Agricultural Research & Development North Africa

Business

Africa goes green and digital with a consortium of 30 agritech entrepreneurs

Compared to other industries, agriculture has been slow to adopt the leading edge of technologies from the Digital Revolution. The time has come for Africa to experience its own Green Revolution thanks to better access to financing information and technology...

By Aïda El Kohen and Hamza Rkha Chaham 17 Jul 2018

Nigeria's Farmcrowdy wins Digital Business of the Year Award

Nigerian agri-tech startup Farmcrowdy has won the African Digital Business of the Year Award for its solution that makes farms available for sponsorship...

By Tom Jackson 17 Jul 2018

Beninese, Nigerian startups selected for Food Connection Challenge

In all, the Food Connection Challenge received 88 applications from Benin and 228 from Nigeria, with an independent jury selecting those SMEs they considered the most promising and the best fit for the programme.

By Tom Jackson 2 Jul 2018

Why it's time to curb widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides

Planting season for corn and soybeans across the U.S. corn belt is drawing to a close. As they plant, farmers are participating in what is likely to be one of the largest deployments of insecticides in United States history.

By John F. Tooker 28 Jun 2018

Helping plants remove natural toxins could boost crop yields by 47%

Can you imagine the entire population of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom and France going hungry? You don't need to imagine. That is exactly what happens every day when an estimated 815 million people around the globe go hungry...

By Paul South 27 Jun 2018

Key insights into the global lemon market

The global lemon market totalled $13.9bn in 2016, which was 19% more in 2015. This according to the World: Lemons and Limes - Market Report. Analysis and Forecast to 2025, released by IndexBox.

22 Jun 2018

Repositioning family farming in global agriculture

The UN has officially declared 2019 to 2028 as the decade of family farming - aiming to reposition family farming at the centre of agricultural, environmental and social policies in the national agendas by identifying gaps and opportunities to promote a shift towards a more equal and balanced development...

By Ntswaki Motaung 14 Jun 2018

Climate change will make rice less nutritious, putting millions of the world's poor at risk

Current understanding of plant physiology suggests that major cereal crops - particularly rice and wheat - respond to higher CO2 concentrations by synthesising more carbohydrates (starches and sugars) and less protein, and by reducing the quantity of minerals in their grains...

By Kristie Ebi 13 Jun 2018

FAO's how-to guide to transforming food and agriculture

FAO's set of 20 interconnected actions offers a practical guide for countries on how to strengthen food security, generate decent employment, spur rural development and economic growth, conserve natural resources and respond to climate change...

8 Jun 2018

New app uLima will optimise the farming potential of Africa

The uLima mobile platform provides farmers across Africa with access to a toolset, database and the latest market information with information on crops, seed, soil, livestock, agri-chemicals, weather updates and market prices, all at their fingertips...

1 Jun 2018

Mainstreaming biodiversity crucial for securing global food security

Together with healthy agricultural ecosystems, biodiversity provides the ecological foundations for food production, which play a critical role in humankind...

31 May 2018

From camels to catfish, Algeria boosts fish farming in the Sahara Desert

Farming fish in the desert might sound counterintuitive but Algeria hopes to tap the huge aquifers beneath the Sahara - that covers about 80% of the country - as it seeks new ways to feed its growing population and diversify its oil-based economy...

By Thin Lei Win 24 May 2018

These CRISPR-modified crops don't count as GMOs

Powerful genetically modified plant technologies can quickly yield new plant varieties, but their adoption has been controversial. But now a new genome-editing technology known as CRISPR may offer a good alternative...

By Yi Li 23 May 2018

Toward sustainable ammonia production

Ammonia is a critical ingredient in agricultural fertilisers. With a growing world population, escalating demand for food and energy and the looming perils of fossil fuel induced climate change, there is an urgent need to make ammonia synthesis more sustainable by using renewable energy sources...

By Xiaofeng Feng 22 May 2018

Research & Development North Africa