MIRRI: improving access to microbial resources, services and data
Microorganisms are vital natural resources for biotechnology; they help advance human health, improve food security and provide innovative solutions to research and development. The European microbial landscape is fragmented and resources or data are hard to find. The Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure (MIRRI) is resolving this; integrating the main microbial domain Biological Resource Centres and their supporting services and data into a novel pan-European research infrastructure.
Promoting good seed in East Africa
African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) are key to food security and income generation in Africa and are increasing in demand. In this project, not only did CABIs project team promote their consumption and generate more demand, it also built awareness of the vegetables and seeds, improved access to them and developed new varieties.
Improving SPS training and knowledge sharing in cocoa (CocoaSafe)
Cocoa is an important source of income across Southeast Asia. To maintain access to markets, and sustain farmers livelihoods and national GDP, all food safety and international SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) standards must be met. This project is building SPS capacity in the region, to ensure production and trade meets legislation on pesticide residues and other harmful substances. Best practices will be promoted throughout the value chain – from production to export – to improve quality.
Guaranteeing credit to coffee farmers in Ethiopia and Rwanda
Coffee is one of the largest traded commodities in the world, providing livelihoods for 25 million farming families, and is crucial to many countries GDP. In places such as Ethiopia and Rwanda, coffee plays a critical role in the economy and revitalising coffee production and quality is vital; allowing farmers to attract premiums and improve their household income. This project continues on our previous work here improving processing practices by smallholders.
Controlling earwigs in the Falklands
The European earwig has become a considerable domestic and public nuisance in the Falkland Islands, causing significant problems for local horticulture by decimating many garden vegetable crops. This population explosion is due to the absence of natural enemies that would normally keep them under control. To try and find a solution to this problem, CABI is investigating the possibility of using two parasitic fly species to control the earwigs in a biological way.
Optimizing Fertilizer Recommendations in Africa (OFRA)
Soil fertility across much of sub-Saharan Africa is poor, which is a major constraint to improving farm productivity and farmer livelihoods. To combat this there is now wide recognition of the need to integrate increased fertilizer use with other aspects of soil fertility management. This project aims to contribute to improved efficiency and profitability of fertilizer use within the context of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) practices.