Warming Climate Marches Pests and Pathogens Polewards
The distribution of plant pests and pathogens has been observed to be moving away from the equator towards the North and South poles and inhabit areas previously too cold for their existence. This threatens to increase the percentage of crops lost annually to pests and pathogens and subsequently raises major concerns over global food security. A…
Could Food Insecure Africa Have Found a Saviour in Farming God’s Way?
Proponents term it the long awaited messiah that food-insecure Africa has been yearning for! ‘Farming God’s way’ promises to end fertilizer woes of resource-poor farmers in the continent by providing a cheaper and less labour intensive farming method. Food security remains the number one major challenge that citizens across the African continent contend with. While…
Video Interview with Sierra Leone’s Minister of Agriculture
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzwblzjR2pA&w=560&h=315] Recently Melanie Bateman of CABI Switzerland and Dr IMO Shamie, Sierra Leone’s Director of Crops and Plantwise National Coordinator, had the unique opporunity to sit down for a meeting with Sierra Leone’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Dr Joseph Sam Sesay. During the meeting, Dr Sesay told his story of being the first…
Black Rot Disease Hits Uganda
Vegetable farmers in the Kayunga and Mukono districts of Uganda are reporting crop losses due to black rot disease. One farmer, Twaha Kahooza of Kyampisi village, Kayunga Sub-county, says he had planted four acres of cabbages and was expecting about Shs18m (about £4,500 or US$7,000) from the harvest, however he only managed to get Shs5m…
Top tweets from G8 Open Data for Agriculture – Day 2
With a successful first day at the G8 conference wrapped up, and hundreds of tweets posted with ideas for how open data can contribute to increased food security, Day 2 kicked off with Dr Kathryn Sullivan from NOAA welcoming the delegates, and a session on ‘What Does Open Data Look Like?’ chaired by Prof Tim…
Top tweets from G8 Open Data for Agriculture – Day 1
Delegates from around the world are convening in Washington D.C. this week at the G8 conference on Open Data for Agriculture. The goal of the conference is to: “Obtain commitment and action from nations and relevant stakeholders to promote policies and invest in projects that open access to publicly funded global agriculturally relevant data streams,…
Plantwise talks Open Data at G8 event next week… Join us!
What food security challenge could be solved with open access to data? CABI’s CEO and Plantwise representatives will join DFID, host USDA, and delegates from G8 countries in Washington, D.C. next week, April 29-30, to discuss putting the open exchange of knowledge at the heart of food security and global nutrition. This is your chance to weigh in and participate. Watch the event on the…
Update: Plant Health News (10 Apr 13)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including measures taken against Banana Xanthomonas Wilt in Tanzania, new citrus varieties released in Brazil and GM cotton linked to rise in aphid numbers. Click on the link to read more of the latest plant health news!
Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease Spreads To Uganda
Maize Lethal Necrosis disease, which was first reported in Kenya and Tanzania, has now spread to Uganda, raising concerns for food security in the country. The Ministry of Agriculture has warned that Maize Lethal Necrosis has been reported in districts in eastern Uganda, including Busia and Tororo. A spokesman for the Agriculture Research Organisation, Robert…
Plantwise Photo Of The Month- April
To read more about the work Plantwise is doing in Bolivia follow this link. To read Spanish factsheets specific to Bolivia on the Plantwise Knowledge Bank click here.