Phytosanitary system development for the vegetable sector in Ghana
Ghana’s vegetable sector has the potential to create 20,000 skilled jobs, and increase exports to the EU. But exports are hampered by quarantine pests. This project aims to improve the current system and develop a new organic supply chain by establishing an effective phytosanitary system, facilitating strategic alliances between importers and producers/ exporters, and investing in technical expertise to help producers and exporters meet quality standards.
RUFORUM: Building agricultural universities’ capacity throughout Africa
Universities play an important and largely unfulfilled role in the well-being of small-scale farmers and the economic development of countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) supports universities to address this important role. Established in 2004, RUFORUM is a consortium of 46 African universities operating within 22 countries spanning the African continent.
Using insects to improve smallholders livestock production and food security in West Africa
Poultry farming is practised by almost all smallholder farmers in West Africa but feed and protein sources are becoming increasingly expensive here, affecting meat and egg production and reducing family income. Fish farmers suffer a similar problem. We are promoting the use of insects, which are a natural food source for poultry and fish, and endorsed by the FAO as a tool to alleviate poverty.
Toolkits for invasive plants in East Africa
Many plants introduced to East Africa have escaped cultivation and are wreaking havoc. These invasive species are reducing biodiversity and negatively impacting livelihoods. Little is known about the number of invasive plant species present here, or their impact. This project aims to use communication technologies to improve the ability of national authorities to access and manage data which allow them to identify and control invasive species that threaten biodiversity in East Africa.
GODAN: Making agriculture and nutrition data open and searchable
Open data – data that is freely available and machine-readable for everyone to use – is a vital resource for improving global food security and human health. The Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) programme has been set up to take pioneering agriculture and nutrition research information and make it openly accessible – together with up-to-date information on soils, weather, land ownership, market prices and similar – to the people who need it most.
Managing Maize lethal necrosis disease in eastern and central Africa
Maize lethal necrosis disease (MLND) negatively affects maize crops and their seeds and is threatening food and economic security in East and Central Africa. This project researched solutions to minimize or eliminate the risks and effects of the disease in the region. Through use of various channels to reach stakeholders along the value chain, CABI disseminated information on the threat of the disease and ways to manage it.