Grand Challenges 2018 – solutions for safeguarding food security and sustaining trade and livelihoods
This year’s British Society for Plant Pathology (BSPP) Grand Challenges in Plant Pathology Study Group gathered at Chicheley Hall, Milton Keynes, UK, 25-28 September 2018. Chicheley Hall is a grade II listed country mansion, home of the Kavli Royal Society International Centre. This was the second meeting of its kind, following on from the first…
Too much tea: Weak global prices subject tea farmers to flat returns
Global market prices have weakened as supply exceeds demand for most farmers involved in tea production. The situation; which has devastated the hopes of farmers for lucrative returns was actually enhanced by favourable climatic conditions that brought about increased yields in most tea producing regions.
Madagascan bananas may soon be extinct
Bananas we buy across the world could be threatened with extinction in the future. This claim is due to the decline of wild banana species which could be the last resort for saving the world’s most popular banana, the Cavendish.
Rallying around plant health in Jamaica
The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Research and Development Division (R&D) and Plant Quarantine Produce Inspection (PQPI) – all agencies of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries of Jamaica – teamed up with CABI Plantwise to prepare the first of a series of rallies on different plant health topics. A two-day workshop was…
Fall Armyworm: A new collaboration to disseminate best management practices to farmers
From the 13th to the 15th of November 2017, USAID and CIMMYT held a Regional Training and Awareness Generation Workshop on Fall Armyworm Pest Management for Eastern Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Participants from 11 countries attended the workshop to discuss short, medium and long term strategies to control Fall Armyworm in Africa. Following its…
Plant Doctors in Ghana go digital
The operation of plant clinics in Ghana received a major boost with the introduction of digital devices to facilitate the work of plant doctors. The introduction of tablets and Android phones has proven to help plant doctors improve the quantity and quality of data generated from plant clinic operations.
Photo story: e-plant clinics in Sri Lanka
E-plant clinics in Sri Lanka were launched in June 2015. Since then 190 Plant doctors have been trained and equipped with tablets, with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Agriculture funding half of the total number of tablets themselves. Being equipped with tablets means Plant doctors give higher quality recommendations, and the data collection process is also…
9 ways to get climate-smart agriculture to more people
This is the final post as part of our Climate Smart Agriculture Week (20 – 24 November 2017) Understanding which agricultural practices work best, and where, to halt the impacts of climate change is one thing. But making sure those practices are adopted by communities – farmers, decision and policy makers – is another thing.
Local innovation as source of adaptation and resilience to climate change
This is the second guest post as part of our Climate Smart Agriculture Week (20 – 24 November 2017) Climate change poses major challenges to small-scale African farmers, whose own locally developed strategies to address these challenges provide entry points to sustainable processes of adapting to climate change. Partners in Prolinnova – a global network…
Blame animals only when you aren’t smart
This is the first guest post as part of our Climate Smart Agriculture Week (20 – 24 November 2017) Despite us humans being the most intelligent among all living organisms it seems we have lowered ourselves to blaming the animals we farm for major environmental concerns, including; climate change, water depletion and pollution, land degradation…