African farming News

Climate change poses a large threat to African agriculture, but there is little research on how to respond. A recent study indicates that traditional adaptation methods are not enough and international collaboration is needed in 'planned adaptation' by collecting and conserving certain crops for the future. A large proportion of the African population - mainly the poor - depend on agriculture for ...

Oct. 14, 2009

By Science for Environment Policy - European Commission DG Environment News Alert Service

A widespread farming catastrophe could hit Africa if global temperatures rose by four degrees Celsius or more, according to a study that calls for urgent planning for a much warmer future and investment in technology to avert disaster. In most of southern Africa the growing season could shrink by as much as a fifth, according to scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) ...

Nov. 28, 2010

By SciDev.Net

A large-scale research and development project has shown that giving farmers resources and advice on nitrogen fixation through legume plants can double yields and boost incomes in Africa. But not all farmers are benefiting from this practice due to a lack of access to inputs, such as fertilisers says Ken Giller, the leader of the ...

Nov. 4, 2013

By SciDev.Net

By investing in livestock farming, Dutch industry can help improve food safety in West Africa. Taking a flexible and creative approach, and working alongside local partners, there is considerable potential in this respect. This is the conclusion of an analysis by Wageningen UR Livestock Research and La Ventana Consulting for the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Foreign Affairs. The analysis ...

Apr. 6, 2014

By Wageningen University and Research Centre

The time is ripe to revolutionise agriculture in Africa, says World Food Prize winner Gebisa Ejeta, writing in Science. When the Green Revolution swept across Asia in the 1960s, Africa had neither the human and institutional capacity, nor the right crops — the Green Revolution focused on wheat and rice, while African staples are sorghum, millet, maize and cassava — to benefit, says Ejeta. But ...

Feb. 14, 2010

By SciDev.Net

The biodiversity of crop fields could be key to a greener revolution in Africa, where ecosystems are degrading and crop yields are stagnating, says a study conducted in Malawi. African farmers could halve their fertiliser use and still get the same yields, the study found, with less year-to-year variation in yields and with as much as 70 per cent more protein in grains — by simply rotating ...

Dec. 13, 2010

By SciDev.Net

The increasing use of software applications (widely known as apps) in solving Africans' problems has been highlighted by the three winning entries  of the Apps4Africa: Climate Challenge contest. The regional competition encourages participants to address local ...

Feb. 7, 2012

By SciDev.Net

[NAIROBI] African smallholders in dry areas can overcome climate change and even double crop yields if they invest in fertiliser use and harvest rainwater, researchers have found. Farmers in arid and semi-arid areas usually protect themselves from climate-related losses by investing as little as possible in farm inputs such as fertilisers. But in doing so they fail to grab opportunities for ...

Feb. 14, 2010

By SciDev.Net

Ten African nations have pledged, ahead of Rio+20, to include the economic value of natural resources in their national accounts. Africa has taken the lead in the quest to persuade nations to include the full economic value of their natural resources in their national accounts, with the promise last month by ten of its nations to do so. The heads of state or government of ...

Jun. 7, 2012

By SciDev.Net

The Australian government will establish an international food security centre to offer research and technical expertise to willing governments and institutions in Africa. The Australia International Centre for Food Security (AICFS) will be established in the second quarter of next year. Australian prime minister Julia Gillard announced the establishment of the centre last month (28 ...

Nov. 14, 2011

By SciDev.Net

Scientists studying the tsetse fly-borne disease "sleeping sickness" and a devastating version found in cattle say they have found two genes that may in future help rescue the livelihoods of millions of farmers in Africa. In a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal on Monday, the researchers said the genes should help cattle breeders identify animals that can ...

May 16, 2011

By SciDev.Net

Scientists said at the 2nd World Congress of Agroforestry that a type of acacia tree with an unusual growth habit-unlike virtually all other trees-holds particular promise for farmers in Africa as a free source of nitrogen for their soils that could last generations. With its nitrogen-fixing qualities, the tall, long-lived acacia tree, Faidherbia albida (Mgunga in Swahili) could limit the use of ...

Aug. 30, 2009

By ScienceDaily

Food needs can be met with a new vision for agriculture and science, say Brian Wynne and Georgina Catacora-Vargas. In mainstream policy and corporate thinking, scientific knowledge and global markets are considered key for food ...

Sep. 2, 2013

By SciDev.Net

This year has seen the return of one of the most devastating agricultural viruses for pigs. With over 100 reports of the highly contagious outbreak of African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV-Asfarviridae) across Europe and Asia recorded during the start of autumn. Although African Swine Fever was believed to have been wiped out throughout Europe in the 1990s its return has been expected following the ...

Sep. 19, 2018

By Addfield Environmental Systems Ltd.

Farmers in the Central African Republic need urgent assistance to prevent the food security situation in the conflict-stricken country from worsening for millions of people, FAO warned today. According to the FAO-supported Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, about 1.29 million people, or more than 40 percent of the country’s rural ...

Dec. 15, 2013

By Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Heads of State and Government of African Union Member States, together with representatives of international organizations, civil society organizations, private sector, cooperatives, farmers, youths, academia and other partners have unanimously adopted a Declaration to end hunger in Africa by 2025. The declaration calls for a combination of policies to promote sustainable agricultural development ...

Jun. 30, 2013

By Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Even in poor settings, shoppers say they are willing to pay more for organically grown vegetables, a study in West Africa has found. Researchers from Benin and the United Kingdom surveyed 100 people shopping for cabbages and tomatoes in Benin and Ghana about their ideas on vegetable quality, their awareness of the use of synthetic pesticides, and their willingness to pay more for chemical-free ...

Jan. 11, 2012

By SciDev.Net

Bioscience projects including ones that turn tannery waste into manure can improve crop productivity and food security, and boost agricultural resilience to climate change-related impacts in East Africa, according to scientists. Agricultural and biosciences scientists who met at the 1st Bio-Innovate ...

Mar. 25, 2013

By SciDev.Net

How to protect yourself from the dangers of African Swine Fever. This year has seen the return of one of the most devastating agricultural viruses for pigs. With over 100 reports of the highly contagious outbreak of African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV-Asfarviridae) across Europe and Asia recorded during the start of autumn. Although African Swine Fever was believed to have been wiped out throughout ...

Sep. 19, 2018

By Addfield Environmental Systems Ltd.

As people move from rural to urban settings in search of economic opportunities, urban agriculture is becoming an important provider of both food and employment, according to researchers with the Worldwatch Institute. "Urban agriculture is providing food, jobs, and hope in Nairobi, Kampala, Dakar, and other cities across sub-Saharan Africa," said Danielle Nierenberg, co-director of the ...

Jun. 15, 2011

By Worldwatch Institute