Strengthen Africa’s Seed Systems El Niño Threat Becomes Reality Again

Delegates networking at the Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda's capital during the Africa Food Systems Forum. Credit: Farai Shawn Matiashe/IPSby Farai Shawn Matiashe (kigali)Thursday, September 03, 2026Inter Press Service KIGALI, September 3 (IPS) - As climate disasters frequent across the African continent, governments have been promoting climate-smart innovations, including the development of drought-resistant crops. Drought-resistant and nutritious staples such as millet and sorghum and drought-tolerant maize varieties are some crops helping farmers survive dry seasons.But there has been a decline in the adoption of these drought-tolerant crops on the continent.This is partly because of poor access to information, counterfeit products and weak distribution networks.The need to encourage the adoption is even more urgent, as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) this week announced that El Niño is strengthening rapidly in the Pacific Ocean, raising the prospect of months of extreme heat, floods, drought, and disruptive weather around the globe.The phenomenon, already firmly established, is expected to become “very strong” and peak around the end of the year, the WMO said.Th...