Plantwise
Worldwide, over 500 million smallholder farmers provide food for two-thirds of the earth’s growing population. Achieving a zero hunger world by 2030 depends on increasing the productivity of these smallholder farmers – but their crops face a significant threat. Yearly, an estimated 40% of crops grown worldwide are lost to pests. If we could reduce crop losses by just 1%, we could potentially feed millions more people. The lack of access to timely, appropriate and actionable extension advice makes it a fundamental challenge for farmers to get the right information at the right time to reduce crop losses.
Improving the livelihoods of smallholder maize farmers around the Mekong
After rice, maize is the most important crop in the Mekong Delta. Insects including the Asian corn borer are a major threat to production. Fear of crop losses, together with a lack of alternative measures, can result in overuse of pesticides – posing health risks to farmers, consumers and the agro-ecosystem. This project will establish local production of an affordable biological control agent, the parasitic wasp trichogramma, which kills the eggs of maize pests.
Managing the invasive threat to Europe’s forests
Over the last few decades, European trees and forests have experienced dramatic losses caused by introduced non-native invasive pests and pathogens. As part of an international project, CABI is developing cost-effective and environmentally friendly tools for the prevention, detection and control of the invasive threats to Europes forests.
Biological control of lesser calamint
Lesser calamint is an aromatic perennial herb that has been introduced to New Zealand from Europe. Currently present on the east coast of the North Island, lesser calamint is considered an emerging weed; it is affecting desirable pasture species and having negative economic impacts. CABI is conducting field surveys and searching for natural enemies from lesser calamints area of origin in Europe that could be introduced in New Zealand as biological control agents.