Global rescue plan needed for fruit and vegetable diversity
UN Food Systems Summit 2021 brief charts a path forward to conserve precious genetic resources for future food crop options. The many fruit and vegetable species in food production systems contributing essential nutrients to human diets are under threat from land use, climate change, and other factors, reports a United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS)…
How to find your dream research with Boolean Searching
A new record uploads to CABI databases every 60 seconds, so if you’re trying to learn how cats communicate by searching ‘meow’, it’s unlikely that you’ll find the niche record you need to revolutionize your research. But with Boolean searching, you tell databases exactly what you’re looking for, so that within seconds you’re sat reading…
Preprints – Accelerating plant sciences and agriculture
In recent years, the use of preprints (pre-peer reviewed versions of scholarly papers) has accelerated. Many researchers now share their work with the scientific community before or in parallel to publication with a journal. In agriculture and plant sciences, preprints are becoming a more popular means for disseminating research findings and results. John Inglis, the…
Punjab wheat growers hope to boost productivity with combine harvester and wheat straw chopper
CABI is working with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help small-scale wheat farmers in the Hafizabad and Sheikhupura districts of Punjab, Pakistan, boost their productivity by demonstrating the benefits of modern machinery – the New Holland TC-56 combine harvester and wheat straw chopper.
Maize growers of Punjab helped to manage aflatoxins through biological control technology
Maize crop in Pakistan presents a remarkable success story from the last few years. For instance, the country’s maize production increased from 705 tonnes in 1971 to 7,000 tonnes in 2020 – growing at an average annual rate of 5.15%.
Kamla Bai charts her journey of empowerment from farmworker to women village trainer for CABI
This is the story of Kamla Bai who has been a Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) farmworker since 2015. Mrs Bai belongs to a minority Hindu community and lives in a small village of district Mirpur Khas in Pakistan. She received her education to Matric level (10th grade), graduated from high school, and has since been…
On Earth Day, how does landscape composition and pesticide use affect pollinators?
On Earth Day, we take a look at landscape composition and pesticide use. Landscape composition is an important area of research in agricultural science. Understanding the relationship between cropland and its surrounding natural habitats, for example, can help to shed light on issues such as fostering natural, non-chemical pest control and reducing the use of…
Mainstreaming the Moruga Hill Rice tradition to expand green value chains in Trinidad and Tobago
With Earth Day taking place on 22 April, CABI scientist, Naitram Ramnanan (IAS Coordinator and Regional Representative – Caribbean and Central America, CABI) takes a look at sustainable agriculture in Trinidad. With an ever growing global population, sustainable agriculture – or agroecology – has become an increasingly important area of study and work. Many landscapes…
Classifying agribusiness-based advisory services: benefits and challenges of different models
By: Dannie Romney, Global Director, Development Communication and Extension, CABI Agricultural extension and advisory services – services that offer technical advice to farmers – play an important role in delivering the knowledge and tools that farmers need to increase their crop yields, improve their food security and livelihoods, and build resilience against the difficulties they…
Keeping in touch: Digital technology and life in the time of Coronavirus
The development of digital technology has been rapid in recent decades as we step into the 5G/6G internet network generation. This technology has been particularly useful during the Covid-19 pandemic, when self-isolation and social distancing have been imposed on many people at different times. Various lockdowns have resulted in the increased use of digital means…