Connecting with food systems: Research, knowledge and eco-environment approaches
Today’s world faces immense challenges in food production, making availability, quality, nutrition and affordability the main agenda in many developing countries, writes Dr Babar E Bajwa, Regional Director, CABI Central West Asia. Agricultural research has moved on from the task of ensuring availability of food towards attaining a successful food system that is perceived as…
Coronavirus and the Implications for Food Systems and Policy
In this blog, which originally appeared on the Agrilinks website, we take a look at the potential for COVID-19 to impact local and global food systems and their ability to provide safe, affordable, and nutritious food as well as sufficient incomes for people working in food and agriculture sectors. We thank the authors Billy Hall,…
Engaging women for food security through aflatoxin control in Pakistan
Women constitute 49 percent of Pakistan’s population and play an important role in agriculture development. They are not only thought of as labourers, but also play their part as active researchers, extension agents and entrepreneurs. Under the Aflatoxin Control in Pakistan programme, CABI teamed up with Rafhan Maize Products Co. Ltd and the National Agricultural…
Sensitizing maize growers of Punjab on aflatoxin biocontrol to produce quality crops for their communities
Dr Sabyan Faris Honey, CABI, and Deborah Hamilton, USDA Farmers in the Punjab province of Pakistan produce 85% of maize not only for the purpose of helping to ensure local and regional food security but also for export to high end markets. Due to the presence of aflatoxin levels above permissible limits (20ppb) in maize…
CABI Board Member Dr Ismahane Elouafi extols the virtues of crop diversity
CABI Board Member Dr Ismahane Elouafi – ranked by Muslim Science as among the 20 Most Influential Women in Science in the Islamic World – says crop diversity is the key to tackling the challenges in marginal environments, particularly in the face of climate change. Dr Elouafi told SciDev.Net that the inaugural Global Forum on…
Applying science to eradicate poverty
Today, 17 October 2019, is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. We’re taking a look at how science-based knowledge in three areas of international development – crop health, digital development and invasive species – has helped to lift people living in poor rural communities out of poverty and made a positive difference to…
Plant Parasitic Nematodes – the world’s most important crop pathogen?
By Richard Sikora, Danny Coyne, Johannes Hallman and Patricia Timper Plant parasitic nematodes – overlooked, neglected, little known and mostly out of sight; surprising then that they cause billions of dollars’ worth of damage to global crop production annually. In the tropics and subtropics they persistently undermine production, result in massive waste of disfigured and unmarketable…
Building capacity for greater food security in Pakistan
As part of CABI’s mission to help farmers grow more and lose less, we have been funded by USAID – via the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – to help Pakistan improve its sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) systems and therefore open up its fruit and vegetables to more high-end global markets that were previously untapped. Currently these products only contribute 13% of the country’s export but improvements to its SPS capabilities could see this number rise significantly.
World Soil Day 2017 – “Caring for the Planet from the Ground”
[Image credit: FAO] “Caring for the Planet from the Ground” is the theme of this year’s World Soil Day (#worldsoilday). World Soil Day (WSD) is an annual campaign aimed at raising awareness of the critical importance of healthy soils and advocating for the sustainable management of global soil resources. In June 2013, the…
‘One Welfare’ complements ‘One Health’
Image: Leroy Skalstad, Pixabay.com One of a series of blogs written by CABI editors for One Health Day on November 3rd 2016 While ‘One Health’ is a well-established concept, a new term ‘One Welfare’ is also emerging, extending the One Health theme beyond physical health and recognising that animal welfare and human wellbeing are intrinsically…