News Overview

The world is considerably less peaceful now than it was ten years ago. Climate change contributes to this negative trend by aggravating vulnerabilities and inequalities of people and communities and challenging the legitimacy of institutions. Fragile and conflict-affected states highly dependent on a climate-sensitive agricultural sector and marked by weak governance will bear the brunt of its impacts. Still, too little is known about which countries and contexts are likely to be affected the most by climate-driven instability and how best to tackle the root causes of vulnerabilities and predict future crises.

The 2021 World Food Prize Laureate shares how aquatic foods systems can provide six times more food, deliver diverse and comprehensive nutritional benefits and potentially nourish healthy and fulfilling lives and livelihoods, equality and environments. Shakuntala Thilsted urges the prioritization of sustainable and inclusive management and innovations of aquatic food systems in the global food systems research agenda. Read more

Cassava and sweetpotato play a vital role in food security and income generation in Tanzania. However, yields for these crops range far below their potential due to viruses that proliferate through seed. Sweet potato virus disease (SPVD) and sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV) are the two most potent challenges to improving sweetpotato production in… The post LAMP testing paves

Despite the heavy-laden coffee trees in Fred Salongo Kigongo’s coffee garden, the income from the coffee has never been enough to cater for his large family. Prolonged droughts, weather variability, and the never-ending cases of pests and diseases have affected most of Uganda’s 1.7 million smallholder farmers, resulting in the very high costs associated with proper management of the coffee

The Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Adeola Odedina, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr Dotun Sorunke, has charged extension officers in the State to play their role as the engine of agricultural transformation in the State. He gave this charge during the flag-off of the three-day workshop organized by IITA on Zero Hunger Project in collaboration with International Fund for Agricultural

After a training and mentorship period of 15 months, ENABLE-TAAT beneficiaries Jonathan Mutinda and Ian Mambo created their own enterprise in Kenya. At the beginning of their venture, they leased one-eighth of an acre at Dukuma Dam, Makueni County, where they began planting and selling orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) and other vegetables. Within a year, their customer base had increased

Bayer has developed and launched a new crop protection product known as Lagon to help farmers tackle the problem of cassava weeds in cassava and boost yield. Tested on more than 200 trials and demos across Nigeria and Tanzania, users rated Lagon among the best preemergence herbicides for controlling grasses and broadleaf weeds in cassava. “The launch of Lagon today

With agribusiness gaining more attention in entrepreneurship development, youth-operated small enterprises in agriculture can contribute significantly to growing Africa’s economy and reducing poverty. These enterprises can help address the issue of youth unemployment across the continent. Despite growing concern about the lack of interest in agriculture among African youths, engaging them in agriculture has become a prominent topic and has