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Africa RISING feed

BRIEF FOCUS: Cowpea living mulch for food security and soil health

Intercropping cowpea as a living mulch with maize improves food security and dietary diversity. It also conserves soil moisture, adds soil nitrogen, and suppresses weed growth. This four-page brief, prepared by Nurdeen Abdul Rahman, Fred Kizito and Irmgard Hoeschle-Zeledon of the International...

  • Africa RISING communications
Africa RISING feed

BRIEF FOCUS: Feed and health package for improved small ruminant production

Based on a new, locally available feed, less wastage, and better veterinary care, the feed and health package improves farmers’ food security and incomes by increasing livestock productivity. This four-page brief, prepared by Augustine Ayantunde of the International Livestock Research Institute (...

  • Africa RISING communications
Africa RISING feed

BRIEF FOCUS: Nutrient-rich beans for improved nutrition, incomes, and soil fertility

NUA 45 alias ‘magic’ bean is bio-fortified and provides valuable food and nutrition security for small-scale farmers and their families. It is rich in protein, iron, and zinc; improves soil fertility, and produces higher yields than local bean varieties. This four-page brief, prepared by Rowland...

  • Africa RISING communications
Africa RISING feed

Building a better solar irrigation market in Ghana

This post was first published on the Agrilinks website on 16 June. It was written by Thai Thi Minh, senior researcher at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Abena Ofosu, senior research officer with the Scaling Innovations Team, IWMI; and Osman Sahanoon Kulendi, managing director...

  • Africa RISING communications
AgHealth blog

ILRI research generates evidence for better prevention and control of zoonotic diseases

World Zoonoses Day, celebrated annually on 6 July, commemorates the day in 1885 when Louis Pasteur successfully administered the first vaccine against a zoonotic disease. It is also a day to raise public awareness of the risk of zoonotic diseases and how to effectively prevent and control them. The...

Africa RISING feed

Ethiopia partners apply digital solutions in on-farm experiments

Training participants group photo (photo credit: ILRI/Apollo Habtamu) . The Africa RISING project in the Ethiopian Highlands held training sessions for project site coordinators, extension experts, development agents and data enumerators from 7–8 June 2021. Close to 20 participants from project...

  • Haimanot Seifu
AgHealth blog

New study explores wet markets and the risk of emerging zoonotic diseases

Emerging zoonotic diseases can spread from animals to people where there is an interface allowing pathogens to jump the species barriers. Crowded conditions, where different species intermingle, increase these interfaces. Zoonotic diseases exert a significant burden on human health and have...

AVCD program blog

Taita Taveta farmers make a fortune from drought-tolerant crops

Christine Nashera inspecting her groundnut crop in Chala Ward, Taveta Though groundnuts are a highly popular and nutritious snack in Taita Taveta County, the residents had always depended on imports from the neighboring Tanzania. Farmers had failed to take advantage of its popularity and high...

  • wanderaojanji
AVCD program blog

The budding seed potato production business in Taita Taveta County

Anastasia Myambu in a potato seed farm owned by her producer group, Mreshinyi Farmers Group in Wusi/Kishamba Ward, Mwatate When the County Government of Taita Taveta identified potato as one of the high value crops for promotion in 2017, farmers’ access to affordable certified seed became a...

  • wanderaojanji
CGIAR Research Program on Livestock

Upgrading Tanzania’s dairy value chain to unlock its productivity potential

While one out of every 10 cows in Africa is located in Tanzania, the performance of the country’s dairy sector is far below its potential. Tanzania’s dairy contributes a mere 1.5% to the country’s GDP , while in neighboring Rwanda and Kenya, the sector contributes about 6% to each country’s GDP...

  • Catherine Njuguna
Africa RISING feed

Public and Private Partnerships improve smallholder farmer fortunes in Babati, Tanzania

Written by Michael Kinyua, Inot Songoyani and Prosper Massawe (Alliance Bioversity-CIAT) A farmer in Tanzania harvests maize. The beans which was intercropped with the maize will also be ready for harvest soon (photo credit: Georgina Smith/CIAT). Babati, a district in northern Tanzania, thrives on...

  • Africa RISING communications
CGIAR Research Program on Livestock

Improved tropical forages: A low-emissions livestock diet

In the soil just below the hooves of livestock live the Earth’s life support system—as plants decompose, trillions of bacteria, fungi and other soil microorganisms can either turn it into carbon or nitrogen that stays in the soil or into the world’s most powerful greenhouse gases. While there’s...

  • Michelle Kovacevic