The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in collaboration with Catholic Relief Services (CSR) with support from the Sustainable Food Lab (SFL) is conducting a baseline assessment on the level of coffee and vanilla diversification among smallholder farmers in…
Problem/challenge Coffee is a tree crop, which requires good management throughout its growth cycles. Farmers are trained continuously in good agricultural practices to improve coffee productivity. The training offered to farmers introduces a “basket of practices” and climate smart…
Banana breeders have joined in the efforts to address vitamin A deficiency in developing countries through developing improved banana varieties with enhanced vitamin A, a process known as biofortification. Biofortification improves the nutritional quality of key staples by deliberately…
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) started a breeding program for the East Africa Highland Bananas (EAHB) in the mid 1990s that has delivered exciting results including the first-ever hybrids, dubbed…
It is estimated that over 30 million people in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) depend on East Africa highland cooking bananas (EAHB) and plantain as their principal source of dietary carbohydrates. These include Matooke and in the East and Central Africa…
“This is a rice growing field. In between the rice growing seasons, farmers often grow legumes but due to the limited rainfall they do not do well. Therefore, under this project we are introducing new drought resistant and early…
Arriving in Lushoto through its steep winding road has always brought an interesting feeling. As you climb from the valley in Mombo, one observes that farmers are growing a number of crops in the valleys and between the hills,…
Hi pests and diseases, it’s your nasty cousin Fusarium. I’ve got an update for you from banana fields and scientists’ labs in Arusha, Tanzania. Its rather mixed news, I am afraid, as the humans seem to be making some…