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
This International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, August 9, is an opportunity to celebrate the ecological and cultural value of indigenous foodways. In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly declared the day to encourage the world to protect and promote the rights of indigenous peoples. Celebrating their cultures means preserving their time-tested farming practices, … More On International Day, Indigenous Peoples Preserve Biodiversity
There are many inter-linked issues in the whole data value chain that affect the ability of farmers, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, to access, use and harness the benefit of data and data-driven technologies. There are policy issues (decisions on making data open and prioritizing types of data to open up to investment decisions); … More Expert consultation in Bonn on “Ethical, legal and policy aspects of data sharing affecting farmers”
The market for space-procured business data is expected to be worth more than $1 trillion by 2028. We look into how satellite data is playing out in the agricultural field. By Jeffrey Hill of Via Satellite There are several large orchards and tree farms scattered among the hills at the eastern edge of Pennsylvania along the … More For Farmers, A Picture is Worth More Than a Thousand Data Sets
The view that a productive agriculture is critical for employment creation and poverty reduction is now widely shared within the development community. Yet, this has not always been the case. In the runup to the 2008 world food price crisis, many development practitioners, government officials, and economists doubted whether agriculture could still play this role, … More Five new insights on how agriculture can help reduce poverty
More than ever before, dieticians, the media, and even supermarket chains looking to attract new customers are praising the merits of alternative diets, free of animal products or “staple” grains, or both. Whether it’s a choice made for better health, a moral or ethical conviction, or a necessity owing to intolerances, everyone seems to be … More Are meat and grains being demonized?
At a recent YES Bank panel and digital startup competition, it was evident that India’s digital boom was lending the Indian startup ecosystem a distinctly agri-flavour. The convergence of mobile networks, broadband internet, cloud platforms, IoT, AI and open data is helping transform one of the world’s oldest professions. This is of great significance as … More Tech transformation: how agriculture is being redefined through digital innovation and startups
Our Foundation and partners are helping local radio stations in Kenya to establish agricultural advice programs*. Fabian Oswald, studying Science Communications in Germany, has chosen this topic for his Master’s thesis. He recently investigated the knowledge exchange between three stations, their listeners and advisors. “Everybody warned me in advance: This was research I couldn’t plan … More Sometimes, it all runs like clockwork
TAP and GFAR are pleased to invite you to the webinar: Sharing Knowledge on Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation through TAPipedia Partager les connaissances sur le renforcement des capacités pour l’innovation agricole à travers TAPipedia (in French language – en langue française) Date: 10 July 2018 Time: 11:30 AM Rome time (GMT +2) Duration: 1.5 hours REGISTER … More GFAR/TAP/FARA Webinar in French language: “Sharing Knowledge on Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation through TAPipedia”
At the age of just 24, Madagascan Heritiaina Randriamananatahina heads up a cheese and syrup processing business that is growing fast. Lacking any formal qualifications, he discusses the barriers facing any aspiring young business man or woman in the agri-food industry. Raised by his grand-mother, Heritiana Randriamanatahiana dropped out of school at 14 to earn … More Heritiana Randriamanatahiana: ‘An entrepreneur must be competitive and creative, but above all, open-minded’
In 2017, several members of Social Lab Guatemala, an incubator for social business, were inspired to build a national model for regenerative agriculture in Guatemala. Their inspiration led them to strategic partnerships with Regeneration International (RI) Main Street Project (MSP) and ultimately to the formation of Regeneration Guatemala. Regeneration Guatemala’s mission is to rebuild the … More Regeneration Guatemala Seeks to Transform Rural Guatemala Agriculture
The GFAR Steering Committee drives the Forum and includes both grassroots and international organizations, elected to represent Partners in GFAR from all relevant sectors in agri-food research and innovation. GFAR catalyzes Collective Actions that bring together diverse actors through equitable and integrated processes, to make agricultural research and innovation more effective and equitable towards Sustainable Development … More Reflections on the GFAR Steering Committee meeting
