This year’s Africa Food Systems Summit 2025, in Dakar, Senegal, focuses on Africa’s smallholder farmers – and youth and women, and how they can lead collaboration, innovation, and the implementation of agri-food systems transformation for a stronger and more resilient food value chain. It is estimated that some 500 million smallholder farmers around the world produce 35–46 percent of the world’s food, helping feed just over 8 billion people living on our fragile planet. Smallholder farmers are crucial for global food security. But how can their agricultural practices become more sustainable and safer—reducing contamination of food and feed with mycotoxins…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The QS World University Rankings 2025 have underscored a shifting balance of power in global higher education, with Asia and the Middle East making significant gains, even as Europe and North America continue to dominate the top tiers. The rankings, released by QS Quacquarelli Symonds, evaluated over 1,500 institutions worldwide based on academic reputation, employer reputation, research impact, internationalization, and sustainability. Asia: China, Singapore, and Hong Kong cement leadership Asia’s universities are consolidating their position as global leaders. Peking University (China) and Tsinghua University are now firmly in the global top 20, joining National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang…
The latest QS World University Rankings 2025 have reaffirmed South Africa’s dominance in African higher education while exposing Nigeria’s struggle to gain global visibility. South Africa retains the crown South Africa remains Africa’s academic powerhouse, with two universities securing strong global positions. The University of Cape Town (UCT) leads the continent at 94th worldwide, sustaining its reputation for research excellence and global partnerships. The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) follows closely at 147th, cementing its role as a continental hub for science, technology, and health research. Stellenbosch University, though ranked outside the top 150, remains among Africa’s most respected institutions…
XConnect, a Somos Company and provider of world-class numbering intelligence solutions, has launched DNOCheck™ to help carriers fight robocalls and robotexts while complying with regulatory requirements. DNOCheck is the latest addition to the XConnect RiskALERT™ product suite. It combines XConnect’s Global Number Range (GNR) and Do Not Originate (DNO) data to ensure traffic does not originate from invalid, unallocated, or unused numbers. The solution aims to eliminate illegal robocalls and robotexts by delivering visibility into the validity of numbers, safeguarding brand reputation and customer trust, and protecting against costly fines for non-compliance. It provides accurate, up-to-date insights via download or…
A recent study from the University of Pennsylvania reveals that AI chatbots, ike OpenAI’s GPT-4o Mini—can be surprisingly easy to manipulate using basic psychological techniques from Robert Cialdini’s classic persuasion framework. According to the research published yesterday, even chatbots designed with safety in mind can be coaxed into providing forbidden or dangerous content. Some of the striking findings include: Commitment strategy: When researchers first asked the bot how to synthesize a benign chemical (vanillin), the AI was subsequently 100% likely to explain how to create lidocaine—a substance it would normally refuse to detail. Compliance jumped from just 1% to total…
Researchers working in the central plateau of Burkina Faso (Saria) have confirmed that intercropping sorghum and cowpea offers a highly effective solution to combat runoff, soil erosion, and poor yields in the Sahel region. The semi-arid area, with annual rainfall averaging about 800 millimeters, sits on gently sloping land (less than 3%). Despite the modest slope, farmers face serious land degradation problems, with up to 40% of rainfall lost as runoff and soil erosion reaching 4–8 metric tons per hectare each year. These conditions threaten food security and long-term agricultural productivity. The experiment Over a three-year field study, scientists tested…
Dr. Sidi Ould Tah has officially assumed office as the ninth President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), succeeding Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, who completed two terms. At exactly 11:04 a.m. Abidjan time on a rainswept Monday, Dr. Ould Tah took the oath of office at the helm of Africa’s premier development finance institution. The high-level ceremony, held at the Sofitel Abidjan Hôtel Ivoire, was graced by Côte d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara and Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani. Also in attendance were former AfDB Presidents Dr. Adesina and Dr. Donald Kaberuka, the Bank Group’s Board of Governors, Executive Directors,…
Professor Olayinka Awopetu, a leading scholar of Applied ManufactTech revolution,uring Technology, Machine Tools, and Cutting Tools at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), has said Africa is uniquely positioned to take a leading role in the next wave of global technological advancement. Delivering FUTA’s 184th inaugural lecture on August 26, 2025, titled “Metal Cutting and Theory of Chip Formation: The History of a Science without History,” Awopetu stressed that the continent has the vision, resilience, and innovative spirit to reshape global narratives if its leaders commit to investing in infrastructure, policy support, and education reform. Tracing the history of…
The Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech) has secured a major boost for innovation and sustainability, as two of its staff members won TETFund/National Research Fund grants worth over ₦62.9 million for transformative projects. The announcement was made on Monday in a statement by the Deputy Registrar, Centre for Information, Communication and Public Relations, Mr. Adekunle Adams, who reaffirmed Yabatech’s reputation as Nigeria’s leading hub for technological innovation and applied research. According to Adams, Dr. Emodi Izuchukwu of the School of Art, Design and Printing received ₦24.1 million for a pioneering project on marine pollution and the blue economy. His initiative,…
The Nigerian agribusinesses are showing resilience despite persistent challenges ranging from insecurity and rising costs to climate change impacts, according to the Fourth Edition of the Nigerian Agribusiness Survey released by Agramondis in May 2025. The survey, which gathered insights from 118 agribusinesses across the country, revealed that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) dominate the industry, with 85% employing fewer than 50 people and more than half operating for less than five years. However, a gradual shift toward multi-sector participation was noted, as only 55% of businesses operated in a single sub-sector in 2024, down from 61% in 2023. Key…