Taking the power back
How apple growers are regaining control of the supply chain from retailers Apples are one of the world’s most popular fruits. In 2013 world production reached almost 82 million tonnes and the export value broke US$8 billion (FAO STAT, 2017). The fruit comes in all shapes, sizes, flavours and colours; yet what we see in…
6 lessons learned on organising a stand at an ‘international development’ event
Public events are a great opportunity to make CABI more visible and enlighten others on how our work is improving livelihoods all over the world. As a regular on the conference circuit, I know the value and challenges of organising a stand at an event. Most recently I attended the 1st All Africa Post Harvest…
Author of the Month – Global Urban Agriculture, A.M.G.A. WinklerPrins
Urban Agriculture and its Role in Community Building A.M.G.A. WinklerPrins Urban agriculture (UA) is about much more than producing food, it is about growing communities and empowering people. The social interactions needed to grow food in urban settings, whether in organised community gardens or allotments, in abandoned lots, sacks, balconies, or berms, brings people together…
CABI’s Good Seed Initiative contributes to seed policy dialogue and review in Tanzania
Photo: Agricultural extension worker of Arumeru district interacting with a seed grower contracted by Alpha seed company in Arusha. Photo credit: Kansiime, CABI CABI’s Good Seed Initiative (GSI) aims to improve the seed systems of small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. A GSI project funded by Irish Aid has been implemented in Tanzania…
Intra-household survey – Tanzania
This blog piece was originally posted on the ASHC blog Over the past few months the GALA delivery team has been trying to understand how households in Tanzania obtained and share information on farming practices. This will help us to understand the effectiveness of different communication approaches in delivering agricultural information to small-scale farmers. It will also help us to reflect on which currently…
African indigenous vegetables to help fight hidden hunger in Uganda
African Indigenous Vegetables (AIV) are an excellent source of essential vitamins and minerals including micro-nutrients, supplementary protein, fibre and calories. Micro-nutrient deficiency threatens nutrition security and also causes hidden hunger in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite their nutritive value, these vegetables have not been a high priority in national food programmes. As a result, adequate resources have not been allocated to promote…
How can we inspire young people to pursue careers in agriculture?
Recently I had the opportunity to return to my old university – The University of Sheffield – and take part in a networking event for early career researchers in plant physiology. The event was fully booked and attended by people soon to finish their undergraduate degrees, through to those with a good few years of…
CABI trains partners in developing communication materials on rice in West Africa
James Watiti delivering a presentation at the workshop Poor translation of scientific and technical research outputs is hindering the achievement of development goals. Appropriate communication language and easily understood formats which can then be adopted by farmers is key. To address this challenge, CABI helps facilitate the use of scientific knowledge and expertise in solving…
From young farmers to ‘agripreneurs’ in Nigeria – my experience volunteering
Igangan Young Farmers displaying their first bumper harvest with the help of VSO volunteers. Agriculture in Nigeria remains an integral part of the economy and the culture. Currently two thirds of the entire workforce is employed in the sector, contributing 19.7% to national GDP in 2016 (FAO & National Bureau of Statistics). Youth unemployment…
Extension staff knowledge enhanced on ISFM practices and innovative fertilizer use
The increasing negative impact of climate change on agricultural production has led to food insecurity in many rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Unpredictable rainfall patterns coupled with wide spread pest and disease infestation and high input prices are some limitations smallholder farmers face in producing food. As a result, they are unable to produce at…