More than 200,000 Rwandan farmers have received free cows under the Rwandan Governments’ One cow per poor family programme since it was introduced in 2006. The move has kick-started small scale milk production, bringing new income streams for cash-strapped farmers, as well as providing manure to fertilise crops, and meat and milk for improved nutrition and food security. ButRead More …
If only we could put a little bit of extra carbon into our soils – that could save the planet from overheating, or so the theory goes. After all, of all the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that are causing global temperatures to rise, and thus climate change, carbon dioxide (CO2) is by far the most important. Put carbonRead More …
Fifty years ago palm oil was virtually non-existent in the Colombian diet. Now over 25% of the fat in national food supplies comes from the crop, making it the single most important plant for the provision of this macronutrient in the diet. Intercropped maize and oil palm in Colombia. Photo: CIMMYT Along with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Nigeria, ColombiaRead More …
Rwanda’s fight against malnutrition, which affects nearly half of all children under two, stepped up a notch this month. A new survey targeting children under 24 months and women of reproductive age will root out the underlying causes of undernutrition, leading to new approaches to tackle the problem. Commissioned by the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI),Read More …
The role of agriculture isn’t just to feed us enough, it is to feed us well. This week the CGIAR Consortium placed the weight of its agricultural research expertise behind efforts to improve global nutrition and public health as it committed to make breeding for mineral and vitamin traits the norm in conventional food crop development programs. Frank Rijsberman,Read More …
Drought in Ethiopia, flooding in Pakistan, earthquake in Haiti, conflict in Congo… Every year, the worlds’ vulnerable are hit by natural and man-made disasters, the frequency of which is set to increase, according to the latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) into the impact of climate change. Urgent action to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climateRead More …
Many soils across Africa are starved of nitrogen, making it difficult for smallholder farmers to produce the yields needed to feed growing populations. For many, the cost and accessibility, or lack thereof, puts nitrogen fertiliser beyond their reach. But what if they could harness free nitrogen from the atmosphere? They can – by growing legumes, which ‘fix’ nitrogen intoRead More …
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