Continued communication – maximising the business potential of communications through Web 2.0

This paper is concerned with Continued Communication, a Northumbria University led co-operative inquiry, critically evaluating a central research question: how can organisations maximise the potential of their communications, taking into account the impact of the individual. This paper provides a high level discussion of the research and outputs of the Continued Communication’s UK group. It discusses the complex dimensions of communication; organisational requirements, individual agendas, and communication channels/tools

Ethiopia’s agrifood system structure and drivers of transformation

Ethiopia stands out as one of the fastest growing African countries between 2009 and 2019, with an average annual GDP growth rate close to 10 percent (ESS 2020). The global COVID-19 pandemic coupled with an armed civil conflict that started in November 2020 and continued for two years caused a significant slowdown in economic growth during the 2020–2022 period. Ethiopia’s GDP growth is now projected to recover to 5.3 percent in 2023 and 6.1 percent in 2024 (World Bank 2023), remaining well below the growth rates achieved in the pre-pandemic era. Agriculture remains an important sector in Ethiopia, accounting for one-third of GDP and two-thirds of jobs. The agriculture sector, like the broader economy, performed well prior to the pandemic and civil conflict, averaging 5.5 percent growth from 2009 to 2019 (ESS 2020), and played an important role in weathering the global commodity market shocks during 2022–2023 (Diao and Thurlow 2023). In this brief, we look beyond primary agriculture to understand how Ethiopia’s broader agrifood system (AFS) is contributing to growth and transformation in the country

Uganda’s agrifood system structure and drivers of transformation

Uganda experienced annual economic growth of 5.8 percent between 2009 and 2019 (UBOS 2020). While restrictive COVID-19 policy measures in 2020 and 2021 caused a slowdown in the economy, the country has largely been spared the adverse effects of the global commodity market disruptions arising from the Russia-Ukraine war that started in 2022 and from the 2023 global recession (Arndt et al. 2023; Diao and Thurlow 2023). Uganda’s GDP growth is projected to reach 5.5 percent in 2023 and 6.1 percent in 2024 (World Bank 2023), suggesting that the economy is resuming its pre-pandemic growth trajectory. Agriculture remains an important sector, accounting for one-quarter of GDP and two-thirds of Uganda’s jobs. The agriculture sector also performed well in the 2009 to 2019 period, growing at 5.0 percent annually (UBOS 2020). Thanks to a positive terms of trade shock and an established trade surplus in agrifood products, this sector played an important role in weathering the 2022 and 2023 global commodity market shocks (Diao and Thurlow 2023). In this brief, we examine Uganda’s economic growth and transformation trajectory, both historically and going forward. Rather than focusing on the role of primary agriculture, we examine how the country’s broader agrifood system (AFS) is contributing to that transformation process

Madagascar’s agrifood system structure and drivers of transformation

Madagascar’s economy showed little progress during the decade from 2009 to 2019, growing at an average rate of just 2.9 percent per year, which is only marginally higher than the population growth rate of 2.7 percent (World Bank 2023). The global COVID-19 pandemic pushed the economy into negative growth in 2020, while drought, flooding, and storm damages in 2021 and 2022 had further adverse impacts on the economy. Current projections suggest the economy will achieve growth of 4.2 percent in 2023 and 4.6 percent in 2024, which are well above pre-pandemic growth rates (World Bank 2023). Agriculture is a relatively important sector in Madagascar, accounting for nearly 30 percent of GDP and more than 60 percent of employment. The poor performance of the agriculture sector in the 2009 to 2019 period—the sector grew at only 0.5 percent per year—was an important reason for weak growth overall (INSTAT 2020). In this brief, we unpack the historical and projected economic growth trajectory further to better understand the role of agriculture as well as the broader agrifood system (AFS) in the performance and transformation of the economy of Madagascar

Transformation of Kenya’s agrifood system structure and drivers

Kenya experienced significant economic development in the 2009 to 2019 period. Gross domestic product (GDP)—an indicator of the economy’s size—expanded by an annual average of 5 percent (KNBS 2022). This exceeded population growth and helped raise household incomes, leading to a decline in poverty rates; more importantly, for the first time in at least three decades, the country experienced a decline in the absolute number of poor people (World Bank 2022). While the global COVID-19 pandemic caused negative economic growth in 2020, the economy recovered quickly in 2021. Kenya was also largely spared the adverse effects of the global commodity market disruptions arising from the Russia-Ukraine war that started in 2022 and from the global recession in 2023 (Arndt et al. 2023; Diao and Thurlow 2023). Kenya’s GDP growth is projected to reach 5.0 percent in 2023 and 5.3 percent in 2024 (World Bank 2023), suggesting that the economy is resuming its pre-pandemic growth trajectory. Agriculture remains an important sector, accounting for about one-quarter of GDP and nearly half of Kenya’s employment. It has thus played an important role in economic development. The sector has grown alongside the rest of the economy despite many challenges including climate variability (Ochieng et al. 2020), weak rural infrastructure (Benin and Odjo 2018), declines in farm size (Jayne et al. 2016), and limited access to farm inputs combined with poor agronomic management (Worku et al. 2020). In this brief, we look beyond primary agriculture to understand how Kenya’s broader agrifood system (AFS) is contributing to growth and transformation in the country

