36 Articles found
SciDev.Net Articles
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Researchers model ways to control deadly maize disease
Researchers have used mathematical modelling to develop techniques to combat two co-infecting viruses causing maize lethal necrosis (MLN) in Kenya. According to researchers who conducted the new study, because maize is a staple crop in ...
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El Niño: Meet the man who tries to predict the unpredictable
In 1985, El Niño research pioneers Mark Cane and Steve Zebiak came up with the first computer model that successfully predicted the periodic Pacific Ocean warming event the following year. Thirty years later, models have improved — but ...
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The race against time to bank the world’s threatened seeds
Just over an hour’s drive from London, down winding lanes lined with oak and beech trees, lies a concrete and glass building housing scientists tasked with a Herculean mission — to safeguard the future of food. The Kew Millennium Seed ...
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Debate: Why aren’t farmers using agricultural tech?
Take part in our online debate that will take place on this page on 9 June starting at 1pm British Summer Time (GMT+1). Over two hours, our expert panel will help steer a discussion on why farmers in developing countries are not improving ...
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Conversion of coconut gene farms threatens diversity
The land conversion of coconut gene banks located in research farms across the Asia-Pacific threatens the future of coconut diversity, researchers warn. A coconut gene bank in Indonesia was recently converted into a racetrack while another in Samoa ...
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The wealth of forests
The day I first set foot in a tropical rainforest, in Malaysia in the early 1980s, I experienced something profound. From the echoes of gibbons calling from the canopy in the early morning mist to the iridescent flash of a bird in a beam of ...
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Insecticide risk map exposes threat to aquatic life
The global threat that insecticides pose for aquatic biodiversity has been revealed in a recent modelling study that pinpoints areas at greatest risk. The mapping exercise conducted by the researchers reveals that aquatic life in water bodies ...
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Peru: Olmos irrigation project sparks development debate
The recently launched irrigation and hydropower Olmos megaproject in Peru is hailed a ‘masterpiece of engineering’ aimed at stimulating rural development — but some fear the initiative will mostly benefit big companies. The ...
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Ethiopia’s seed banks and the search for food security
The community seed bank in Chefe Donsa, a village two hours’ drive east of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, collects and preserves the seeds of local crops to ensure farmers have a steady supply of seeds to sow each year. The Chefe Donsa ...
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Becoming a top female fisheries researcher in Kenya
In this film, as part of our series Africa’s PhD renaissance, scientist Nina Wambiji talks about how the support she has received from AWARD (African Women in Agricultural Research and Development) has helped her become a leading researcher in ...
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Investing in female scientists to feed Africa
In this interview, Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg, director of the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development fellowship programme in Kenya, talks about AWARD’s work supporting the careers of female agricultural scientists across ...
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Should access to phosphorus be a human right?
Food is a fundamental human right, as set down by international human rights treaties and, often, national constitutions. But the right to food cannot be ensured without a corresponding right to phosphorus, as some scientists pointed out at the ...
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Indian government still ‘flip flopping’ on GM trials
In August, India’s ruling nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stopped its legislators from accepting Monsanto sponsorship to attend a farm exhibition in the US state of Iowa. On the surface this might seem strange: attending the Farm ...
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The problems with the arguments against GM crops
New evidence shows that arguments against GM crops are unfounded, says Margaret Karembu. The year 2013 marked the 18th consecutive year of commercial cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or now commonly referred to as biotech crops. ...
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Cheap chemicals entice caterpillar-eating wasps to crops
It may be a win-win situation: treating seeds with commercially available growth promoters before planting could have the added benefit of attracting parasitic wasps that feed on caterpillar pests, suggests a study. The protective effect of these ...
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Science’s role in growing diverse, nutritious food
Can science meet the demand for more diverse and nutritious food? Jan Piotrowski investigates. The riots that swept Africa in 2007 and 2008 in response to the spiralling costs of staple crops brought the effects of food shortages into sharp focus. ...
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Boost grain preservation before production
Better grain storage would save money and feed over a billion, says Digvir S. Jayas. It deserves more attention. Annually over 2.6 billion tonnes of grains — cereals, oilseeds and pulses — are grown and then stored along the chain from ...
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Tech-based farming advice should stay people-centred
Video advice can help farmers — if it`s local and backed by strong partnerships, says Digital Green`s Rikin Gandhi. Gauravva Channappa Morabad is a hardworking woman living in Kamplikoppa village, in the Dharwad district of India`s Karnataka ...
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Getting seed to smallholders needs a business approach
A locally owned, alternative model of supplying affordable seed is working for Africa’s framers, says Joe DeVries. Smallholder farmers in Africa — mostly women — wage silent battles against the elements and other forces beyond ...
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Modern strains put Lake Victoria in critical condition
Pollution and overfishing in Lake Victoria have become so severe that scientists believe they threaten the health and livelihoods of millions of East Africans. And researchers in the three countries bordering the world’s largest ...