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 …
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 …
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, …
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 …
On farms across Africa, a seemingly innocuous brown and beige caterpillar is waging a silent war, devastating rural incomes and posing a major threat to the continent's food supply. In just two years, the so-called fall armyworm has colonised three-quarters of Africa, according to the British-based Centre for Agriculture and …
As the fall armyworm continues to ravage crops in the region, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has come up with a mobile application to help farmers and governments fight the pest. The Fall Armyworm Monitoring and Early Warning System (Famews) will enable farmers and agricultural workers to report the …
Recent studies concerning the possible relationship between climate trends and the risks of violent conflict have yielded contradictory results, partly because of choices of conflict measures and modeling design. In this study, we examine climate–conflict relationships using a geographically disaggregated approach. We consider the effects of climate change to be …
India has among the highest lost years of life from micronutrient deficiencies. We investigate what dietary shifts would eliminate protein, iron, zinc and Vitamin A deficiencies within households’ food budgets and whether these shifts would be compatible with mitigating climate change. This analysis uses the National Sample Survey (2011–12) of …
Most farmers in Kenya are struggling with useless chemicals or traditional methods like applying of tobacco dust on maize leaves to control the fall armyworm. A new study shows 48 per cent of farmers last season sprayed their maize, but most of the insecticides could not kill the worm. Farmers …
Jane Kisia, a farmer at Korowe village in Nyando, Kisumu county at her maize farm that has been largely invaded by the deadly fall army worms. (Collins Oduor, Standard) The fight against highly invasive fall armyworm is estimated to cost Sh1 billion, a joint meeting convened by the National Assembly …
Speaking at the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) project annual meeting yesterday in Harare, Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement minister, Perrance Shiri said climate change has brought increased frequencies and severity of drought conditions, bouts of heat spells, and uncertainties in the length and quality of growing seasons. “… …
Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses affecting world agriculture. Breeding drought-resistant crops is one of the most important challenges for plant biologists. PYR1/PYL/RCARs, which encode the abscisic acid (ABA) receptors, play pivotal roles in ABA signaling, but how these genes function in crop drought response remains largely unknown. …
The DREB (dehydration-responsive element binding)-type transcription factors are classified into six subgroups, named A-1 to A-6. The members of DREB A-1 and A-2 subgroups have been reported to be involved in response to various abiotic stresses. However, there were only a few genes belonging to A-3 to A-6 subgroups to …
The health effects of a Roundup-tolerant NK603 genetically modified (GM) maize (from 11% in the diet), cultivated with or without Roundup application and Roundup alone (from 0.1 ppb of the full pesticide containing glyphosate and adjuvants) in drinking water, were evaluated for 2 years in rats. This study constitutes a …
Glyphosate is a herbicide that is liable to be used in the extensive cultivation of glyphosate-tolerant cultivars. The potential accumulation of the relative effect of glyphosate on the rhizobacterial communities of glyphosate-tolerant maize has been monitored over a period of three years. Original Source
Efforts have been made in recent years to improve knowledge about soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from subSaharan Africa. However, data on soil GHG emissions from smallholder coffee-dairy systems have not hitherto been measured experimentally. This study aimed to quantify soil GHG emissions at different spatial and temporal scales in …
Cereal farmers in Rwanda have been warned to remain alert for a resurgence of the fall armyworm invasion. The pest, which infested an estimated 17,521ha of maize out of over 60,000ha last year during season B was successfully controlled, but experts urge farmers to remain vigilant. Evariste Tugirinshuti, head of …
Traditional yellow maize though contains high kernel carotenoids, the concentration of provitamin A (proA) is quite low (<2 μg/g), compared to recommended level (15 μg/g). It also possesses poor endosperm protein quality due to low concentration of lysine and tryptophan. Natural variant of crtRB1 (β-carotene hydroxylase) and lcyE (lycopene-ε-cyclase) cause …
Arusha — Armyworms and pernicious weeds are threatening crops in Arusha. It is feared that they will cause a food shortage. Fall armyworms (FAW), Parthenium hysterophorus weed and a maize wilting disease are causing a serious concern in the region. According to regional administrative secretary Richard Kwitega, the maize wilting …
