The UK Crop Microbiome CryoBank
Plant microbiomes are the microbial communities essential to the whole ecological area of a plant’s ‘phytobiome’ – a term used to describe a plant’s specific ecological area. Having a healthy phytobiome is critical to crop health, improved crop yields and quality food. However, crop microbiomes are relatively under-researched. The UK…
Drones for desert locust control in East Africa
The desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskal), is arguably the most destructive agricultural pest, globally. During 2019 and 2020, the changing weather created conditions that are favoured by the desert locust for rapid reproduction and migration and led to the pest spreading through the Horn of Africa, East Africa, Arabian Peninsula,…
Reviewing and revising CGIAR’s Open Access and Data Management Policy and Implementation Guidelines
Timely and accurate decisions are critical to the success of food systems around the world. Accessible and well-managed data promotes more efficient research and greater visibility and transparency for organizations that conduct it. With this in mind, CGIAR promised to publish their research data openly and free from restriction through…
Enabling data access to support innovation in decision agriculture: soil health, agronomy and fertilizer
Healthy soil is critical to the growth of nutritious food and to farmers’ livelihoods. However, declining soil health is causing low productivity which leads to unstable food security and incomes. National systems can help farmers by sharing data and information on soil health which can then be used to make…
New research highlights impact of COVID-19 on food security in Kenya and Uganda
CABI scientists have conducted new research highlighting the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on food security in Kenya and Uganda with more than two-thirds of those surveyed having experienced economic hardship due to the pandemic. Dr Monica Kansiime led a team of researchers who discovered, from a random sample of 442…
Visit of Malawian High Commissioner to Kenya promotes mutual food security efforts
Her Excellency Agrina Mussa, the Malawian High Commissioner to Kenya, recently toured several CABI-led projects being implemented in the country. The visits took place alongside consultations aimed at enhancing areas of collaboration between the two countries and improving farmer livelihoods in Malawi.