71.5 million African students are nourished by daily school meals. Home-grown school feeding (HGSF) programmes link these meals to smallholder farmers and local communities, yielding a ripple effect of increasing benefits.
The sixth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI-6), held from 16–19 February under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), marked an important milestone in the lead-up to COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia, under the theme “Taking Action for Nature.” SBI plays a critical role in reviewing progress, strengthening implementation, and addressing the operational dimensions of the Convention and its Protocols.
Crop insurance can help smallholder farmers in Africa and elsewhere manage climate risk and stabilize livelihoods in the face of droughts and extreme weather. · Although insurance has evolved to become more affordable, further innovation is needed to ensure high-quality products that cover farmers’ needs. · Scaling coverage requires better product design, farmer education, and links to credit and inputs and in some cases smart subsidies.
n a move set to accelerate the development of climate-resilient crops for some of the world’s most vulnerable farming regions, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, have launched a strategic partnership to deploy advanced Predictive Breeding technologies across dryland crop breeding programs in Asia and Africa.
This work demonstrates how mechanized rice straw composting and the 4R nutrient management principles can transform agricultural byproducts into high-value assets, significantly boosting farmer incomes while providing safe, organic produce for local school feeding programs in Vietnam.
As climate variability, food insecurity, and data gaps increasingly challenge agricultural systems, building a new generation of skilled scientists has become critical for the future of food production in Zambia and beyond.
The Soil Values Program and the Regional Hub for Fertilizer and Soil Health for West Africa and the Sahel today announced a formal partnership. They signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to coordinate soil health interventions across West Africa and the Sahel. The partnership will enhance collaboration, minimize duplication of effort, and deliver lasting impact in the region.
The attack on Iran by U.S. and Israeli forces and Iranian retaliation against U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf have roiled energy markets by disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz—the Gulf’s only sea passage to the open ocean.