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 …
NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Scientists at the Nairobi-based International Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) announced Thursday they have discovered a technology that will manage ravaging pest that has worsened food insecurity in Africa. In a statement released in Nairobi, the scientists said the technology, Push-Pull, is effective in controlling the Fall …
Ask Anesi Chishiko about fertiliser, and she points to her goats and her trees. Manure and leaves are all that she folds into the earth on her family farm in Zambia. Inorganic fertiliser is too costly: the government offers subsidies, but only “clever people” know how to get them, she …
One thousand hectares of 6,000 hectares maize farm in the Central Region have been completely destroyed by fall armyworm. Mr. Richard Baffour Asare, the Central Regional Operations Director of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), announced this at a public forum organised by the Gomoa East District Office of NADMO …
Eighteen bio-fortified varieties comprising six vitamin A cassava, eight vitamin A maize, two orange sweet potato and two iron and zinc sorghum, which are bred conventionally, have been released officially in Nigeria. Paul Ilona, the Country Manager of Harvestplus, an international agricultural organisation, made this known in an interview with …
LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawi President Peter Mutharika lifted a two-year ban on maize exports on Monday, after a bumper 2016/17 harvest helped farmers bounce back from a severe drought. The previous year’s harvest was devastated by an El- Nino weather system that swept across southern Africa and left about half …
Crops that feed 200 million people at risk from destructive march of fall armyworm, as agriculture experts call for urgent action The crops that 200 million people rely on in Africa are under threat from a caterpillar that is spreading throughout the continent, agriculture experts have warned. Urgent action needs …
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said on Tuesday climate indicators were near the levels associated with a La Nina weather event and pegged the chance of the weather pattern developing this year at 50 percent. This is around double the normal likelihood of the weather event, the …
LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia said it expects a new outbreak of armyworms in the 2017/18 crop season, after the maize-munching pests ravaged southern Africa earlier this year. Countries with confirmed outbreaks can face import bans on agricultural products because the armyworm is classified as a quarantine pest. The pest can …
Kenyan farmers could soon start growing Genetically Modified (GM) maize if an application by scientists for approval by regulatory agencies succeeds. The country’s leading scientists have written to the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) seeking permission to release the first ever Genetically Modified (GM) maize variety. Gospel Omanya, Senior Manager of …
BEIJING (Reuters) - China plans to roll out the use of ethanol in gasoline nationally by 2020, state media reported on Wednesday citing a government document, as Beijing intensifies its push to boost industrial demand for corn and clean up choking smog. It’s the first time the government has set …
At a warehouse in the heart of Brazil's agriculture sector, farmer Rafael Bilibio watches truck after truck line up to unload corn onto the ground outside the huge storage bins. His own corn, ready for unloading from a 50-tonne truck that has just pulled in, is destined to join the …
ADDIS ABABA (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) has said it is very concerned that the Fall Armyworm is likely to worsen the stress faced by millions of families suffering from food shortages as a result of the droughts, especially in eastern and southern Africa. Feeding on maize and other …
Lilongwe — Some are calling it 'Chamdonthi', others call it 'Muononga' and in English it's called fall armyworm. It is a pest that destroys crops in the grass family like maize, millet, sorghum, rice and sugarcane. In Malawi, fall armyworm has been so destructive to the staple grain, maize, with …
NYATIKE — In the fields visible from the bumpy dirt road leading to Ongare Owuoda's home, acres of maize plants with sagging leaves suggest farmers here will reap a poor harvest this season. Owuoda, however, is not worried. “I am relying on my green gram harvest this season,” said the …
The East Africa Seed Company has rolled out a drought-resistant maize variety which takes 90 days to mature. The new maize variety, Tosheka, is targeting the semi-arid areas of Eastern and North-Eastern but can also do well in high altitude areas which concentrate on tea and coffee farming. According to …
A number of new crops have been developed that address important traits of particular relevance for smallholder farmers in Africa. Scientists, policy makers, and other stakeholders have raised concerns that the approval process for these new crops causes delays that are often scientifically unjustified. This article develops a real option …
Change in cropping practices is required to address the food security issues in Africa. Yet, testing of the performance of such changes, in particular at large scales, often needs significant investments. Crop models are widely used tools to quantify the effects of agronomic decisions on cropping systems and to identify …
The Institute for Agricultural Research, IAR, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has secured approval to release three new high-yielding nutrient maize varieties for planting in Nigeria. The Institute made this known in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Lagos. The institute said the approval …
Kenya’s maize harvest is expected fall by a drastic 25 per cent this year, Agriculture CS Willy Bett said yesterday. He said the expected 37 million bags of maize will be slashed, forcing imports from Uganda, Tanzania and elsewhere. “The weather has also not been fair to us and this …
The county is headed for a major food crisis if the dry spell, which has ravaged many parts of the North Rift persists. More than 40,000 acres of maize crop in Uasin Gishu County are drying up. This translates to a loss 800,000 bags of maize at 20 bags per …
