Smallest agri-SMEs in Africa owner-managed by women bore the brunt of COVID-19, new CABI study reveals
The smallest agri-SMEs in Africa owner-managed by women bore the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research led by a team of CABI scientists and published in the journal CABI Agriculture & Bioscience. The researchers studied data from 119 agri-SMEs – ranging in size from sole proprietorships with…
Rapid appraisal of the financing landscape for the coffee sector in Africa
The coffee sector in Africa provides a vital source of income for many smallholder farmers and accounts for a large proportion of export income for many countries. However, access to finance for production, in-country processing and marketing of coffee is one of the main challenges limiting the transformation of the…
USD $106bn finance gap in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia agricultural business
The Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) programme has published ‘The state of the agri-SME sector – Bridging the finance gap.’ The report estimates demand for financing, from around 220,000 agri-business SMEs in sub Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia at USD $160bn with banks, impact investors and other financial…
Strengthening food security post COVID-19 pandemic and locust attack
Thirty-seven percent of Pakistan's population is already vulnerable to food insecurity. This figure will soon exacerbate given the effect of recent external challenges including the rapid spread of Covid-19 and its subsequent Government restrictions, and Pakistan’s largest locust infestation in 25 years devasting large areas of agricultural land, including cotton,…
New project aims to review and help strengthen national Soil Information Systems
CABI has been awarded a $1.07 million contract from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to lead a comprehensive study of national Soil Information Systems (SIS) in several countries including India, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania also capturing learning from the USA, UK, countries within the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil,…
Building the policy ecosystem for organic production in Balochistan, Pakistan
Sectoral approaches to land management (increasing production, for instance) are no longer viable to meet global challenges such as poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation and food production due to mounting pressures from population increases and climate change. Organic production, however, is a more profitable, sustainable and environmentally-friendly approach to agriculture that…