CEOs need to accelerate their action plans to safeguard the production of commodities critical to the global population and economy as heat stress and drought risk rise around the world, according to PwC's report, Climate Risks to Nine Key Commodities: Protecting People and Prosperity, published. The report, which analysed nine …
With increasing Internet user rates across Africa, there is considerable interest in exploring new, online data sources. Particularly, search engine metadata, i.e. data representing the contemporaneous online-interest in a specific topic, has gained considerable interest, due to its potential to extract a near real-time online signal about the current interest …
Government has come to the rescue of farmers in Manicaland by providing pesticides to control the outbreak of the African armyworm which has so far damaged four hectares of maize. About 40 hectares of cereal crops and another 40 hectares of grazing land are under threat at Arda Transsau. Manicaland …
Farmers in Bunyangabu district will soon benefit from a sh43b irrigation scheme in to be constructed in Rwimi sub-county by government this financial year. Adolf Mwesige, the minister for defence and Bunyangabu County Member of Parliament, during a farmer’s field day on Saturday at Rwimi sub-county, said that the irrigation …
Kenyan farmers are gearing up for the commercialization of biotech crops in order to boost yields, officials said on Monday. Daniel Magondu, chairman of the Society for Biotech Farmers of Kenya (SOBIFAK), said in Nairobi that productivity in key crops such as cotton and maize is declining due to challenges …
Zimbabwe is reportedly now "food secure" and is likely not going to import maize as farmers have delivered over 1 million tons to the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) after a "successful Command Agriculture Programme". According to the state-owned Herald newspaper, GMB officials said they expected at least 1.2 million tons …
A study was conducted to identify the new invasive pest infesting maize in Gujarat, India. During the survey conducted in the month of September 2018, sweet corn field in the Anklav village of Anand district found infested with new invasive pest. Larvae were collected and brought to the laboratory of …
Improved storage techniques have shown they can cut the loss of harvested maize by 10 percent in Tanzania, and help one-third fewer households go hungry in the lean season, Swiss researchers said. As Africa's population rises and climate change threatens more harvests, simple efforts to protect what is harvested could …
A caterpillar native to the Americas that has devastated crops across Africa has made its way to Asia, scientists in India said Thursday, warning of a threat to food security. Scientists at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research said a survey had identified fall armyworm or Spodoptera frugiperda on more …
Current crop yields could provide nutritious food for the projected 2050 global population, but only if we make radical changes to our dietary choices, a new study shows. Researchers from Lancaster University have analysed global and regional food supplies to reveal the flows of calories, protein and vital micro-nutrients from …
The estimate for Argentina’s drought-hit corn crop may be cut further from the 32 million tonnes currently expected to be harvested this season, the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange and the country’s main farmers group said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: Farmer Bernardo Romano stands in a corn field in a drought-affected …
Evidence continues to mount that foodborne illness imposes a staggering health burden in developing countries. However, standard approaches used by developed country governments to ensure food safety are not appropriate in settings where regulatory enforcement capacity is weak and most firms are small and informal. Thus, interventions to improve food …
Patna: Maize, paddy and lentil are three potential climate resilient crops for Bihar, according to a report by Action on Climate Today that was presented on the concluding day of the two-day East India Climate Change Conclave here on Monday. Experts deliberated on three main topics - climate resilient agriculture, …
Abuja — The African Development Bank (AfDB) yesterday said it would invest $120 million in the next two to three years to boost productivity and transform cassava and other eight other commodities on the continent. The nine commodities include; cassava, rice, maize, sorghum/millet, wheat, livestock, aquaculture, high iron beans and …
The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a major pest of maize in North and South America. It was first reported from Africa in 2016 and currently established as a major invasive pest of maize. A survey was conducted to explore for natural enemies of the fall armyworm in Ethiopia, …
Benin is located on the Guinean coast of West Africa and has a mixed tropical and sub-equatorial climate with two rainy seasons. Beninoise farmers practice mixed rain-fed crop and livestock farming. Climate change puts the country at risk of food insecurity. Since the 1960s the mean average temperature has increased …
NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- The outbreak and continued spread of fall armyworm (FAW) in Kenya is threatening food security, a Kenyan official disclosed on Wednesday. Mwangi Kiunjuri, Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, said the occurrence of the pest particularly in the Rift Valley region in northwest Kenya, …
Selecting optimal host plants is critical for herbivorous insects, such as fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), an important maize pest in the Americas and Africa. Fall armyworm larvae are presumed to have limited mobility, hence female moths are presumed to be largely responsible for selecting hosts. We addressed host selection by …
NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Africa’s crop research body is set to start commercializing climate smart maize variety in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) to help save farmers from experiencing complete crop loss when drought and insects affect their farms. The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) will commence the commercialization process after securing …
The projected demand of maize production in India in 2050 is 4–5 times of current production. With the scope for area expansion being limited, there is need for enhancement of yield. This calls for identifying areas where huge unrealized yield potential exists. With a view to address the issue, the …
