A smart revolution: World Congress in Asia

by Georgina Smith | Jan 13, 2016

If you’re on a diet in 2016, restricting your carb intake might be on your list of New Year’s resolutions. But around the world, demand is on the rise for starch and other forms of carbohydrate, as incomes rise and consumer preferences change. It might seem strange...

Global research centers unite for bigger impact

by Georgina Smith | Dec 18, 2015

A major national consultation took place in Hanoi, Vietnam this week, to unite key players in agricultural research and define a collaborative road-map to deliver impact. The meeting comes during a crucial phase in CGIAR restructuring, as a second phase of Center...

What’s in your noodle soup?

by Georgina Smith | Dec 9, 2015

You may never have heard of it before. A globetrotting crop by all accounts, it’s thought to have been introduced into Southeast Asia in the Philippines from Mexico in the 19th Century. As our diet becomes ever more complex, cassava – or tapioca – a...

Not so dirt cheap

by Georgina Smith | Dec 7, 2015

The coffee on your desk might never have arrived this morning. Deforestation rates in Ethiopia – one of the world’s top coffee exporters – are so high, records show, that forest is slashed from 40 to less than 3 percent of the country. As well as surviving...

Southeast Asia’s best cassava breeders form network

by Georgina Smith | Oct 19, 2015

A network of Southeast Asia’s cassava breeders, who have achieved some of the best progress in breeding history worldwide, met in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 9th and 10th to discuss research milestones and next steps. Around two million hectares of cassava are planted...