Agrobiodiversity
To improve nutrition for the poorest consumers, try a market-based approach
Uganda’s newest health food craze began in the slums of Kampala. It started when a handful of women tried an unusual porridge, which is made from five grains grown in nearby hillsides, instead of their normal porridge, which is typically made from a single main ingredient like maize. Soon they began selling the new product door-to-door. Nutreal Limited, the local company that produces the porridge flour is now rushing to keep pace with demand.
Future Seeds: opening the science of crop conservation to the world
As part of our activities to support SDG 2.5, we began construction of new genebank late last year. Once completed, Future Seeds, as we call it, will greatly increase our capacity to safeguard threatened crop varieties. It will also give our scientists the modern facility they need to study the full extent of the crops we’ve already conserved. The current facility is just not up to it any more.
Social Progress Index applied in the Sustainable Territories Program
The Social Progress Index (SPI) is a comprehensive measure of the well-being of a society, which aims to support decision-makers in identifying development priorities to generate plans and projects in pockets of high social and environmental vulnerability. The index is based on social and environmental indicators, such as wellness (health, shelter, and sanitation), equality, inclusion, sustainability, and personal freedom and safety.
Does Brachiaria stand a chance in smallholder dairy dominated by productive Napier grass in eastern Africa?
Smallholder dairy farming continues to thrive in rural and peri-urban households in East Africa. Thanks to the tangible wins, farmers have derived over time milk, manure, and financial income, among other benefits. However, feeding the animals is akin to Napier grass, courtesy for its high biomass production and withstanding frequent cutting.
CIAT will participate in Proficiency Tests from the National Metrology Institute
The Analytical Services Laboratory (LSA, its Spanish initials), which is part of the Agroecosystems and Sustainable Landscapes (ASL) area at CIAT, was listed as eligible for funding to participate in Proficiency Tests carried out by the Colombian National Metrology Institute (INM).
CIAT and Partners Pursue Mitigation Actions for Colombian Livestock Production
CIAT held a workshop as part of the work on livestock production and environment funded by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), to reinforce knowledge on Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) on the livestock sector in Colombia, which includes silvopastoral systems.
Building the autonomy of Quilombola communities in Brazil
CIAT, along with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and local implementing partner the Amazon Conservation Team (ECAM), is contributing to the collective establishment of the Quilombola Fund. A fund conceived following a commitment by the mining company Mineraçӑo Rio Norte, whose activities take place in the Quilombola territory, to actively engage in compensation mechanisms for local communities.
The champion who evaluates and maps soils to grow cacao
Since June, 2018, Mayesse Da Silva, Soil Scientist at CIAT, has been working with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and USDA-FAS on the characterization and detailed mapping of cacao soils in Colombia under the “Cacao for Peace (CfP)” program.
Artificial intelligence helps banana growers protect the world’s most favorite fruit
Using artificial intelligence, scientists created an easy-to-use tool to detect banana diseases and pests. With an average 90 percent success rate in detecting a pest or a disease, the tool can help farmers avoid millions of dollars in losses.
Heat-tolerant wild beans tapped to breed commercial beans for hotter climates
Using the genetic traits of a wild bean species, CIAT and the Crop Trust are breeding heat-tolerant common beans to benefit farmers in Latin America and Africa
About agrobiodiversity research at CIAT
CIAT develops more resilient and productive varieties of cassava and common bean, together with tropical forages for livestock. We also help improve rice production in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The superior crop varieties that result from our collaborative work offer many valuable traits, such as high yield and stress tolerance, which are vital for guaranteeing global food supplies in the face of rapidly rising demand, shifting disease and insect pressures, rampant environmental degradation, and the looming threat of climate change.
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This CIAT Blog was launched in January 2016. For articles related to agrobiodiversity prior to this date, visit our former blog. Please note the old AgBio blog is no longer updated.