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Biosciences for Farming in Africa (B4FA) was set up to help African farmers unlock the continent’s huge agricultural potential. Initially we provided training to African journalists so they could communicate balanced, scientifically based information on best practice, innovation and entrepreneurship to decision makers, scientists, educators and …
This week, 13 members of the World Trade Organization have signed a communication stating that “precision biotechnology techniques, as a whole, constitute an essential tool for agricultural innovation. Their use provides farmers with access to products that increase productivity while preserving environmental sustainability.” The signatories of the International Statement on Agricultural Applications …
This week, University of Ghana plant geneticist Eric Yirenkyi Danquah won the 2018 World Agriculture Prize in Nanjing, China, to recognize his founding and leadership of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI). WAACI serves as an educational center for Ghana-based plant breeders and seed scientists, working in partnership …
In mid-October, the African Development Bank (AfDB) convened a gathering of agricultural experts and stakeholders in Nairobi, Kenya, to address the spread of the Fall armyworm in East Africa. In addition to representatives from Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, the Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda, the Food and Agriculture …
The 16th of October marked this year’s World Food Day, the 73rd anniversary of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s founding, and its annual celebration focusing global attention on the issue of food security, calling on all nations to take action to end hunger. Its theme in 2018: “Our actions are our …
As B4FA went to press this week, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report issuing a stark warning: that the world’s governments have only 12 years to implement changes to energy, food and transport systems that will prevent more than a 1.5 ºC rise in global …
This week, for the first time, scientists from Brazil, the US and Germany used CRISPR-Cas9 to create a new crop from a wild plant within a single generation. Using a relative of the wild tomato from South America as the parent plant species, the researchers modified it so that the following plants …
The Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease (MLND) Screening Facility in Naivasha, Kenya, recently released 15 disease-resistant hybrid maize varieties to Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Researchers found and – through molecular marker assisted breeding – transferred resistant genes into 30 maize varieties adapted for Africa, a process that took three years, in …
A recently released report titled State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has provided a current snapshot of the state of global food security. For the third year in a row, the report states, there has been …
Last weekend, the 2018 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) concluded in Kigali, Rwanda. Besides the launch of a new consortium to fight the invasive Fall armyworm threatening African maize, sorghum and other crops, the three-day conference featured the announcement of a farmer-led irrigation initiative, the Irrigation for Smallholder Farming Enterprises, …
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