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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.

Africa soil health

Poor soil fertility is a key constraint to improving farm productivity and farmer livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa. Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) is recognised as an effective solution to poor crop yields. However, lack of access to information means that smallholder farmers do not adopt better techniques. To combat this, we are working with partners to add value to communication campaigns that are designed to facilitate adoption and capture learning.

Boosting coffee productivity in Kenya and Malawi

Although coffee is a high-value commodity and a major contributor to the economies of Kenya and Malawi, many smallholder producers remain poor because of low productivity. CABI scientists will help improve this situation by working with research institutions and assisting them to adopt modern tissue culture-based technologies to rapidly produce lots of seedlings.

Protecting leeks and onions from pests

The invasive leek moth poses a significant and immediate threat to producers of leeks, onions, garlic and chives in North America. The larvae mine the green tissues, reducing the marketability of crops. The pest’s distribution is expanding, with no signs of suppression by indigenous natural enemies. We are supporting an integrated pest management (IPM) programme run by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to combat the leek moth using specialized natural enemies from its area of origin.