News

World Food Program Director David Beasley speakting at a conference.
Food security

How can nine billion people be fed in 2050 without destroying the planet? And how can new technologies help achieve this both on the producer and the consumer side? These issues were at the centre of the third World Food…

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A herd of wildebeest grazing in the light green grass in the African savannah.
Biodiversity

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) sounds the alarm in its Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, noting that the number of species that…

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Water

Rainwater harvesting contributes to food security, and is a way to store rainwater under increasing conditions of high rainfall variability. A new app supports establishing rainwater systems in Africa.

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Plant protection

An invasive weed from North America is spreading in some African countries. Researchers are pressing for counter-measures to be taken as soon as possible as this weed could be a serious menace to agricultural yields.

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Food security

Dry weather conditions in March/April are likely to lead to below-average harvests in East Africa even if weather conditions will be more favourable in May.

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Foreign aid from official donors in 2018 fell 2.7 per cent from 2017, with a declining share going to the neediest countries. The figure is equivalent to 0.31 per cent of the DAC donors’ combined gross national income,…

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Plant protection

The presence of Telenomus remus in Africa in at least five countries provides a great opportunity to develop augmentative biological control methods against Fall Armyworm.

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Rice production

Rice production contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. A new initiative aims to make rice production more sustainable, targeting change in farming techniques through policy and market incentives.

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Biodiversity

Pressure from human settlements around Serengeti National Park has become so great that animals are retreating further into the core zones, and often staying there. Researchers are warning that the consequences for the…

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Food security

2018 saw a slight drop in the number of people experiencing acute food insecurity, but 113 million people are still experiencing acute food crises, compared to 124 million people in 2017.

 

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Disasters

After first being detected in India last year, Fall Armyworm is spreading across Asia. Awareness programmes aim to inform and train farmers on integrated pest management techniques to counter the infestation.

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Nutrition

Many Africans still suffer from food insecurity and malnutrition. The Continental Accountability Scorecard for Nutrition provides a snapshot of Africa’s progress in meeting global and continental nutrition targets.

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The United Kingdom plays a significant role in development co-operation. Experts discussed how its exit from the European Union will affect this area in Bonn/Germany last February.

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Water

Access to water and sanitation is an internationally recognised human right. Yet, many people lack even the most basic of services. If the pressure on global water resources continues at current rates, the impact on…

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Organic farming

At the 3rd Organic Forum in Kirchberg, Germany, representatives of Sikkim, India – which is the first organic state world-wide – and Zanzibar, Tanzania and Andhra Pradesh, India, presented their approaches in preparing…

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