Funding boost to help CABI ensure greater global food security
CABI has today received a funding boost from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) which will help it increase its efforts to help ensure global food security by stepping up the fight against crop pests and diseases. DFID has allocated CABI a share of a £61 million package to help equip millions more smallholder farmers around…
Improving resistance of Kenya’s cabbage and kale crops to TuMV disease
A team of international scientists from CABI, the Kenyan Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO), NIAB EMR (UK), University of Warwick (UK) and Syngenta (Netherlands) are seeking to improve the resistance of Kenya’s cabbage and kale crops to Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV). In the distantly-related Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa), a potentially durable TuMV disease resistance trait was identified by Professor John Walsh at the…
Indian NGO supports farmers by using greenhouse agriculture
In the south Indian region of Hyderabad, a non-profit called Kheyti has developed an affordable solution to income stability and climate-resilient crop production for smallholder farmers and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) – greenhouses. The organisation founders spent countless hours meeting with Indian farmers to understand the range of issues threatening farming communities. “When we…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (06 September 2019)
We’ve selected a few of the latest new geographic, host and species records for plant pests and diseases from CAB Abstracts. Records this month include a report on a new root-knot nematode parasite on coffee in Vietnam, a report on a new variant of the moth Cyana peregrina Walker in India and a report on…
‘$10bn to feed 10 billion by 2050’, CABI tells AGRF
CABI has told the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) 2019 that investment in agritech needs to double to at least $10bn a year if the world’s smallholder farmers are to help feed a global population expected to reach 10 billion by 2050. Dr Dennis Rangi, CABI’s Director General, Development, speaking as part of a panel discussion on…
Update: New Pest & Disease Records (05 August 2019)
We’ve selected a few of the latest new geographic, host and species records for plant pests and diseases from CAB Abstracts. Records this month include a report on the honey locust podgall midge (Dasineura gleditchiae) in Ireland, a report population fluctuations of fruit flies in guava orchards and a report on a new record of Helopeltis…
Crop-devastating pests in Rwanda to be targeted with space-age technology from PRISE programme
Pests, which threaten to destroy key cash and food security crops including maize, tomato and beans, are to be prioritized as part of an integrated pest management strategy using state-of-the-art space-age technology. Scores of smallholder farmers in Rwanda are the latest to benefit from the CABI-led consortium, funded by the UK Space Agency and the Global Challenges Research…
COSMIC: Workshop to develop locust management tools in China
Grassland habitats play an important ecological and economic role in Inner Mongolia, China. The primary threats to this ecosystem are grasshoppers and locusts, which are major pest insects across China. There are currently a range of monitoring and management strategies in place to control and reduce the damage caused by these pest species. However, successful…
Soil-dwelling worms threatening farmers’ livelihoods
By Wilson Odhiambo. Originally published on SciDev.Net. As soil-dwelling worms threaten smallholders’ livelihoods, governments should act fast, writes Wilson Odhiambo. David Magondo, a father of three from Central Kenya, has been farming for over 35 years in an activity that has helped him feed and take care of his family. But the once dependable source…
CABI calls for greater investment in food security programmes to help stem global rise in hunger
CABI is today calling for greater investment in food security programmes to help stem the global rise in hunger following the publication of a UN report which says more than 820 million people worldwide are still going hungry. The report, from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP)…