Conservation farming: can it offset fall armyworm’s impact?
Conservation farming has been promoted in sub-Saharan Africa as a way to potentially improve yields while conserving the environment. Farmer livelihoods are increasingly threatened by climate change, declining soil fertility, land degradation, pests, and diseases. Finding sustainable farming methods that address these challenges is key to feeding a growing population.
Plantwise Burundi: building extension skills and resources
The role of extension staff in reaching smallholder farmers with relevant agricultural information is key to enabling them to grow more and lose less to crop pests and diseases. The advice given on agricultural practices helps to improve crop quality and yield and to sell agricultural produce for better prices.
Increasing the demand for and supply of safer food
Saturday 16th October marks World Food Day – a day designed to raise awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and for the need to ensure healthy diets for all. Around 805 million people go hungry every day. With 80% of food consumed in developing regions grown by small-scale farmers, finding a sustainable…
Women in rural agriculture: a CABI interview
Women play a significant role in agricultural production. Although women have limited say in decision-making on family farms, they make up nearly half of the global agricultural workforce. However, female farmers face a number of barriers, which must be addressed if we are to achieve a number of Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 5: Gender…
Webinar highlights ozone pollution and its threat to agriculture
CABI’s Léna Durocher-Granger, joined Dr. Felicity Hayes & Dr. Mike Perring from UKCEH in hosting a webinar on the causes of ozone pollution and the consequences for farmers in Africa, Asia and South America. Entitled ‘Ozone Pollution: a current and future threat to tropical agriculture’, the webinar was aimed at policymakers, university lecturers and students in agriculture and food…
Watch the PlantwisePlus Launch Video
This week saw the digital launch of CABI’s new global programme – PlantwisePlus. The online event featured presentations from both CABI representatives as well as partner organisations, including FAO and the governments of Kenya and the Netherlands.
Plant doctors: fighting crop pests through integrated pest management
The increase in devastating crop pests, such as the fall armyworm and tomato pinworm, has led to a growth in pesticide use among smallholder farmers. The lack of product knowledge and safety awareness means there is a widespread tendency not to adhere to safety precautions.
PlantwisePlus: female farmers and rural extension advisory services
It’s widely known that female farmers make up a substantial portion of the agricultural labour force (43%) in developing countries. However, productivity gaps between farms managed by men and women farmers exist, because women farmers have less access to various production inputs and labour, compared to male farmers.[1]
Webinar: Ozone pollution’s threat to tropical agriculture
Ground-level ozone is one of the most widespread pollutants in the world. Although ozone in the upper atmosphere provides essential protection from the sun’s harmful rays, at ground-level it has a number of harmful effects. Ground-level ozone pollution contributes to climate change, impairs human health and damages vegetation.
PlantwisePlus: safer plant protection products
Dr Belinda Luke is one of the Global Team Leaders for CABI’s new flagship programme PlantwisePlus. Her role within the programme is to oversee the development of local production and distribution systems, for less harmful, biological plant protection products.