More than 20 farmers from Katogota and Kamanyola in the Ruzizi plain of South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), took part in a participatory evaluation of intercropping trials of maize and Brachiaria grass. IITA organized this activity on 14 July as part of the Integrated Project for Agricultural Growth in the Great Lakes (PICAGL) in collaboration with the Consortium for
Tanzania has officially released four new, improved hybrids of the important staple cooking banana, “matooke”. These are the first-ever matooke banana hybrids released in Tanzania. These hybrids are resistant to important pests and diseases ravaging the current varieties that millions of farmers across the country are growing and, as such, herald an exciting era for banana cultivation in the country.
Inclusive responses to global challenges in CIP’s Annual Report 2020 As the COVID-19 pandemic pushes millions into poverty and malnutrition, and climate change’s impacts on agriculture become increasingly severe, there is an urgent need for innovations that increase food system resilience, enable farmers to produce more nutritious food, and catalyze livelihood opportunities for women, men and young people. The International
Mechanization has been recognized as an essential factor in agriculture development efforts to save on labor and time in many farming operations for smallholder farmers. In Mozambique, IITA conducted a study on a hand push manual seeder (HPMS), also known as the Legume Hand Push Manual Planter (LHPMP), to be used by farmers, particularly female farmers, in the establishment of common legume
The IITA Uganda Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) Team conducted focus group discussions with more than 150 smallholder coffee, vanilla, and cocoa farmers in Kasese district, western Uganda, last May. The activity is part of a collaboration between the Sustainable Food Lab, USAID, Touton, and IITA that brings together the private sector, agricultural researchers, and smallholder farmers to improve smallholder farmer livelihoods. Kasese – about 370
Science, research, and innovation are essential to accelerate the transformation to healthier, more sustainable, more equitable, and more resilient food systems. What scientific innovations are needed and how they can inform related policies were among the issues discussed at the recent Science Days, a virtual conference organized by the Scientific Group as a prelude to the UN Food Systems Summit.
BY KIBROM A. ABAY, MULUBRHAN AMARE, LUCA TIBERTI,KWAW S. ANDAM AND MICHAEL WANG COVID-19 has disrupted programs that assist vulnerable populations worldwide. In addition to education, schools provide daily meals and other services that many families depend on; when schools closed during the pandemic, those services ceased. Kibrom Abay and colleagues explore the food security consequences of school closures in
BY DANIELLE RESNICK On July 28, local governments were given center stage at the United Nations Food Systems Pre-Summit dialogues to discuss how to tackle food insecurity and nutrition. This reflects the growing prominence of local governments in civic life around the world—the outcome of processes of decentralization unfolding globally since the early 1990s. Decentralization involves the transfer of certain administrative functions,