First mite to lead biological fight against Russian olive approved for use in Canada
More than 10 years spent researching a safe and effective biological control to fight the Russian olive may soon start paying dividends after authorities have given permission for the release of the first biological control agent – Aceria angustifoliae – against the invasive weed in Canada. CABI, together with partners…
CABI supports efforts to protect Barbados’ endangered endemic leaf-toed gecko
CABI is working in partnership to help protect Barbados’ endangered endemic leaf-toed gecko from possible extinction with the creation of a bio-secure site for the lizard. Working as part of the Global Environment Facility-funded project ‘Preventing Costs of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) in Barbados and Countries of the OECS,’ and…
MARA-CABI’s Integrated Pest Management course at the Graduate School of CAAS reopens after Covid-19 restrictions
The Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (GS-CAAS) together with Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development MARA–CABI Joint Laboratory in Beijing successfully organized a five-day course on Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This was the sixth time the course was provided but it was the first course…
Burundi steps up training efforts to meet country’s need for more Plantwise plant doctors
Burundi has been busy stepping up its efforts to train more Plantwise plant doctors to meet the country’s need to help more smallholder farmers grow more and lose less to potentially devastating crop pests and diseases. The East African country officially joined the global Plantwise programme since 2021 with major…
USD $106bn finance gap in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia agricultural business
The Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) programme has published ‘The state of the agri-SME sector – Bridging the finance gap.’ The report estimates demand for financing, from around 220,000 agri-business SMEs in sub Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia at USD $160bn with banks, impact investors and other financial…
MARA-CABI Joint Lab witnessed ‘outstanding progress’ in 2021 despite COVID-19 pandemic
The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA)-CABI Joint Laboratory for Biosafety (Joint Lab) has reported ‘outstanding progress’ in all aspects of its business throughout 2021 despite challenges posed by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. The Joint Lab – which was launched in 2008 by MARA and CABI, and is…