Digital extension and advisory services for farmers amid COVID-19 come under the microscope

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The challenges of using digital tools as part of extension and advisory services to help empower small and family farmers amid the COVID-19 pandemic have come under the microscope in a joint webinar hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Agrilink.
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Sentimentality stifling youths’ agricultural future

I know from personal experience it’s difficult for parents to let go of things they’ve cherished for years – for my dad, it’s broken antique chairs that he insists he’ll fix when he ‘has a spare moment’… i.e. never. ‘What’s the link between clutching on to family objects and youth engagement in agriculture,’ I hear…
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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.
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Recent developments in the world of biofuels

Opinions on the use of crops for biofuel and bioenergy continue to be polarized – are they a ‘good thing’ or not? When are they a ‘good thing’? Who benefits? How do you measure the impacts and their interactions at a local, national and international level on food security, land resources, water, greenhouse gas emissions,…
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