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Displaying 105 of about 266 resultsFAO calls for $23 million to scale up Fall Armyworm campaign – target is to reach more than 500 000 farmers in 2018
Fall Armyworm keeps spreading to larger areas within countries in sub-Saharan Africa and becomes more destructive as it feeds on more crops and different parts of crops, increasingly growing an appetite for sorghum and millet, in addition…
The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization and Pennsylvania State University joined forces to develop and launch an innovative, talking app - Nuru - to help African farmers recognize Fall Armyworm, a new and fast-spreading crop pest in sub-Saharan Africa, so that they can take immediate steps to destroy it and curb its spread.…
By Gilbert Nakweya
Kenyan smallholders in 42 counties are grappling with tackling the fall armyworm threat.
The onset of the long rain season (March-June) in Kenya usually brings hope, especially to rural smallholder farmers who prepare their lands for planting crops such as maize, beans and vegetables.
But for Rosemary Alusa, a 46-year-old…
Fall armyworm is known to feed on up to 350 plant species, causing significant crop losses.
A graduate agronomist has discovered a worm-eating fungus.
The fungus could provide farmers with valuable biological control.
By Amy Phillips and Jodie Gunders
Wrapped in fungus, these fall armyworms look like they have been dipped in white…
By Kieran Cooke
Battered by storms and droughts during a tough 2019, Africa’s resistance to the climate crisis left no room for passivity.
Attempting to come to any general conclusions on the state of a vast, varied and complex continent may be a tricky business, but Africa’s resistance to the climate crisis shows it rejects any idea of settling for v…
Questions and Answers with Keith Cressman, FAO's Senior Locust Forecasting Officer
Why are we seeing a resurgence of Desert Locust in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula?
Well, as we predicted, climatic conditions are driving this new round of locust activity. In many areas, rains came early, triggering earlier than usual reproduction;…
Rome - Information from satellites is being used in a new way to predict favourable conditions for Desert Locust swarms, as part of an early warning collaboration by scientists from the European Space Agency (ESA) and Desert Locust experts at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The new technology will help to increase the warning time for lo…
Food availability and food hygiene are compromised every day by diseases and pests that plague plants and animals as well as various types of contaminants. This happens on farms, in factories, at home, in fresh or sea water, in the open air and in the midst of dense forests.
Whether in the form of pathogen, insect or contaminant, threats are now travel…
The use of irrigation across Sub-Saharan Africa creates conditions that attract devastating foreign plant pests, such as the tomato leaf miner, a Kenyan study has found according to a report by Acclimatise. East Africa is at particular risk of infestations from the moth, as temperatures and seasonal rainfall in the region increase due to climate change,…
By Busani Bafana
Gwanda - Sithandile Ncube, a member of a farmers’ cooperative in southern Zimbabwe, combs through her plot of rape, turning over each leaf and checking it for the yellowing or shrivelling that will reduce its value at the local market.
Customers want their leafy vegetables to be firm, smooth and healthy-looking and Ncube, who relies o…
It is beyond doubt that our emissions contribute to climate change. And climate change is making us sick.
Sea–level rises, changes to the severity of monsoon seasons and rainfall, flooding, droughts and heatwaves are all predicted to have an increasing impact on our health.
The World Health Organisation estimates that between 1970 and 2004, the enviro…
Johannesburg - A tiny, rapidly breeding cyanide-munching insect, dubbed a "super-fly" by scientists, is threatening the food security of millions of Africans.
The Bemisia tabaci - one of several whitefly species - carries lethal viruses that cause cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) and cassava mosaic disease (CMD), which have decimated the hardy cassa…
A wildfire that started on Thursday is forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes in Southern California. "The connection between climate change and the frequency of wildfires is undeniable", states the author of the article published in Allvoices. By 2050, lands burned by wildfires every year will at least double, according to the US Forest Se…
By Alex Kirby
US farms could be devastated by climate change, says a study by the country’s Department of Agriculture. It says farmers could lose millions of dollars to rising temperatures, faster-growing weeds, smaller yields and new pests.
LONDON, 7 February – Climate change may force American farmers to alter where they grow crops and to spend mill…
Indigenous peoples have extensive knowledge and skills to deal with climate change, writes Emily Kirkland, student at Brown University, on Alertnet's Climate Conversations blog. She presents three case studies in the topic. One of them showcases how six mountain communities near Cusco have cooperated to save native varieties of potatoes which are resist…