News Overview

Scientists conducted a sweeping review of nature’s contributions to humans in order to present a clear breakdown of global trends since 1970. Not surprisingly, the results are grim.

Improved sanitation is booming, but when the majority of new toilets connect to pits and septic tanks, where does it all go from there? A WLE study offers answers from across India. India’s Swachh Bharat Mission constructed more than 100 million new toilets around the country between 2014 and 2019, aiming to end open defecation on a massive scale. Having

Every year, 12 million young people enter the labour market across the African continent. Economists and policy makers differ about how they should be absorbed into the labour market. Some experts believe that only agriculture can create enough jobs. Others argue for a focus on the agricultural sector and industrialisation especially with increasing urbanisation. Choosing which policy avenue to follow

A long term experiment at ICRISAT’s Sadore research station with Ziziphus mauritania (Pomme du Sahel) trees showed pearl millet yields rising by up to 41% in low input conditions. The observations led researchers to recommend ziziphus trees at 80 plants per hectare and helped show how smallholder farmers in Niger’s drylands can increase productivity and income potential two to threefold

The AVISA project has rolled out its seed systems strategy in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda with an aim to increase ESA’s varietal turnover rate and boost adoption of improved varieties. Digital seed roadmaps, increasing private seed sector and community seed producer participation, innovating digital tools and building business cases for the crops are part of the strategy. High quality seed

Orange-fleshed sweetpotato breeder and World Food Prize winner Dr. Maria Isabel Andrade loves sweetpotato and embraces the challenge to develop climate-resilient varieties to help smallholder farmers around the world. Recently, she sat down with CIP communication specialist Vivian Atakos to talk about her work. Q: What do you love most about sweetpotato? Maria Andrade (MA):… The post Q&A with Maria

Kwame Ogero is a seed systems specialist working for the Sweetpotato Genetic Advancement and Innovative Seed Systems (Sweet GAINS) project in Tanzania. Regional Communications Specialist Vivian Atakos spoke with Ogero about the innovations taking place during the last stages to accelerate and streamline the process of getting improved varieties of sweetpotato into farmers hands. Q:… The post Q&A with Kwame

World’s largest agricultural research partnership seeks to increase funding to $2 billion annually to support global innovation in the pandemic recovery. “If managed and governed differently, food systems could be a lever of global change, at the vanguard of sustainable living for all, leading other sectors with solutions and inspiration.” CGIAR, the largest publicly-funded agricultural research partnership in the world,