The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the CGIAR System Organisation have formed an alliance to address rising hunger on the African continent.

At a two-day high-level dialogue that focused on modernising food production,the group observed that the impact of climate change, rising fragility, conflict and locust invasions in east and southern Africa are taking a toll on the continent’s effort to tackle food insecurity.

Finding solutions will require strong backing from governments, development partners and the private sector.

The virtual event brought together government officials, heads of multilateral development banks, development partners, regional organisations, research institutions, business leaders, private sector operators, investment agencies and civil society organisations.

The dialogue was an opportunity to share achievements and lessons from across the African continent and accelerate agricultural transformation.

Report shows the number of people living with hunger on the continent increased from 214 million to 246 million between 2015 and 2020. Agricultural and agrobusiness related activities could provide employment opportunities for millions of young Africans, who account for 70 per cent of the population.

Asian shares were trying to avoid a fourth straight session of falls on Wednesday as U.S. stock futures steadied in the wake of a pullback in large-cap tech darlings.

Holidays in Japan, China and South Korea helped cushion markets, leaving MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.1%.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was shut, but futures recouped early losses to stand at 28,850 compared to the last cash close of 28,812.

India’s Nifty 50, started up 0.7% ahead of a speech by the country’s central bank governor, which might include policy changes to support the pandemic-stricken economy.

The Nasdaq had dropped 1.9% on Tuesday as some big tech names ran into profit-taking, including Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc .

Money sent home by Mexicans living abroad hit a record high in March, the central bank said Monday, as US stimulus measures aided a recovery in Latin America’s second-largest economy.

Remittances reached $4.15 billion, up 30 percent from February, beating the previous monthly all-time high of $4.04 billion seen a year earlier, the Bank of Mexico said.

The transfers, mostly from the United States, have helped to cushion the devastating blow to the Mexican economy from the coronavirus pandemic.

Experts say the increase in the remittances is due to the economic recovery and fiscal stimulus measures in the United States, a popular destination for Mexican workers.

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that US President Joe Biden’s Democrats pushed through Congress in March included $1,400 payments to most taxpayers.

With the US economic outlook brightening, remittances to Mexico are expected to keep growing this year, analysts at the bank BBVA predicted in a report to clients.

The transfers have become increasingly important for the country in light of the pandemic’s damaging impact on other sectors, they said.

“This positions remittances as one of the country’s main sources of foreign currency, going directly to households, surpassing the income from foreign direct investment, tourism and crude oil exports in 2020,” the report said.

Some 12 million people born in Mexico live in the US, as well as another 26 million second or third generation Mexicans.