Agriculture

CABI helps Pakistan Museum of Natural History showcase scourge of noxious parthenium weed

Wayne ColesLeave a comment

Front_view_of_the_Pakistan_Museum_of_Natural_History

CABI in Pakistan is helping the Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH) showcase the scourge of the noxious parthenium weed, otherwise known locally at ‘Gajar Booti’, to members of the public visiting its Bio Gallery exhibit.

Parthenium is regarded as one of the major threats to native species, environment and ecosystems in more than 48 countries around the world – including Pakistan where it is also considered as a risk to human health, biodiversity, agriculture, livestock, and food security.

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App-based agriculture for a tech-savvy farmer

Teddy SearightLeave a comment

By Teddy Searight

Plant clinic Zambia tablet
The use of mobile technologies in African agriculture continues to grow. Photo: David Ng’ambi

Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa is undergoing a digital revolution bought about through the advancement and increasing availability of mobile technologies. Improved affordability has placed mobile devices in the hands of more African’s than ever before, with 444 million subscribed users in 2017. Take Tanzania for example where the average cost of mobile phones has fallen by more than half in five years to just over $100 today.

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Guest blog: ‘Keeping in mind the real use of our research’

Wayne ColesLeave a comment
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Irrigating rice fields in Sirajganj, Bangladesh. Photo: Haseeb Md. Irfanullah.

In this guest blog, Dr Haseeb Md. Irfanullah discusses the findings of a recent workshop he was a rapporteur of in Bangladesh on the potential impact on policy and practice of agricultural research in the country.

A research system is basically made up of four components: accessing, conducting, communicating, and utilizing research. While we often talk about the first three, use of our research in policy and practice is less frequently discussed in developing countries. Discussions at a recent workshop in Bangladesh about recent agricultural and biological science research projects revealed opportunities to make connections between research and its usage.

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In the frame: fighting the scourge of parthenium weed in Pakistan

Wayne Coles1 Comment
Parthenium in Pakistan
CABI scientists get to grips with the ‘superior weed’ Parthenium which in India costs around USD 6.7 billion per annum to clear from pastoral land.

CABI has recently shared its expertise in a new parthenium evidence note which highlights a list of recommendations to fight the highly-invasive weed can cause severe allergic reactions in humans and livestock, may harbour malaria-carrying mosquitoes, displace native plant species and reduce pasture carrying capacities by as much as 80% to 90%.

In this picture special, we commissioned photographer Asim Hafeez to capture CABI scientists in the field as part of research which is investigating whether or not the parthenium leaf beetle (Zygogramma bicolorata) can act as an effective biological control for parthenium which is threatening food security and livelihoods in Pakistan.

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Photo focus on fighting invasive plants on Socotra Natural World Heritage site

Wayne Coles1 Comment
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Bushera Ahmed Abdulla is able to identify and remove tiny prosopis seedlings before the invasive plant can take root.

In this photo special we turn the spotlight on members of the community in the Socotra Archipelago, Yemen – including Bushera Ahmed Abdulla pictured above – who are working together with invasive species experts from CABI to help rid the region of devastating Invasive Alien Species (IAS) including common pest pear Opuntia stricta and prosopis.

Dr Arne Witt, CABI’s Coordinator: Invasive Species, is providing guidance to the local UNEP/GEF team and in extension to the Environmental Protection Authority (Socotra branch), the Socotra Office for Agriculture, the Hadiboh District and the Socotra Governorate, in the implementation of a cactus eradication programme on the continental island group – designated a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site in 2008.

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How countries around the world are leveraging agriculture to improve nutrition

Lauren Madley1 Comment

By Shenggen Fan, Sivan Yosef, and Rajul Pandya-Lorch

This blog post is the third in a 3-part series accompanying the release of the book Agriculture for Improved Nutrition: Seizing the Momentum, co-edited by Shenggen Fan, Sivan Yosef, and Rajul Pandya-Lorch (co-published by CABI Publishing and IFPRI). The book was launched at a Feb. 28 event at IFPRI headquarters in Washington.

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Bean varieties at the CIAT gene bank in Colombia. The gene bank sends its seeds for conservation at the Global Seed Vault in Norway. Photo: CC BY-SA 2.0 Neil Palmer / CIAT

At times, engaging the agriculture sector to improve nutrition seems like an uphill battle. In many countries, agricultural policies tend to favor staple foods like wheat and rice, because these crops have traditionally staved off hunger and famine. Government officials overseeing agriculture and nutrition often work in isolation, with their funding, capacities, and even technical languages obstacles to close collaboration. Against this backdrop, it can be daunting for policymakers to contemplate formulating nutrition-driven agriculture policies and strategies that can be implemented at the national scale.

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IOBC workshop focuses on the latest research in the biological control of invasive weeds

Wayne Coles1 Comment
IOBC workshop 2019 group
Delegates at the International Workshop on Biological Control and Management of Eupatorieae and other Invasive Weeds

By Chan Hong Twu, scientist at CABI Southeast Asia in Selangor, Malaysia

CABI Southeast Asia was proud to host the 9th International Workshop on Biological Control and Management of Eupatorieae and other Invasive Weeds where the very latest research on invasive weeds and their biological control agents were shared amongst delegates from 13 countries including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji, India, Pakistan and other South East Asia countries.

The workshop in Putrajaya, Malaysia, a first for Southeast Asia, offered a valuable opportunity for researchers, professionals and students to gain awareness of the efforts on a regional scale, as well as country-driven biocontrol activities to address not only Eupatorieae weed but all invasive weeds in the regional countries.

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