Controlling pest pear in Laikipia
Pastoralists in northern Kenya are heavily dependent on livestock. Their lives are being devastated by the non-native cactus Opuntia stricta. This weed has invaded the last good grazing land and when livestock and wildlife eat its fruits the spines can cause infection and death. Chemical and mechanical control methods are expensive and impractical, so we are helping to introduce a new sustainable method: a sap-sucking insect that feeds solely on the cactus.
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.
Woody weeds in East Africa
Many exotic trees and shrubs have been introduced into Africa and become destructive invasive species. They’re reducing native biodiversity and limiting the livelihoods of those that live in rural communities. CABI is trying to mitigate these impacts in East Africa by generating and sharing knowledge on their effects and finding ways that they can be controlled.
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.
mNutrition: Addressing hidden hunger through mobile messaging
One in three people in the developing world suffer from hidden hunger, or micronutrient deficiency, due to a lack of information on proper nutrition. This is a major cause of illness, poor growth, reduced productivity and impaired cognitive development. To help combat the problem, CABI and its partners in the DFID mNutrition initiative are developing content for a mobile phone-based messaging service aimed at increasing knowledge of nutrition and health within communities in 14 countries.
Australia-Africa plant biosecurity partnership
Agricultural trade is a powerful engine for economic growth, poverty alleviation and food security but diseases are impacting it. Countries are therefore looking for ways of making agricultural trade secure. This initiative aims to facilitate trade by addressing plant pest and disease problems that hinder agricultural exports and threaten food security. The programme focusses on strengthening plant biosecurity skills in in Africa based on the experiences of Australian experts.