What we’ve been reading this week

This week’s summary of the news stories, reports, and blogs that have grabbed our attention. We welcome your thoughts and comments on these articles.

Technology

Africa’s digital revolution: a look at the technologies, trends and people driving it, World Economic Forum

Digital financial services abolish ‘poverty tax’ for millions of Africans, The East African

Helping Smallholder Farmers Build Stronger Businesses with Information and Communication Technology, FoodTank

The innovators: desalination unit brings clean water on wheels, The Guardian

Leadership and economies

Great leaders aren’t born – they’re made. And Africa is showing us how, World Economic Forum

South Africa, Tunisia and Botswana best in Africa for entrepreneurs, This Is Africa

SDGs: No one will be left behind, AfricaRenewal

Rwanda takes long view to invest in African science, African Brains

A blueprint for bringing local economies to life in South Africa, The Conversation

Big firms eye Africa’s untapped insurance market, This Is Africa

Urbanisation and population growth

These are Africa’s fastest-growing cities – and they’ll make or break the continent, World Economic Forum

Why Habitat III matters, Devex

Megacities, not nations, are the world’s dominant, enduring social structures, Quartz

Africa’s cities of the future, AfricaRenewal

Could regional integration make Africa the next big economic success story? World Economic Forum

Climate and environment

Experts agree: EU membership is good for Britain’s natural environment, The Conversation

The Paris climate deal and Africa, AfricaRenewal

Earth is getting greener. Here’s why that’s a problem.Grist

Drought in Southern Africa: Do GMO policies need to change? B4FA

Lord Krebs: scientists must challenge poor media reporting on climate change, The Conversation

Shifting our Approach: Four Priorities for a More Sustainable Food System, The Chicago Council

Tanzania’s forest conservation at risk as funds run out, Thomson Reuters Foundation

How psychology can help us solve climate change, The Conversation

Diets, health, food security

Why aren’t more people vegetarian? The conversation

Do we need an IPCC-like international body for food? Global Food Security

Food Insecurity Coming to Life, The Chicago Council

Kenyans and Ugandans need to change their ways to arrest lifestyle diseases, The Conversation

Agriculture and Farming

The Cost of Leaving Women Farmers Behind, The Chicago Council

Africa’s Great Green Wall could halt youth migration, extremism – experts, Braced

Getting down to the business of agriculture, This Is Africa

Subsidised insurance bolsters Kenyan herders against drought, Braced

Agriculture Is the Future of Africa, The Chicago Council

Farming First’s “The Story of Agriculture & SDGs” Shortlisted for Industry Award, Farming first