Twin challenges: Researchers in Central, Eastern and Southern Africa engage in a climate change and soil health forum to propose actionable recommendations
By Ben Moses Ilakut, Genevieve Apio & Brook Makonnen MOMBASA, KENYA: Understanding the impacts of climate change and climate variability, including interpreting shifting rainfall patterns, rising temperatures, and increased frequencies of extreme weather events like droughts and flooding is critical in designing climate-smart agriculture practices and technologies, informing decision-making and adaptation strategies, and in climate-related risk management. To adapt to the impacts of climate change on Agriculture, measures urgently need to be...
AICCRA and ICPAC strengthen the capacities of Agricultural experts from ASARECA and CCARDESA member states
By Genevieve Apio, Bridget Kakuwa-Kasongamulilo, and Brook Makonnen Gaborone, Botswana – African institutions CCARDESSA (https://www.ccardesa.org/) and ASARECA (https://www.asareca.org/) have been urged to hasten efforts to leverage the capacity of Africa’s experts and institutions such as the IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Center (https://www.icpac.net/) and national initiatives to jointly work to mitigate the effects of climate change. Addressing participants during a pivotal capacity-building training workshop at The Grand Palm Hotel in Gaborone, on...
Training: Climate Information Services for Ag Experts in East and Southern Africa
WHEN SEP 16 - 20, 2024 CAT WHERE Gaborone, Botswana The South-South knowledge exchange and capacity-building initiative organized by regional partners, including the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA), Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), and IGAD Climate Prediction and Application Center (ICPAC), aims to empower agricultural experts in Eastern and Southern Africa to utilize climate information services and establish robust...
Regional Training on Climate-Smart Agriculture, Soil Fertility Management, and Soil Health Monitoring in Eastern and Southern Africa
WHEN SEP 23 - 27, 2024 EAT WHERE Mombasa, Kenya AICCRA is partnering with CIFOR-ICRAF and regional development and research organizations - Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) - and the DeSIRA-funded Land Soil Crop Hubs (LSC) project to further build the knowledge capacity of agricultural professionals across Central,...
Training on Genetic Resource Policies for Scientists in Agricultural Research Organizations.
Our partner-Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT through the CGIAR Initiative on Genebanks is launching the second edition of the online training course 'Genetic Resources Policies for Agricultural Research Scientists’ starting from September 25 to 30th November, 2024.This course targets plant researchers and legal advisers working in national and international research and development organizations, including genebank staff, breeders, phytopatologists, bioinformaticians, seed system specialists and legal and policy experts. The course consists...
New report places productivity and access to healthy diets at the core of global food systems
By Ben Moses Ilakut Progress in addressing malnutrition has stalled in many parts of the world due the impacts of climate change and failure by Governments to provide adequate matching investments to operate the global food systems, a recently released report has shown. The report faults compounding crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, rising food prices, natural disasters, and ongoing conflicts around the world for the stagnation. Demonstration of irrigated vegetable farm at...
Deploying Climate Smart Technologies to deal with impacts of El Nino rains in Kenya
By Ben Moses Ilakut & Genvieve Apio It an undisputed reality that Climate Change is a major challenge to agricultural productivity and food security globally. The devastating effects of climate change are manifested in many ways including El Nino rains, which are affecting several countries in Eastern and Central Africa. Photos above and below show how farmers in Machakos, Kenya were supported to prepare soil based on best agronomic recommendations and establish...
Tracing the impact of ASARECA supported Climate Smart Agriculture innovations in Kenya
By Ben Moses Ilakut Practically all countries in Eastern and Central African (ECA) depend largely on rain-fed agriculture for livelihoods. Much of the rainfall comes in a few high-intensity events with long dry spells in-between. This results into two catastrophic opposites--extreme episodes such as floods versus intense droughts with scotching heat. Farmers become risk averse Both episodes have the potential to reduce crop yields, sometimes, they cause total crop failure. In this predicament,...
Saving Sudan: Emergency food aid now, thereafter—back to Agricultural production
Ben Moses Ilakut Top international humanitarian and aid agencies including the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in the last few days called for emergency response to the food situation in Sudan following a declaration of famine in the Zamzam camp. Famine is a severe and widespread lack of food that leads to extreme hunger, malnutrition, and increased mortality in a population. Successful farming supported by ASARECA...
Urgent call for collective regional action against crop manace, Banana Bunchy Top Virus
By Ben Moses Ilakut When the deadly transboundary disease Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) ravaged the East African countries of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda in 2005 to 2010, it was only collective action by scientists from the concerned countries and the CGIAR, all coordinated by ASARECA, that brought the devastation to a halt. But before that, the disease had wreaked havoc, causing up 100% crop losses in hotspots of East Africa,...