Farming First and GACSA launch creative partnership to explore “Climate-Smart Agriculture in Action”

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Contributed by Farming First One billion farmers all over the world, responsible for growing the food that feeds the planet, are under unprecedented pressure from a changing climate. For eight months in a row now, temperatures have been the highest on record. Food shortages are affecting an estimated 100 million people in the wake of drought…
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700 Year-Old African Soil Technique Could Help To Mitigate Climate Change

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Reblogged from the University of Sussex blog A farming technique practised for centuries by villagers in West Africa, which converts nutrient-poor rainforest soil into fertile farmland, could be the answer to mitigating climate change and revolutionising farming across Africa. A global study led by the University of Sussex which included anthropologists and soil scientists from Cornell,…
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CABI’s Dr Kuhlmann talks plant health innovation at G20 Agricultural Chief Scientists meeting

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Yesterday, CABI’s Executive Director of Global Operations, Dr Ulrich Kuhlmann, spoke about the importance of agricultural innovation and sharing plant health knowledge at the 5th meeting of the G20 Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS). As the host country, China chaired the meeting. The G20 MACS took place in Xi’an on 30-31 May 2016, with representatives from…
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Plant clinics key to reduce loss of crop production in Ethiopia

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Excerpt reblogged from the Ethiopian Herald. A two-day national stakeholders forum on Plantwise Ethiopia was opened yesterday on the premises of the Ethiopian Agricultural Centre for Research. Plantwise National Coordinator Konjit Feleke told journalists on the occasion that there is much loss of production due to pests and crop diseases. It is in this light that Plantwise was…
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Plant clinic popular with Swiss public at BEA 2016

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Contributed by Julien Dougoud, CABI Switzerland BEA, one of Switzerland’s biggest trade fairs, took place from 29 April to 8 May 2016 in Bern. Over 290,000 visitors attended the fair, where about 950 exhibitors were presenting their goods and services to the Swiss public. Agriculture is an important aspect of the event, and CABI was…
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UK leads the transformation of crop treatment in developing countries

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Excerpt reblogged from Information Age You wouldn’t normally associate farmers with digital innovation – even less so in developing countries. But thanks to CABI’s approach to technology, crops are getting better treatment around the world. […] Through its Plantwise programme, which aims to reduce crop losses and improve food security by collecting and sharing information about plant…
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Plantwise Annual Report 2015 released

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The Plantwise Annual Report for 2015 has been launched. The report is an update on programme implementation between January and December 2015, listing key highlights along with details on progress, lessons learned and next steps for each of the three programme components: Plant Health Systems Development, the Knowledge Bank and Monitoring & Evaluation. Highlights include: 4.5 million farmers reached through plant clinics, plant health rallies,…
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Kenya’s Phytosanitary Successes and Challenges

Contributed by Roger Day, CABI An “experimental item” added to the agenda of the 2014 Commission for Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) was reports of successes and challenges in implementing the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).  Each year a couple of countries (or Contracting Parties in the jargon) give a brief presentation, and first up at this  year’s…
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In drought-hit Burkina Faso, the (plant) doctor is in

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Reblogged from Thomson Reuters Foundation Dieudonné Sedogo waits patiently in line to see the doctor in the scorching 49-degree Celsius heat of this village in central Burkina Faso. But the ailment he’s seeking to address today isn’t his own. Instead, it’s the one afflicting the wrinkled aubergine with yellowing leaves he’s carrying in his hand. “Every year…
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New initiative to support phytosanitary surveillance

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Contributed by Melanie Bateman, CABI As the standard setting organisation for plant health, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) has long had an active, member driven programme to produce International Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs). Moving forward, the IPPC is putting more and more emphasis on supporting the implementation of the ISPMs and the Convention itself by…
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