Mapping out ‘Biological control for a healthy planet’ – notes from a China conference
By Dr Sivapragasam (Siva) Annamalai, Regional Director/Plantwise Regional Team Leader at CABI More than 1000 biological control researchers and practitioners from 46 countries came together in Beijing, China during the week of 14 to 16 May 2018 to participate in this First International Congress on Biological Control (ICBC-1). The theme of the Congress was “Biological…
Making progress on the biological management of Red Palm Weevil at KhairPur – Sindh
By Riaz Mahmood and Naeem-ul-Haq, CABI Central and West Asia (CWA), Rawalpindi Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is of high economic importance for livelihood for hundreds of farmers families in Pakistan. Fruit and tree parts are of many uses. Date palm trees are spread over 98,000 hectares across Pakistan making it the fifth largest date…
Phytosanitary Risk Management Programme – transforming livelihoods in Pakistan
Meet Rozina Babar, she is one of thousands of smallholder farmers in Pakistan whose livelihoods are threatened by agricultural pests and diseases that can devastate crops and ultimately have a severe impact on food security and profitability. However, thanks to the CABI-led Phytosanitary Risk Management Programme – funded by USAID-USDA and working with partners including…
Showcasing smart agriculture in comic exhibition
Comics have long played a role in entertaining young people, and even adults, going right back to the Golden Age of Comic books in the 1930s. One only has to think of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and many more. But you would be forgiven for being surprised at knowing that comics can also…
Cotton harvest picture special
The power of the image paints a picture that speaks a thousand words and that is certainly the case with these fantastic images taken by photographer Asim Hafeez. Asim was commissioned by CABI to document the process of harvesting cotton in Pakistan – the country’s largest industrial sector – where more than 500,000 farmers…
Termite workshop photo special – exploring tree-damaging termites in the tropics
CABI scientists have held a successful three-day workshop exploring how to diagnose and manage termites associated with structures and trees in the tropics. The workshop, held at CABI’s South East Asia (SEA) office building at MARDI in Serdang, Malaysia, highlighted termites as ecologically important insects with significant roles to play as decomposers but also as…
The story of the rare book on plant diseases that returned ‘home’ to China after a 72 year absence
Photo: The 1942 text by Professor Wang Ming-Chih, returned to China after more than 70 years Lesley Ragab thought she knew CABI’s stock of more than 24,000 books and 2,000 journals like the back of her hand after serving as librarian at the organisation’s Egham, UK, office for over 20 years. That was until she stumbled…
How to Control Urban Pests: Q&A with Entomologist Dr. Partho Dhang
Quick and easy solutions for treating pests with conventional sprays can harm the environment and contaminate surrounding areas, making them unsafe and unfit for solving urban pest problems. We asked CABI author and entomologist, Dr Partho Dhang, for some practical advice on treating these common pests that will be helpful for those whose living spaces are…
Chocolate SDGs unwrapped
“The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.”1 Should we prioritise chocolate in this universal call to action? Threats to the cocoa industry including low productivity, marketing challenges, pests and disease,…
Family-centric cinema: a Q&A on changing the conversation for women in agriculture
Women need first-hand information and knowledge about new agricultural technologies to have a say on how family farms are run, according to Dannie Romney, Global Director, Development, Communication and Extension, CABI. Dannie is currently Project Executive for the Africa Soil Health Consortium (ASHC) and Gender and the Legume Alliance (GALA) projects working jointly in Ghana. …