The project ‘Détection précoce et Réponse rapide: Maladie du balai de sorcière du Manioc’ (DECODE) is gathering urgently needed data on the distribution and impact of the Cassava Witches’ Broom disease (CWBD), an emerging disease in French Guiana as well as Brazil, and evaluating the risk for other high value crops (such as cocoa a,d cupuaçu); this project will provide the basis for a coordinated response by the Direction Générale de l’Alimentation, in conjunction with operators, researchers, farmers and local authorities, to implement effective containment, management and control strategies in French Guiana.
The project ‘Harnessing Appropriate-scale Farm mechanization In Zimbabwe’ (HAFIZ) aims to support investments by the Government and by the private sector in appropriate-scale farm mechanization in Zimbabwe, particularly around mechanized Pfumvudza, and transfer learnings to South Africa; the overall goal of the project is to improve access to mechanization and reduce labor drudgery whilst stimulating the adoption of climate-smart/sustainable intensification technologies (which tends to increase labor demand in a context of low mechanization).
The Republic of Congo envisions to diversify its economy by developing environmentally friendly farming, to contribute to food self-sufficiency and to improve the living standards of the population. Fulfilling this objective requires guidance for the spatial allocation of agricultural activities, conservation areas and infrastructures, in order to minimize trade-offs between productivity, economic profitability, biodiversity conservation, and other sectors of activity such as mining, forestry, while acknowledging the economic development goal of Congo, requiring new roads, industries transformation, and social infrastructure; funded by the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), the ‘Programme d’Utilisation Durable des Terres’ (2022-2026) aims at establishing a land-use plan at national and department levels, sustainably managing forests, delineating the agricultural domains and guiding the implementation of zero-deforestation farming, and supplying Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire in sustainable energies.
The Driving agroecological transitions in the humid tropics of Central and Eastern Africa through traNsdisciplinary Agroecology Living LabS (CANALLS) project, funded by the European Union (2022-2026), aims at driving agroecological transitions in the humid tropics of Central and Eastern Africa via 8 ‘Agroecology Living Labs’ located in DRC, Burundi, Cameroon and Rwanda; CANALLS engage in multi-actor collaboration with rural communities, advisory services and governments to develop a holistic assessment framework and evaluate the socio-economic and environmental performance of the co-created practices; the project also builds capacity, shares knowledge, and delivers fair, inclusive and sustainable business models along with services and tools to facilitate access to markets and enhance demand for agroecological products.
Agroecology is an approach to food production that harnesses nature’s goods and services whilst minimizing adverse environmental impacts, and improves farmer-consumer connectivity, knowledge co-creation and inclusive relationships among food system actors; it is gaining prominence in scientific, agricultural and political discourse.
With an estimated 15% of all agricultural soils in Africa being affected, soil acidity is a major constraint to (current and future) crop production on the continent. As a response, several governments in East Africa - including Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda - have initiated strategic plans toward substantial public investments for the rehabilitation of acid soils.
The objectives of the project ‘Addressing malnutrition with biofortified maize in Zimbabwe; from crop management to policy and consumers’ are to evaluate the new pro-vitamin A (PVA) lines in Zimbabwe under different agronomic practices to gain knowledge on the combination of bio + agronomic fortification, to determine the actual nutrient content of the new PVA lines in farmers' fields with different fertility status, and to predict the dietary mineral supply at regional level with and without bio + agronomic fortification.
The objective of the ‘LIvestock Production System’ (LIPS) project is to improve productivity and climate relevance of livestock-based production systems in Zimbabwe’s agro-ecological regions IV and V through increased adoption of climate relevant innovations in livestock-based production systems, and increased capacity to implement surveillance and control of productivity diseases.
The ‘Sustainable Intensification of Smallholder Farming Systems’ (SIFAZ) project aims at sustainably intensifying current smallholder farming systems affected by soil degradation, fertility decline and climate change with improved technologies and scaling approaches to increase productivity, income and facilitate commercial orientation of smallholder farmers while maintaining environmental resilience of the natural resource base for sustainable production in the targeted production systems.
The goal of the project ‘Validating Agro-ecological Control Options for Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith) in Zimbabwe’ is to reduce the negative impact of fall armyworm on food security and livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe, by giving them more control options, based on the principles of agro-ecological management.