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 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.