Burkina Faso’s agrifood system structure and drivers of transformation

Burkina Faso experienced strong annual economic growth of 6.0 percent between 2009 and 2019 (NISD 2021). However, the global COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant slowdown in economic growth in 2020, while an increase in armed insurgencies by domestic terrorist groups also had an adverse effect on the economy. Burkina Faso’s GDP growth is projected to reach 5.0 percent in 2023 and 5.3 percent in 2024 (World Bank 2023), suggesting the economy is unlikely to return to its pre-pandemic growth trajectory. Agriculture remains an important sector, accounting for one-fifth of GDP and nearly half of employment in Burkina Faso. The agriculture sector also performed well, growing at around 5 percent annually in the 2009 to 2019 period (NISD 2021). In this brief, we look beyond primary agriculture to understand how Burkina Faso’s broader agrifood system (AFS) is contributing to growth and transformation in the country

Mozambique’s agrifood system structure and drivers of transformation

Mozambique was one of the fastest-growing countries in sub-Saharan Africa between 2009 and 2014, with annual growth averaging about 7 percent (INE 2020; World Bank 2023a). However, adverse economic circumstances resulted in a significant weakening of economic growth, which averaged only 4.6 percent over the period 2014 to 2019 (INE 2020; World Bank 2023a). Restrictive COVID-19 policymeasures introduced in 2020 further stifled the economy, resulting in negative growth in 2020 and low growth in 2021. Like many other countries, Mozambique was adversely affected by global commodity market disruptions resulting from the onset of Russia-Ukraine war in 2022 and the global recession in 2023 (Arndt et al. 2023; Diao and Thurlow 2023). Mozambique’s growth is expected to recover in the coming years, with projections of 5.0 percent growth in 2023 and 8.0 percent in 2024 (World Bank 2023b), suggesting the economy is inching back toward its pre-pandemic growth trajectory

Senegal’s agrifood system structure and drivers of transformation

Senegal experienced annual economic growth of 4.8 percent during the 2009 to 2019 period (World Bank 2023a). With an annual population growth rate of 2.7 percent over the same period, the living standards of Senegalese improved modestly. In 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant slowdown in economic growth, but growth rebounded in 2021. While the country was adversely affected by the global commodity market disruptions related to the Russia-Ukraine war that started in 2022 (Arndt et al. 2023; Diao and Thurlow 2023), its growth is projected to reach 8.0 percent in 2023 and 10.5 percent in 2024 (World Bank 2023b). This suggests a much-improved short-term outlook and a future growth trajectory well above its pre-pandemic growth trajectory. Agriculture is a relatively small sector in Senegal, accounting for less than one-fifth of GDP. However, the broader agrifood system (AFS), which includes processing, trade and transport of agrifood products, and food services, makes up about one-third of GDP. In this brief, we examine the performance of Senegal’s broader AFS and its contribution to growth and transformation

Mali’s agrifood system structure and drivers of transformation

Mali experienced modest annual economic growth of 4.4 percent between 2009 and 2019 (INSTAT 2020; World Bank 2023a). With annual population growth of 3.0 percent during that period, the living standards of Malian people improved only modestly. In 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant slowdown in economic growth, while an increase in armed insurgencies by domestic terrorist groups also had an adverse effect on the economy. Mali’s GDP growth is projected to reach 4.0 percent in 2023 and 2024 (World Bank 2023b), suggesting the economy is inching back toward its prepandemic growth trajectory. Agriculture remains an important sector, accounting for 40 percent of GDP and more than 60 percent of employment in Mali. In this brief, we unpack the historical and projected economic growth trajectory further to better understand the role of agriculture as well as the broader agrifood system (AFS) in the performance and transformation of the economy of Mali

Democratic Republic of Congo’s agrifood system structure and drivers of transformation

Agriculture in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is dominated by subsistence farming. Households grow food mainly for their own consumption and sell only when they have a surplus. The main crops are cassava, maize, yams, plantains, and rice (FAO 2019). Commercial farming of cash crops such as coffee, palm oil, rubber, and sugar is done on a smaller scale. With constant political instability, infrastructure deficiencies, and lack of investment in DRC, the expansion and productivity of commercial farming have been constrained (World Bank 2020). Livestock and fisheries are also important agrifood subsectors and face constraints similar to the crop subsectors. Despite these challenges, DRC possesses robust agricultural potential due to its vast arable land resources, abundant water resources, and its diverse climatic conditions, which are suitable for a wide variety of crops. There is also potential for further development of the fisheries sector due to the country’s extensive river system and large lakes. In this brief, we look beyond primary agriculture to understand the recent performance of DRC’s broader agrifood system (AFS) and how it is contributing to growth and transformation in the country