Capitalising on Africa’s agriculture to achieve ‘zero hunger’
CABI board member Professor Ruth Oniang'o talks about winning the 2017 Africa Food Prize and how CABI is working towards helping to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger.
Building a climate-smart value chain: The role of research, development and technology
This is the second of a two-part blog series following my visit to Africa supported by CABI’s development bursary The first blog in this series described the Africa Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) and how it aims to improve cassava agronomy to increase production and productivity, as well as how ACAI partnerships could build a climate-smart…
Omega oils 3, 6, 7 and 9 – what’s the difference?
Many people are not sure how omega oils feature in their diet and in what quantities they should be consuming them. Considering that many of are not getting even the minimum levels in our diet that are deemed “critical” to health by the World Health Organization (WHO), maybe we should rethink our 'laissez faire' attitude.
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…
Cancer, burnt toast and roast potatoes
I should think the entire western world is now afraid to eat their roast potatoes. This comes after the international media coverage of the UK Food Standards Agency’s new campaign “"Go for Gold” , [@CABI_Health 23rd Jan ], which hopes to encourage us (UK) to reduce acrylamide in our diet by cooking starchy foods…
Access to market key to adopting improved legume technologies
Some of the farmers that participated in the a meeting with CABI/AFAP team in December 2016 in Chalangwa village, Chunya district, Mbeya region. Second from left is the District Agricultural Officer Mr. Augustine Ndelwa. Photo: Abigael Mchana, CABI By Monica Kansiime, Seed systems scientist, CABI In the southern highlands of Tanzania, people’s livelihoods are dependent…
Universal health coverage gains momentum in 2016
Universal Health Coverage (UHC) day, December 12th, focusses on achieving Health for All by expanding UHC, a key SDG, to low and middle-income countries and ensuring that it also reaches the poorest in wealthy countries. Everyone should have access to basic health services without suffering financial hardship. The G7 Ise-shima meeting linked it to achieving better health systems and the global health security agenda. WE discuss what LMIC provide as basic health services and what NGOs and the public health community would like to further include (neglected tropical diseases and provision for refugees and migrant workers in host countries).
One Health: free online course from FutureLearn features CABI authors
One Health is about connectedness: "the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, plants and our environment”. On One Health Day, November 3rd 2016, CABI's editors held a One Health (#OneHealth) Blogathon to focus attention, contributing a total of 6 blogs to Handpicked… and Carefully Sorted, each…
How soil health is integral to One Health
One of a series of blogs written by CABI editors for One Health (#OneHealth) Day on November 3rd 2016 "It is difficult to rate the importance of the different soil functions, since all are vital to our well-being to some extent. However, the function of supporting food and agriculture worldwide is fundamental for the preservation and advancement of…
One Health working will improve health and well-being of us all: plant, animal, human and ecosystem!
For One Health Day November 3, 2016, CABI editor Wendie Norris blogs about "One Health beyond early detection and control of zoonoses" an RSTMH 2016 talk by CABI author Esther Schellling (Swiss Tropical Public Health). Describing research projects on nomadic pastoralists in Chad and Rift Valley Fever (RVF) control in Kenya, Esther drew attention to the need for interdisciplinary studies to include an evaluation of One Health working, involvement of social scientists, engagement of key stakeholders. Tellingly she provided a cost-benefit analysis to society of controlling zoonoses when the disease is in its animal host before it infects human beings.