Recently, a group of 40 postgraduate students from Nepal’s Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU) were able to learn first-hand about hybrid maize seed production in a field site managed by a partner seed company of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). Bringing in a whole new and rare experience altogether, the students got a glimpse of the progress
As a food security crop and cash crop, potato is a source of income for farmers, traders and sellers. In Kenya alone, potato creates employment for 2.5 million people along the value chain amounting to an estimated annual worth of USD 480 million. Yet farm incomes in Kenya, and other African countries, are hindered by low yields: 8-15 tonnes per hectare, which is about half of what smallholder farmers could achieve with better inputs and
BY CHRISTINE CAMPEAU, LAWRENCE HADDAD, GUNHILD STORDALEN, SANDRINE DIXSON-DECLÈVE,SALEEMUL HUQ AND JOÃO CAMPARI Over the past eight months we—in our capacity as Action Track Chairs for the UN Food Systems Summit—have received well over 2,000 written submissions from around the world on how to transform food systems so that they can deliver access to safe and nutritious foods for all,
Sustainability is a word that is used more and more often these days. Although the idea may seem just a current passing trend, it is in fact a pressing need in our lives, aimed at the rational use of non-renewable resources in all economic activity. So, instead of just talking about sustainability, we need to put it into action.
This PIM webinar, recorded on June 10, 2021, presents the findings from five projects that comprised a set of PIM grants on Feminization of Agriculture: Building evidence to debunk myths on current challenges and opportunities. Research teams from across CGIAR worked since 2018 to explore the dynamics and impacts of migration, including male-outmigration, on gender relations in agriculture and natural resource domains.
High-yieldng, downy mildew-resistant and suitable for food and fodder. Developed by ICRISATand evaluated by INERA Burkina Faso recently approved the commercial use of its first pearl millet hybrid called Nafagnon. With the approval, the single-cross hybrid also became the first of its kind to be approved in West and Central Africa. Nafagnon yields as much as 45 percent higher
A renewed focus on boosting the production of millets and highlighting their benefits, is critical to reducing over-reliance on more commonly grown crops, boosting diverse diets, and food security. That’s especially true during periods of natural disaster when food becomes scarce, according to Dr Nancy Aburto, an agriculture expert at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). She spoke to UN
Watershed interventions have led to 1-2.5 meters higher groundwater levels, providing lifesaving irrigation to the farmers. This was achieved in a challenging environment in two villages in the drylands of Andhra Pradesh, India, which were facing a change in rainfall for the last five years. The steady monsoon showers were turning into sporadic heavy spells resulting in flooding, followed by