All posts belonging to the GFAR blog
Climate change is coming like a freight train, or a rising tide. And our food, so dependent on rain and suitable temperatures, sits right in its path. The plants that nourish us won’t disappear entirely. But they may have to move to higher and cooler latitudes, or farther up a mountainside. Some places may find … More 5 Major Crops In The Crosshairs Of Climate Change
Many conversations about open data for agriculture and nutrition promote the win-win scenario of improved livelihoods for farmers, as well as more nutritious, environmentally conscious food. However, examples of open data benefiting farmers often only span one growing season, or include small groups of farmers. This begs the question, does open data truly have the capacity … More Collaboration is key to achieving the long-term benefits of data sharing
‘Youth are the pillars, changers and builders of the nation. They have a huge power to change the system and develop our country.’ This is what the youth of YAD (Youth for Agriculture Development, Nepal) believe. I still remember the initial days of the YAD organisation. The young people involved did not believe in their strengths, but … More YAD: From Zero to Hero
We celebrate World Development Information Day by highlighting CCAFS’ work on climate information services in Africa. Information and communications technologies have the potential to provide new solutions to development challenges, particularly in the context of globalization, and can foster economic growth, competitiveness, access to information and knowledge, poverty eradication and social inclusion.” UN General Assembly … More Leveraging climate information services to help farmers cope with climate change in Africa
GFAR and Impakter have recently launched an exciting new online media campaign: #GFARImpakters. Impakter, a cutting-edge online magazine dedicated to topics of sustainability, is now working with GFAR Secretariat to showcase the valuable work done by Partners in GFAR to transform agricultural research and innovation systems. Impakter wants Partners in GFAR to share, and the public at … More #GFARImpakters Series: Sharing the Impact of the Partners in GFAR
GFAR Secretariat welcomed 4 bright young researchers on the occasion of World Food Day to share their fascinating findings on what some cutting-edge food technologies and innovations mean for our future. Last April, GFAR Secretariat had the pleasure of welcoming, at FAO Headquarters in Rome, a delegation of 16 researchers about to embark on a world … More Embracing the Future of Food on #WFD2018
October 16 is World Food Day. It can be a day of action, dedicated to tackling hunger and ensuring food security and nutrient-dense diets for everyone. Food should nourish and nurture people, society, and the planet, but in so many ways, the food system is broken. “Not only have habits changed, but also foods. When was … More On World Food Day, Take a Holistic Approach to Food Production
Persistent global hunger and undernutrition have underscored the need for urgent action towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that aim to end all forms of malnutrition and double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers by 2030. In sub-Saharan Africa, lack of dietary diversity is a key causal factor of malnutrition since … More Veggies offer new opportunities to farmers in Tanzania
Down in the valley in the village of Kasuza in the Eastern Province of Zambia, along the border with Mozambique, Aaron and Mervis Mumba are legends. The couple, who have two children, are literally turning on its head the negative connotation associated with the phrase ‘reaping where you did not sow’. Through meticulous analysis of … More Zambian farmer finds the sweet spot during dry season
In the Ethiopian Highlands, where yields have been only about one third of their potential, diffused light storage of seed potatoes is getting results. Mrs Tadelech Lachemo, a farmer in the Ethiopian Highlands, had a dream to increase her agricultural productivity and run a profitable restaurant. Taking part in Africa RISING’s potato seed multiplication training … More Potato farmers see the light in Ethiopia
At nutrition field schools in southern Mali, young mothers are learning and teaching about the building blocks of life. Fighting child malnutrition in the Sahel has always been a daunting task. In southern Mali, over 28% of children under five are stunted – despite this area being the grain basket of the country. Iron … More In Mali, field schools educate mothers, nourish children
Farmers in Babati District of northern Tanzania had been reluctant to use fertilizers due to a belief, handed down the generations, that inorganic fertilizer ‘kills’ the soil. This myth was born out of a poorly implemented fertilizer scaling exercise decades ago – the ammonium sulfate that was recommended then isn’t good for the soils in … More In Tanzania, farmers restore faith in fertilizer
Focusing research on farmers’ preferred practice has resulted in tripled faba bean yield. Africa RISING researchers in the Ethiopian Highlands were intrigued to see that smallholders growing faba bean chose to weed only once in a season, even though they were aware that weeding twice gave consistently higher yields. So to find out why, in … More When is a weed not a weed?
Pigeon pea–groundnut doubled-up legumes intercropping in Malawi. Photo credit: Jim Richards Intercropping two legumes – groundnut and pigeon pea – means two grain harvests plus two crop residues to improve soil fertility. Smallholder farmers in southern Africa face a conundrum. They need to get more crops onto their limited land – but without reducing the … More Double grain, double gain
In 2011, USAID’s Agricultural Research Division solicited brief proposals from IITA and ILRI as to how they would lead research efforts offering solutions to the numerous constraints to smallholder farm productivity while simultaneously achieving multiple objectives around food and nutritional security, improved incomes, and soil and water conservation. Three key production regions across sub-Saharan Africa … More Africa RISING: a multidisciplinary program using an integrated systems research
The Partners in GFAR have joined our open and inclusive movement in agriculture and food because they see a need for change. They wish to be part of agri-food research and innovation systems that really change lives for the better, driven by the needs and demands of farmers, local producers and rural communities themselves. To achieve … More The Partners in GFAR now number over 600!
Just four crops – wheat, maize, rice and soybean – provide two-thirds of the world’s food supply. But scientists in Malaysia are trying to change that by reviving crops that have been relegated to the sidelines. On a small fruit farm near the Straits of Malacca Lim Kok Ann is down to just one tree … More Are Forgotten Crops the Future of Food?
Blockchain appeared in our lives as a modern technology that promises ubiquitous financial transactions among distributed untrusted parties, without the need of intermediaries such as banks. Several ongoing projects and initiatives now illustrate the impact blockchain technology is having on agriculture and suggest it has great potential for the future. As blockchain technology gains … More The Rise of Blockchain Technology in Agriculture
Winner of the 2017 Africa Food Prize and founder of the African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, Professor Ruth Oniang’o explains the vital steps towards achieving a hunger-free Africa. What is the potential for neglected and underutilised species to improve diets and address Africa’s hunger crisis? The potential that these crops have to … More “Everyone has to participate in nutrition security”
Over 200 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance across the world today. In 2017, the UN-coordinated appeals reported a shortfall of 41 per cent, despite receiving a record amount of funding. As the demands on these limited funds increase, there is a concurrent increase in the need for high-quality evidence on the … More Too difficult, too disruptive and too slow? Innovative approaches to common challenges in conducting humanitarian impact evaluations
