Celebrating success: Zambian smallholders combat cassava brown streak disease
Cassava is a critical crop to Zambia’s economy and food security. According to a 2019 paper, cassava (Manihot esculenta) is one of the most important root staple crops in Zambia. An estimated 30% of Zambians – over four million people – consume cassava as part of their daily diet. Indeed, this crop is so important…
Good growth relies on good seeds
Seeds are the unsung heroes of agriculture, and modern varieties provide beneficial traits such as drought tolerance and cooking quality. Some varieties are even designed to provide a platform with which to provide other products, such as seed treatments conferring additional insect and disease protection. The lack of modern varieties, particularly in developing countries, is…
Update: Plant Health News (12 Aug 15)
Here’s a taste of some of the latest stories about plant health, including the potential impact of climate change on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa, the use of biocontrol to manage fruit fly in Kenya and the impact of Fusarium on banana production in Honduras. Click on the link to read more of the latest…
Open source seeds
“Open source software is accompanied by a licence that encourages people to share it and create new programs with it, and at the same time prevents anyone from releasing a program that uses the code under any other form of licence. The creativity embedded in the code cannot be privatised. Kloppenburg and a group of…