Is it time for genetically modified bananas in Uganda?
Uganda is the world’s second largest producer of banana crop, with individuals consuming around 1.5 pounds of banana every day. Due to this major need for the success of banana crops within the country, plant pests and diseases are ever more threatening.
Lead battery soil contamination in Africa and the implications on plant and human Health
Globally, battery manufacturing and recycling plants have been identified as the major sources of soil lead contamination that have resulted in lead exposure to neighbouring communities via the accumulation of lead within plants. Lead is naturally found in soil in relatively low concentrations (10-50 mg/kg) in which it is taken up by plants via the…
E-plant clinics launched in Mozambique
E-plant clinics have been successfully launched in Mozambique this November, following two trainings and official launches. The trainings took place in a village called Tenga, Moamba near the capital city of Maputo (around 80 km), and in Morrumbene District near the city of Inhambane. Training was delivered in partnership with the National Directorate of Agricultural…
The disease that could change how we drink coffee
Reblogged from BBC Future Written by Jose Luis Penarredonda If you landed in Bogota in the 1960s, one of the first things you would have probably seen outside the airport was a giant billboard. In a slightly menacing tone, it said: “Coffee rust is the enemy. Don’t bring plant materials from abroad”. It was one…
Data democracy: a new age
The power of data over our lives is hard to overestimate. It governs how we understand and interact with the modern world, how it is measured and controlled. So, what is being done to utilise open data for global food security and nutrition?
The many P’s of partnership
Peace, partnerships, projects, production, perspectives, participation and passion to name just a few. These were all squeezed into a side event at CFS44, organised by CABI, entitled ‘How Cross-Sectoral Partnerships Help Smallholders Deliver a More Food Secure Future‘.
At loggerheads over agroforestry
Everyone knows forests are home to a wealth of biodiversity, with the Amazon alone hosting a quarter of global biodiversity. It is also now well established that diversity in crop production increases a farmer’s resilience to environmental stresses and shocks – from extreme weather to pests. In terms of ending poverty, food insecurity and environmental degradation,…
The chicken or the egg?
“I started with just 100 chickens”, begins Mr Jean Claude Ruzibiza. He goes on to explain how from small beginnings he has now become Managing Director of Rwanda Best, a farm producing 4,500 eggs a day and growing fruit and veg to satisfy a significant part of nearby Kigali’s hungry population. With malnutrition in the world…
Fall armyworm could cost Africa $2bn+ in lost harvest
Last week, CABI confirmed that since it arrived in Africa in 2016, the Fall Armyworm (FAW) has been reported in 28 African countries, presenting a now permanent agricultural challenge for the continent. FAW mainly affects maize and can cut yields by up to 60%. In research funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), CABI…
INIA y Plantwise desarrollan entrenamiento en uso seguro de plaguicidas
La agricultura en el Perú se ha expandido rápidamente desde el 2000. Según el Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informatica del Perú, el Producto Bruto Interno agrícola se ha más que duplicado entre 2000-2016. Este crecimiento estuvo relacionado a la ocupación de nuevas áreas agrícolas, pero…