CABI signs Host Country Agreement with Ethiopia

Main image: Signing of the Host Country Agreement (HCA): Ambassador Hadera Abera signed on behalf of the Government of Ethiopia, while Dr Morris Akiri, CABI’s Executive Director, represented CABI. Witnessing the signing were Dr Negussie Efa, CABI Scientist and Country Programmes Manager in Ethiopia and Legal Officer at International Legal Affairs Directorate General of MoFA, Hewan Endashaw.
CABI has signed a Host Country Agreement with Ethiopia, marking a major milestone that deepens collaboration and strengthens efforts to support the country’s agricultural transformation through plant health, digital agriculture, and sustainable value‑chain development.
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Invasive prickly pear pest Opuntia stricta could cost sub-Saharan Africa USD 307 billion over the next 50 years

Opuntia stricta poses a risk to cattle pictured here in Laikipia, Kenya (Credit: Sarah Hilliar, CABI).
CABI-led research published in the journal Biological Invasions suggests that the invasive prickly pear pest Opuntia stricta could cost sub-Saharan Africa USD 307 billion in lost livestock production over the next 50 years. The authors argue that current costs associated with the “loss” of forage growing under and near O.…
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New Zealand Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology visits MARA-CABI Joint Laboratory to strengthen China–New Zealand research collaboration

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The MARA-CABI Joint Laboratory for Biosafety, based at the Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (IPPCAAS), was honoured to welcome a delegation from New Zealand led by Hon. Dr Shane Reti, Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology. This visit is based on the long-term collaborative research between…
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CABI scientists suggest an accidentally introduced parasitoid could save box trees from ecological extinction

Cydalima perspectalis larva (Tim Haye)
CABI scientists, who have published their research in the journal CABI Agriculture and Bioscience, suggest that an accidentally introduced parasitoid could help save wild box trees from ecological extinction. The study highlights how an unidentified species of Eriborus (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) could be used as a classical biological control for box…
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CABI supports release of biological control agents to fight invasive weeds in the Netherlands

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CABI has supported the first-time releases of two specialist biocontrol agents, a weevil and a mite, targeting their respective invasive weed hosts in the Netherlands, namely floating pennywort (Hydrocotyle ranunculoides) and Australian swamp stonecrop (Crassula helmsii). These exotic aquatic plants form dense monospecific stands, can out-compete native plants and animals,…
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Scientists deploy electric harps and muzzles to protect bees from Asian hornets in the Swiss canton of Jura

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On the hills above Cornol in the canton of Jura, scientists are testing unusual new defences in the fight against the invasive Asian hornet (Vespa velutina): electric harps and hive “muzzles.” The Asian hornet first arrived in southwestern France in 2004 and has since spread across much of Europe, including…
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