Enabling safe and climate smart coffee production in Colombia
The coffee berry borer (CBB) is the most serious coffee pest, worldwide, causing crop damage in excess of $US500 million, annually. In Colombia, 75% of coffee crops are affected by this pest, where it directly damages coffee beans, destroying the taste and making the beans unsaleable. Furthermore, climate change is…
Increasing safe and efficient trade of agriculture in East Africa
The East African Community (EAC) represents one of the fastest-growing regional economic communities in the world. However, trade of agricultural products, from and within this region, has been hindered by factors including Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) issues. The project aims to assess the SPS systems and frameworks, identify challenges and…
Control of fall armyworm in Eastern Africa
In Africa, the fall armyworm is a pest causing significant destruction and devastation to crops. It is estimated to cause 8-20 million tonnes of maize losses each year and due to little knowledge of the pest and ways of managing it, the impacts can be catastrophic. With partners, CABI developed an emergency response strategy that empowered local communities of six target countries to…
African Crop Epidemiology System (ACES)
The increasing frequency and severity of pest (insects, pathogens and weeds) outbreaks are causing huge crop losses in Sub Saharan Africa. Reducing such losses requires the application of robust plant protection measures at farmers’ levels. Pest-mediated crop losses exceed 50% in both West and East Africa, but losses in northwest…
Surveillance of potato diseases in Kenya
Potato is one of the most widely grown crops in Kenya. The sector contributes almost USD 30m per year and employs 3.3 million people. Â However, the yield has been reducing significantly over the last decade, 12.4 t/ha below the global average of 21 t/ha. This has been attributed to a…
Piloting biopesticide use to manage fall armyworm in South Sudan
Crop protection in Africa relies heavily on the use of synthetic chemical pesticides. They are perceived to be more effective than other methods but human health concerns and the resistance to them in pest populations is shifting the tide towards lower risk pest management methodologies. Biopesticides are considered a suitable…