Surveillance of potato diseases in Kenya
Potato is one of the most widely grown crops in Kenya. The sector contributes almost USD 30m per year and employs 3.3 million people. However, the yield has been reducing significantly over the last decade, 12.4 t/ha below the global average of 21 t/ha. This has been attributed to a…
Piloting biopesticide use to manage fall armyworm in South Sudan
Crop protection in Africa relies heavily on the use of synthetic chemical pesticides. They are perceived to be more effective than other methods but human health concerns and the resistance to them in pest populations is shifting the tide towards lower risk pest management methodologies. Biopesticides are considered a suitable…
Sustainable management of fall armyworm in Botswana
During 2017-18, the invasion of the Fall Armyworm (FAW) in Botswana posed a serious threat to food and nutrition security for vulnerable farming communities and households. Surveillance of pests, known as pest monitoring, will help mitigate the negative impacts of FAW in the country and will also promote the wider…
Promoting domestic coffee consumption in Africa
Coffee is a primary source of income for more than 12 million households in Africa, and, in particular for rural-based populations. Over 38% of the total population of Burundi, 23% Tanzania, 22% Uganda, 17% Côte d’Ivoire and 14% Ethiopia, for example, depend on coffee farming. Production of the crop has,…
CABI signs open letter to UN, G-20 and national governments on food security amid COVID-19
CABI CEO Dr Trevor Nicholls has been one of the first to put his name, on behalf of the organisation, to an open letter on COVID-19 and agriculture for food and nutrition security addressed to the United Nations (UN), G-20 and national governments. The letter, that has also been signed…
Helping to achieve sustainable agriculture in Myanmar
The agriculture sector in Myanmar is predominantly dominated by rice. It is a key commodity for domestic food security as well as a generator for export income, and in the future could have the potential to become a global rice supplier. However, Myanmar is susceptible to crop losses from pests,…