Sustainable future depends on women
Today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, while calling action for gender parity. The United Nations campaigns for “Planet 50-50 by 2030” referring to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that are to be achieved in the next 15 years. The goals urge us to, for example,…
Nuclear and isotopic techniques help the fight against land degradation
Land degradation is the result of a number of largely human-induced factors, such as poor soil and water management practices, deforestation, overgrazing, improper crop rotation and unsustainable land use. In turn, these can significantly affect soil fertility, resulting in diminished crop yields and food insecurity. Traditional methods of modelling and monitoring soil erosion usually require…
Promoting improved nutrition practices for women
Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, Charlotte Jordan looks at how CABI is helping to promote improved nutrition practices among women in 12 developing countries. One in three people in developing countries suffer from ‘hidden hunger’ or micronutrient deficiency. It’s a major cause of illness, poor growth, reduced productivity and impaired cognitive development.…
Author of the month blog: The Animal Trade, Clive Phillips
About four years ago, I started to get concerned that the full impact of expansion and intensification of the animal production industries worldwide was not understood, by those in power, by scientists and definitely not by the public. The relatively rapid introduction of intensive farming systems over the last fifty years, and their widespread adoption…
With its finger on the pulse …
2016 is the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Year of Pulses The Africa Soil Health Consortium (ASHC), a CABI managed project, is working to support partners to improve their communications to farmers and improve soil fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the outset, this has involved working with projects that encourage smallholder farming families to…
EU dairy industry outlook following the abolition of milk quotas
By Miroslav Djuric, DVM, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. Milk is the EU's number one agricultural product in terms of value, accounting for approximately 15% of agricultural output with approximately 148 million tonnes of cow milk produced in 2014. The dairy sector is also of significant economic and social importance in the EU, with over 650,000…
Four new bee species described in Australia – many more remain unidentified
By Miroslav Djuric, DVM, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. Bee specialists from South Australia have described four new native bees. Three of these bee species have been described as having narrow faces and very long mouths, allowing them to feed on slender flowers found on the emu bush, a hardy native of the Australian desert environment,…
Five more bird species that can spread Lyme disease identified in USA
By Miroslav Djuric, DVM, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. Lyme disease or Lyme borreliosis is the most prevalent arthropod-borne disease of animals and humans in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere1. Risk of infection in humans is primarily associated with occupation (e.g. forestry work) or outdoor recreational activities. Recent surveys show that the overall prevalence…
COP21: Major climate deal agreed in Paris
A landmark agreement to limit global temperature rises to below 2 °C has been announced After two intensive weeks of debate the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) drew to a close on 12th December with a new climate deal on the table. The ambitious global agreement commits the 195 participating parties to hold…
Tackling climate change and agriculture at COP21 – a look at the landscape approach
By Dr Trevor Nicholls, CEO, CABI At COP21 last week, the world’s leaders agreed on a way forward to manage climate change. Limiting global warming to less than two percent was undoubtedly a landmark decision and, for the first time, there was unanimous recognition that humans impact the climate and that humans must do something about…