Scientists are making progress to expand the prediction coverage of AKILIMO to 5 regions in Tanzania and nine states in Nigeria. Once completed, farmers in the regions will have access to site-specific recommendations on agronomic practices in cassava farming systems. Developed by the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture…
Online agricultural platform opens to farmer groups, cooperatives
Selina Wamucii, the platform that helps businesses from anywhere in the world to buy and import food and agricultural produce from any African country has announced that it is opening up to organized farmers groups and cooperatives to sell or export directly to markets worldwide. “Selina Wamucii now welcomes farmer groups, associations, processors and cooperatives…
Spraying locusts before they can fly key for effective control
By Joshua Masinde East African countries are battling the worst desert locust invasion in decades. The locusts are devouring crops and pasture leaving in their wake a region that is staring at a potential food crisis. The swarms have swept across Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, with some of…
East Africa Growth Accelerator changing fortunes of livestock farmers
An initiative launched in 2017 with a $3.1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is fast-changing fortunes of dairy and poultry smallholder farmers in East Africa. The East Africa Growth Accelerator (EAGA) initiative has delivered a Social Return on Investment (SROI) of almost 250% for, their families and other stakeholders in the…
Agroforestry improves lives of poor farmers in Kenya
Scientists from World Agroforestry (ICRAF) have found modest, yet statistically significant, improvements in the livelihoods of farmers involved with an agroforestry-development program in Kenya. According to Karl Hughes, leader of the study and head of monitoring and evaluation at ICRAF, agroforestry has been widely claimed to improve the livelihoods of smallholding farmers, rehabilitate degraded landscapes,…
Nigeria: Policymakers commend IITA for efforts on digital agriculture
Policymakers in Nigeria have lauded efforts by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) on digital agriculture. At the meeting tagged: ‘Presentation of Digital Tools: Disruptive Innovations in Cassava and Maize Farming systems’, the Commissioners for Agriculture in Ondo and Ekiti states, Messrs Adegboyega Adefarati and Folorunso Olabode appreciated the IITA-led African Cassava Agronomy Initiative…
Seeds of hope transforming lives in northern Uganda
By Joshua Masinde For two decades, most of the population in northern Uganda lived in internally displaced people’s camps and depended on food aid and other relief emergencies for their livelihoods due to the insurgency by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Over the past few years, Gulu, one of the affected districts, has been…
Cassava: ACAI scientists and partners to meet in Zanzibar to review progress
Scientists, experts and scaling partners of the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) are set for their 4th annual review and planning meeting. The aim is to discuss and unveil the progress made in cassava agronomy and how such efforts are addressing the low yield per hectare on farmers’…