ effects on agricultural ecosystems remains inadequate in this region. Here, we explored seven management practices and their potential effects on soil carbon (C) pools, nitrogen (N) losses, and crop yields under different climate scenarios, using the dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS. The model performance is evaluated against observations from two long-term maize field trials in western Kenya and reported estimates from published sources. LPJ-GUESS generally produces soil C stocks and maize productivity comparable with measurements, and mostly captures the SOC decline under some management practices that is observed in the field experiments. We found that for large parts of Kenya and Ethiopia, an integrated conservation agriculture practice (no-tillage, residue and manure application, and cover crops) increases SOC levels in the long term (+11 % on average), accompanied by increased crop yields (+22 %) in comparison to the standard management. Planting nitrogen-fixing cover crops in our simulations is also identified as a promising individual practice in Eastern Africa to increase soil C storage (+4 %) and crop production (+18 %), with low environmental cost of N losses (+24 %). These management impacts are also sustained in simulations of three future climate pathways. This study highlights the possibilities of conservation agriculture when targeting long-term environmental sustainability and food security in crop ecosystems, particularly for those with poor soil conditions in tropical climates.

Antenatal Care Predicts Neonatal Mortality in Eastern Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies

Background Sub-Saharan African countries, especially the Eastern region, present the dismal picture of neonatal mortality (NM) in the globe. The majority of these deaths could be avoided if effective health measures are provided throughout pregnancy and childbirth. Although antenatal care (ANC) is assumed as one of the viable interventions that contribute to neonatal survival, the effect of ANC on NM was not systematically analyzed in Eastern Africa. Thus, the study aimed to determine the pooled effect of ANC on NM in Eastern Africa. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and HINARI databases were searched using appropriate keywords from January 1, 1990 to February 12, 2021. Independent authors selected eligible articles and extracted data. The risk of a bias assessment tool for nonrandomized studies was used to assess the quality of the study. Comprehensive meta-analysis version 2 was used for meta-analysis. The random-effect model was employed, and the outcome is expressed as a risk ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results In total, 1149 studies were identified through database search, and only 27 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Having at least 1 ANC visit during pregnancy reduced the risk of neonatal death by 42% compared to their counterparts (RR = 0.58, 95% CI [0.47, 0.71]). The pooled prevalence of NM was 8.5% (95% CI [7.3, 9.6]), with NM rate of 46.3/1000 live births. Conclusion The study indicated that NM might be decreased even with a single ANC visit when compared to no visits. Scaling up ANC services through ANC promotion and tackling service-related barriers could potentially reduce NM in Eastern Africa.

Polycentric Environmental Governance to Achieving SDG 16: Evidence from Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa

Effective environmental governance is deemed essential in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. However, environmental dimensions have no specific reference across the SDG 16 targets and indicators. In achieving SDG 16—the realization of peace, justice, and strong institution, polycentric environmental governance involving multiple actors across scales deserves thoughtful consideration. This study illustrates the potential of a polycentric approach to environmental governance in achieving SDG 16, using case studies of forest, watershed, and transboundary bushland and seascape management in Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa, namely Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Kenya–Somalia cross-border. By highlighting four key elements of polycentric governance namely, political will, legal framework, support from higher-level governance and capacity building, the case studies demonstrate that polycentric governance play a significant role in achieving three environment-relevant SDG 16 targets, yet these targets are silent about environmental governance dimensions. Since many conflicts arise from the environment and natural resources sector, we suggest that (i) polycentric environmental governance be strongly pursued to achieve SDG 16, and (ii) SDG 16 includes indicators specifically directed on polycentric environment and natural resource governance.

Water-food-energy nexus for transboundary cooperation in Eastern Africa

Establishing cooperation in transboundary rivers is challenging especially with the weak or non-existent river basin institutions. A nexus-based approach is developed to explore cooperation opportunities in transboundary river basins while considering system operation and coordination under uncertain hydrologic river regimes. The proposed approach is applied to the Nile river basin with a special focus on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), assuming two possible governance positions: with or without cooperation. A cooperation mechanism is developed to allocate additional releases from the GERD when necessary, while a unilateral position assumes that the GERD is operated to maximize hydropower generation regardless of downstream users' needs. The GERD operation modes were analysed considering operation of downstream reservoirs and varying demands in Egypt. Results show that average basin-wide hydropower generation is likely to increase by about 547 GWh/year (1%) if cooperation is adopted when compared to the unilateral position. In Sudan, hydropower generation and water supply are expected to enhance in the unilateral position and would improve further with cooperation. Furthermore, elevated low flows by the GERD are likely to improve the WFE nexus outcomes in Egypt under full cooperation governance scenario with a small reduction in GERD hydropower generation (2,000 GWh/year (19%)).