259 News & Press Releases found
SciDev.Net News
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Countries need better science to win trade disputes
With disputes about the quality of exports on the rise, developing countries need to boost scientific capacity to win claims, says Joel D. Adriano. In today`s highly competitive global economy, science has a crucial role to play in commerce. ...
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Climate data `has helped African farmers boost production`
Farming communities in Africa are benefitting from an exchange programme to improve access to, and understanding of, climate science, according to a report presented at a seminar. The seminar, held in in Dakar, Senegal, last month (20–21 ...
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Rising emissions may double sweet potato size
Rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere caused by human-driven emissions might lead to larger sweet potatoes, a staple food for many African and Asian countries, research reveals. Sweet potatoes could double in size with the ...
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Crop yields stall in China, India
China and India, the world`s two most populous countries, are beset by stagnation in the production of staples like rice, wheat, soybean and maize (corn), says a new study on crop yield growth. Based on statistics from around the world during the ...
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Pacific fisheries meet `fails to end tuna overfishing`
A five-day meeting on fisheries ended last week (6 December) amid complaints that big fishing nations have blocked efforts to curb tuna overfishing and ignored scientific advice. The accusations were made following the ninth regular session of the ...
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Mapping tool to support sustainable palm-oil farming
Two online mapping applications, designed to support sustainable production in Indonesia by helping to identify degraded lands that could be used to produce palm oil, were launched by the US-based World Resources Institute (WRI) last month (30 ...
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Rural India left out of S&T system
Scientific research in India needs to integrate better with rural development issues say Rajeswari S. Raina and Kasturi Mandal. India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised in January 2012 a massive expansion of funding and facilities for ...
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Small seaweed refineries could meet transport needs
Mid-size towns in developing countries could produce transport fuel from small biorefineries that use land-farmed marine algae, proposes a paper presented today (15 November) at the International Mechanical Engineering Congress in Houston, United ...
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Global alliance to strengthen research–farmer links
An international alliance of research institutions will try to implement the results of agricultural research and to communicate findings to smallholder farmers in developing nations. The Association of International Research and Development ...
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Intercropping `boosts maize yields by 50 per cent`
Growing leguminous trees on maize farms — a form of agroforestry — can boost and stabilise maize yields, a 12-year study in Malawi and Zambia has found. The researchers behind the study, from the Kenya-based World Agroforestry Centre ...
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Indonesia`s fisheries most `vulnerable to collapse`
Indonesia and Liberia`s coral reef fisheries are most vulnerable to collapse, says a study that has ranked the vulnerability of coastal nations based on indicators for their coral reef management, fisheries and food security. The study, published ...
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Committee advises halt to Indian Bt crop trials
A technical expert committee, appointed by the Supreme Court of India to advise upon open field trials for genetically modified (GM) crops, has recommended a ten-year moratorium on all Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) food crop trials. Bt crops are GM ...
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`REDD+ actions can have varying impacts`
Impacts of actions under Reduction of Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) – a UN mechanism to stem deforestation and degradation – on biodiversity and carbon vary across forest types and landscape conditions, a new global assessment ...
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FAO to partner CBD on biodiversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) will work together on programmes that address climate change, food security and biodiversity loss. Two memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed last week ...
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South Asia nips on agricultural research funding
South Asian countries significantly increased funding for agricultural research and development (R&D) in the last decade but the numbers fell short of set targets, says a new report. South Asia as a whole more than doubled agricultural R&D ...
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Let`s add climate knowledge to agroforestry plans
We need to know more about how smallholder agroforestry can help farmers adapt to climate change, write James Roshetko and Rodel Lasco. Much is known about agroforestry — the mixing of tree species with crops and livestock to enrich farmers` ...
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Jatropha can revive degraded land, says study
Large-scale cultivation of Jatropha – known as a potential source of biofuel – can improve the soil quality of degraded lands and address climate change, says a new study. Jatropha curcas seeds yield oil that can be processed into ...
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Dislike of multidisciplinary work `limits development`
The impact of multi-stakeholder projects vital for agricultural development are limited by the compartmentalisation of science and researchers` dislike of crossing disciplinary boundaries, an expert has warned. Speaking at a group discussion ...
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Nepal sees potential in aquaponics
Nepal sees food security potential in aquaponics, a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics. Aquaculture efficiently farms fish species while hydroponics ensures controlled use of water and nutrients in plant cultivation. In aquaponics, water ...
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Agricultural biotechnology `should be open source`
Open source biotechnology, through which biotechnology inventions are made freely available for others to use and improve upon, could help developing countries overcome hurdles created by stringent intellectual property rights (IPRs), a study says. ...