RELATED News & Blogs
Using real-time satellite data to track water productivity in agriculture
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently launched the Water Productivity Open Access Portal (WaPOR) to monitor and report on agriculture water productivity over Africa and the Near East. The tool has gone live, tapping satellite data to help farmers achieve reliable agricultural yields and optimized irrigation systems. Additionally, productivity databases and underlying map layers can […] Continue Reading
The carbon trade off
“We’re at the forefront of understanding how we can make the most of soils to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” said Rolf Sommer, principal soil scientist. Research shows that, small farms emit higher quantities of Green House Gas emissions(GHG) per calorie of food produced compared with larger ones this is because tilling the soil […] Continue Reading
African farmers turn to climate-smart agriculture
Integrating trees, crops and livestock into farming systems translates to drought resilient, productive and sustainable systems. This innovation has drawn the attention of farmers, cultivating new trees in their farms for the purpose of providing fodder, fuel, food as well as other domestic needs. With ample training on these technologies and support from relevant institutions, […] Continue Reading
Regreening Africa could help stem the tide of migration
European Union leaders have been wrestling in recent weeks with the surge of the “boat people,” tens of thousands of refugees from Africa and the Middle East crossing the Mediterranean in overloaded boats in the hopes of finding a better life. Many of these migrants died during the journey. Refugees like the boat people are […] Continue Reading
Fertiliser trees restore impoverished land
In the Sahel, Acacia albida used to be the best known tree for restoring and enriching agricultural lands, by increasing the soil’s organic matter, nitrogen content and water holding capacity, as well as promoting valuable microbiological activity. But more than ten years ago, farmers discovered new fertiliser tree species to combat soil impoverishment. In Burkina […] Continue Reading
Burkina Faso takes action to limit forest loss
TIOGO, Burkina Faso (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – While visiting a portion of the Tiogo forest in the center west of Burkina Faso recently, Louis Ouédraogo couldn’t hide his wrath. Someone had entered the forest and cut down the two hectares worth of trees to plant millet as the rainy season approached. Read more… Continue Reading