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CIAT receives international science and technology cooperation award from Hainan, China
The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), a part of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and other scientific and technical organizations were honored by the Provincial government of Hainan, China, in September 2020. The International Science and Technology Cooperation Award of Hainan Province recognizes CIAT’s…
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Cooperatives in Agriculture have solutions for Climate Change
Today, Kees Blokland, General Manager of Agriterra, and Juan Lucas Restrepo, Director General of The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, signed a Memorandum of Understanding online to join forces.
Agriculture stands at the crossroads: it has to produce more food for a growing world population, secure…
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Alliance joins network to monitor COVID-19 virus evolution in Colombia
Sean Mattson
The underlying technology used to track the evolution of plant viruses can help track human viruses as well.
In 2016 cassava crops in Southeast Asia started faltering due to an unknown culprit. Farmers expecting to harvest the plant’s usually large roots were uncovering mere…
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How to facilitate for inclusion: 14 tips from knowledge sharing experts
As part of its commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, on International Women’s Day (8 March), CGIAR launched its Panel Pledge.
What is the Panel Pledge? The Panel Pledge is a global drive to improve the representation of women and other under-represented groups on scientific and policy…
publication
Molecular and cytological characterization of the global Musa germplasm collection provides insights into the treasure of banana diversity
Bioversity International (Bioversity International)
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/78483
Abstract
Bananas (Musa spp.) are one of the main fruit crops grown worldwide. With the annual production reaching 144 million tons, their production represents an important contribution to the economies of many countries in Asia, Africa, Latin-America and Pacific Islands. Most importantly,…
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Food system sustainability indexes– are we comparing apples and oranges?
How we conceptualize and measure food system sustainability holds high stakes. On November 26, the One Planet Sustainable Food System Event will assess three prominent food system sustainability indexes.
Everyone is familiar with Peter Drucker’s adage “You can’t manage what you can’t measure”. Well, that…
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Genebank joins network to boost conservation and use of agrobiodiversity
Future Seeds is the Latin American hub of international initiative to mobilize crop diversity conserved in genebanks using a suite of cutting-edge technologies.
Future Seeds, the Colombia-based genebank of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, is a member of the DivSeek International…
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Agrobiodiversity is needed to sustain Human Health, now more than ever
Joining a digital conversation series hosted by research company HowGood, the Alliance weighs in on how efforts to protect agricultural biodiversity can also improve our wellbeing.
COVID-19 has delivered a harsh reminder that our wellbeing and environment are profoundly connected. Food productions is the…
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Women making great strides in ensuring food security in Burundi
Eileen Bogweh Nchanji
African women provide critical agricultural labour, yet persistent and systematic gender disparities exist. The inequalities stem from disproportionate ownership and control of productive resources and gender roles that undermine women’s decision-making power in agriculture.…
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Upscaling Climate Smart and Nutrition Sensitive Beans and Finger Millet in Uganda
Gloria Otieno
In East Africa, climate change and variability has increasingly aggravated the challenges associated with agricultural livelihoods, making farmers to struggle with food insecurity and loss of agricultural biodiversity. In the past 10 years, farmers in Hoima continued to experience erratic rainfall, increased incidences…
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In her words: one woman fighting COVID-19 in Nairobi
This International Women’s Day, we spoke with Elizabeth Nduta Njeri, a community health volunteer supporting the COVID response in Nairobi, to recognize ‘Women in leadership: achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world’.
Approximately 2.5 million people live in densely packed urban areas across Nairobi, where they are…
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Bringing better seeds to indigenous farmers in Vietnam’s Northern highlands
How can increased access to, and use of, high-quality seed translate into enhanced nutrition and income security for ethnic minority communities? A new research project in Vietnam’s Northern highlands aims to answer that question.
“When buying vegetable seeds from local seed shops, I cannot tell the…
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How grass translates to cash in Western Kenya
Every morning, Nelly Adhiambo wakes up just as dawn is breaking to feed her five cows and 30 chickens. Work on the farm starts early. She checks on her bananas, potatoes and maize which she grows on her plot to sell at the market for an income, and – in a surprising shift from what most farmers would consider growing on precious land – she checks her grass…
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Webinars: ¿Cómo diseñar intervenciones en agricultura?
El Proyecto “Sistemas productivos sostenibles agrícolas y pecuarios para alcanzar simultáneamente conservación de bosques para la mitigación del cambio climático (REDD+) y construcción de la paz en Colombia” – SLUS – tiene el gusto de extender esta invitación al ciclo de webinars en;“¿Cómo diseñar intervenciones en agricultura para reducir la deforestación y alcanzar la paz en…
publication
Lessons learned from the virus indexing of Musa germplasm: insights from a multiyear collaboration
Bioversity International (Bioversity International)
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/89609
Abstract
The Bioversity International Transit Center (ITC) for banana hosts more than 1500 accessions largely covering the genetic diversity of the genus Musa. Its objective is to conserve this genetic diversity and to supply plant materials to users worldwide. All the Musa accessions must be tested for virus presence and, if…
