In Ghana’s cocoa industry, a strong push to make farms ‘climate-smart’

by Maria Eliza Villarino | Oct 9, 2017

A cacao pod. Photo by: Neil Palmer / CIAT A consortium involving the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the Rainforest Alliance, Root Capital, and the Sustainable Food Lab is gaining ground...

During peacetime, a sound strategy for saving Colombian forests? A new study points to collective land titling

by Maria Eliza Villarino | Oct 5, 2017

A field trip to Reserva Natural El Hatico, familia Molina Durán, near Palmira, Colombia, to take carbon measurements in an area of tropical forest, as part of a CIAT-hosted workshop on REDD+. Photo: Neil Palmer / CIAT A recent tweet by the Colombian government’s...

Multi-stakeholder efforts blend into one national coffee and climate change strategy in Vietnam

by Madelline Romero | Sep 29, 2017

Photo by Nguyen Duy Nhiem/CIAT Representatives from both public and private sectors lament that water-related challenges, including those that later affect the quality of coffee, are the biggest threats to Vietnam’s coffee industry, which fulfils approximately 40...

CIAT and ICAR expand partnership addressing challenges to South Asian agriculture

by Madelline Romero | Sep 29, 2017

Photo by Neil Palmer/CIAT The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have signed a three-year work plan, kicking off an expanded set of research and capacity building activities between the two...

Drought, pests and disease on the rise hit harvests in Zimbabwe

by Enid Katungi | Sep 29, 2017

For the past two decades, the Pan-Africa Bean Research alliance (PABRA), has stepped-up efforts in Zimbabwe to help farmers boost their bean production as a pathway to reducing poverty. This is done with the support of the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development...

New, improved bean varieties enhance food security and diet diversity in Malawi

by Enid Katungi | Sep 29, 2017

Our recent study, conducted to evaluate the performance of PABRA over the last two decades, shows remarkable achievements in terms of productivity and the number of people using improved bean varieties. Varietal output, proportion of households using the improved bean...