Though non-governmental organizations (NGOs) “have expressed concern over the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, the G8 initiative that seeks to enlist the private sector in efforts to boost African agriculture,” Nigeria’s Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Akinwumi Adesina “insists that the New Alliance can work for Nigeria, and for Africa,” The Guardian reports. “Nigeria, along with Benin and Malawi, are the latest countries to sign up to the New Alliance, joining the original six,” the newspaper writes, adding, “Under its ‘co-operation framework,’ Nigeria will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in funding — subject to availability — from donors including the U.S., France, Germany and the U.K. In addition, 28 companies have signed letters of intent to invest in a range of projects.” The Guardian discusses the first annual progress report (.pdf) for the New Alliance, voluntary guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure, and reaction from NGO and U.N. leaders (Tran, 6/10).