The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has started a major operation in support of small scale farmers in Zimbabwe as part of its joint efforts with the European Union (EU) to fight hunger this year.

The Food and Agriculture Organization and the Islamic Development Bank have reached a $1bn agreement to fund agricultural development.

Once the toys of rich yuppies, mobile phones have evolved in a few short years to become tools of economic empowerment for the world’s poorest people.