FAO/Ivo Balderi

After spraying - safe disposal methods

What should a farmer do with empty pesticide containers or left-over spray, once spraying is finished? Agronomist Tuesday Mboyonga gives advice to ensure that neither people nor the environment are at risk of contamination. He also explains why left-over spray solution should not be kept for the next time the farmer needs to spray.

published: January 2011

Caroline Irby/Water Aid

Human manure boosts crop yields

Poor sanitation is a major cause of illness in urban slum areas. Managing human waste in these densely populated areas with few facilities is very difficult. One solution that has now been adopted in several African countries is the use of Ecosan toilets. Unlike pit latrines, the toilets are designed to separate solid waste and liquid urine, allowing both to be separately collected and used as a safe form of fertiliser in farmers' fields. Overcoming taboos about human waste is very challenging, but environmental scientist Precious Chabvuta is committed to promoting 'humanure', to improve sanitation and crop production in some of Malawi's poorest communities.

published: January 2011

IITA

Breeding resistance to cassava mosaic virus

East African cassava mosaic virus has caused enormous losses to cassava farmers, and is becoming a significant concern to farmers across the continent, including in West and Central African countries. In Cameroon, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has developed several varieties of cassava that can resist the virus, but a major challenge lies in multiplying these varieties in sufficient quantities. Working closely with farmers, the Institute has set up a multiplication system, and local entrepreneurs have also started growing the virus-resistant planting material as a business. Rachid Hanna, IITA country representative in Cameroon, explains more about the fight against the virus to Martha Chindong.

published: November 2010

RIU

Group storage to earn more from maize

Maize farmers are often forced by poverty to sell their crop when prices are lowest. But in Rwanda, a group of 60 farmers are among the first to benefit from a system called warrantage which is enabling them to earn double the normal price paid by traders at harvest time. Under the system, farmers deposit their maize in a group storage shed and can receive 60 per cent of the value of their stored crop as a low-interest loan. The group, in partnership with a local bank, then sells the maize when prices are high, greatly increasing farmers' profits while also giving them access to credit at the point in the season when they most need it. Eric Kadenge reports on this initiative, which has now spread to several thousand farmers in Rwanda's Eastern Province.

published: November 2010

Karen Homer/AWARD

Preserving fruit for year-round vitamins

Victoria Ndolo, a home economics lecturer at the University of Malawi, also works with groups of women to support them in fruit preservation. She teaches simple methods to process fruit - for example, juice and jam making - that can be practised in rural areas without the need for expensive equipment. This enables the women to earn income and improve their families' diets. Victoria is a fellow of the AWARD programme - African Women in Agricultural Research and Development - which offers mentoring and support to promising female scientists in Africa. She talks to Excello Zidana.

published: October 2010

FAO/A.Odoul

Rwandans join forces to protect their land

In Rwanda, the last Saturday of every month is the time for Umuganda - working together for the country. From 7am till noon people are expected to take part in communal activities, including environmental protection. Pius Sawa goes to see work being done to tackle soil erosion on one of Rwanda's many hills. He speaks to an environmental club member from the local girls' school and to the Minister for Land and the Environment, about some of the steps Rwanda is taking to protect its land from threats such as climate change and plastic litter.

published: September 2010

WRENmedia

Official approval for East Coast fever vaccine

A vaccine against East Coast fever - a disease which kills over 1 million cattle every year - has recently been officially registered in Tanzania, Kenya and Malawi, with Uganda also close to completing registration. This opens the way for private sector companies to take on vaccination delivery as a profit-making business. But how much interest is there among private investors in the region, and what will be needed to bring about their investment and involvement? Pius Sawa gathers views from senior politicians and policymakers in the region, and from a senior director of GALVmed, the organisation that has driven the registration process.

published: September 2010

FAO/L.Lizzi

Uganda's new centre of coffee excellence

Uganda is to host a new research centre for Robusta coffee. The World Robusta Coffee Centre of Excellence will house research facilities for all aspects of coffee production and processing. Dr Africano Kangire of Uganda's Coffee Research Institute explains how the centre will be a valuable store for coffee germplasm - including wild varieties of coffee that can be used by breeders to strengthen commercially grown coffee against threats, such as pests, diseases and climate change. But he also urges policymakers to improve current regulations over exchange of germplasm between different countries, in order to support coffee research and breeding.

published: September 2010

FAO/Giulio Napolitano

Canned foods from African farms

Midge Drakes, managing director of the Freshpikt canning factory in Lusaka, which sources 80% of its produce from small-scale farmers, explains the steps now being taken to further increase the productivity of these suppliers. This year, Freshpikt has introduced an outgrower scheme, in partnership with several banks and suppliers of farm inputs, so that farmers can access the finance and the chemicals, seeds and fertilisers that they need to supply good quality produce for processing. With ambitious plans for expansion, Drakes is hopeful that Zambian growers can find a significant market, and help to reduce the amount of processed foods that are imported from abroad.

published: August 2010

ICRISAT/Peterson Githaiga

Quick maturing crops for shorter rains

In southern Malawi, farmers growing pigeonpea have traditionally grown plants that take around nine months from planting to harvesting. But with rainfall becoming less reliable, crop failures are becoming more common. In response, crop breeders at the Chitedze Research Station have developed a medium duration variety of pigeonpea which can be harvested in five to six months. The variety is also suitable for other countries in the region such as Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique. Geoffrey Kananji, a senior crop breeder, explains more to George Kalungwe.

published: July 2010