CABI joins the Africa Green Revolution Forum 2016
Image: The Plantwise stand attracts great interest from the AGRF audience CABI was among more than 200 organizations that took part in AGRA’s Africa Green Revolution Forum 2016 in Nairobi on 5-9 September 2016. The forum, which brings together stakeholders in agriculture from Africa and other parts of the world, was themed ‘Seizing the Movement:…
Adapt – Amplify – Accelerate – recommends new report on rural development
According to a new report by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) economic growth is not enough to transform rural areas in developing countries; governments need to develop inclusive policies and tailor investments if they want to make a fundamental change in rural peoples’ quality of life.
South-south and triangular cooperation leads to Rwanda soil health breakthrough
"As we embark on efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we need to accelerate development momentum across the South, including by building resilience and mitigating risk." – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Message for the UN Day of South-South Cooperation 12 September is the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation. South-south cooperation (the exchange of resources,…
Global food security equals national security?
What motivates you to care for people and environments with whom you’re not in direct contact? That is the question I’ve been pondering today on the fourth International Day of Charity. The day was established by the United Nations to encourage people, NGOs and other stakeholders to help others through volunteer and philanthropic activities. Such…
CABI at EcoSummit 2016
CABI promoted its new invasive species initiative at this year's EcoSummit event which took place in Montpellier, France, from 29 August – 1 September. CABI’s latest initiative aims to tackle the issue of invasive species to improve the lives of 50 million farmers in Africa and Asia.
Author of the Month Blog: Sustainable Water Management in Smallholder Farming, Sara Finley
This month, Sara Finley puts the spotlight on popular education tools for sustainable development. Her new book, Sustainable water management for smallholder farming: Theory and Practice is now available in the CABI bookstore. Can I speak to the manager? Fundamentally, water management is not really about managing water, it’s about managing people. Water in nature…
Open data revolution: Constraints and opportunities for increased agricultural productivity and food security in Africa
It is a well-known fact that small scale rural farmers are responsible for producing over 70 per cent of the food consumed in Africa. As a result, they have been the target of many agricultural development efforts for many decades. This is especially because building the capacity of small scale farmers to produce more…
Author of the Month Blog: The Handbook of Mites of Economic Plants, Dr Vincenzo Vacante
The control of mites that are harmful to economic plants can be achieved by physical, chemical, biological, cultural and Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Alternatively, host plants can be bred to be resistant to mites but, in my opinion, the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) lacks any ecological foundation and, therefore, can result in being…
Improving crop yield: Looking to the sources and sinks
This week I had the pleasure of heading down to the south coast to attend the Society for Experimental Biology’s main meeting in Brighton. The flagship meeting attracts an international audience covering topics across the animal and plant sciences and also cell biology. For me, the main focus was to attend a plant biology…
Partnerships for impact: experience from the Good Seed Initiative
The future prosperity of sub-Saharan African farmers is closely linked to partnerships and joint businesses. Their investment will unleash agriculture’s potential. As government budgets for the sector decline, an increasing expectation is on the private sector and other partners to finance the gap. These partnerships advance mutual interests and mobilize strengths and resources in a…