Using the SourceTrace digital platform to support farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic

sourcetrace.com Update from the drought-tolerant crops component of the AVCD program Despite minimal field visits during this period of the COVID-19-related restrictions, the Accelerated Value Chain Development (AVCD) program staff and management are working with extension officers and lead farmers...

Keeping safe while staying food secure in Kenya

Shadrack Juma, ward agricultural officer in Werugha Ward, Taita Taveta County, demonstrating how to do proper (second) hilling to host farmer and community health volunteers. Notice the use of masks and social distancing (photo credit: AVCD). Update from the potato component of the AVCD program In...

Promoting better agricultural practices of drought-tolerant crops in farming communities

Makueni Ventures chairman, John Ndiso in the farm in Emali, Makueni County. Photo Credit AVCD/Muthoni Njiru Makueni Agribusiness Ventures is a 10-member farmer group that participated in an AVCD funded good agricultural practices (GAPs) and modern farming training lead by ICRISAT. The group has a...

ILRI develops a feed constraint decision-making tool, G-FEAST

A workshop in Dehra Dun, India, to develop a tool for feed technology screening and prioritization (photo credit: ILRI/Peter Ballantyne). Seven years ago, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) developed a decision-making...

An ILRI developed feed constraint decision making tool, FEAST, applies gender awareness

A workshop in Dehra Dun, India, to develop a tool for feed technology screening and prioritization (photo credit: ILRI/Peter Ballantyne). Seven years ago, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) developed a decision-making...

ILRI develops a feed constraint decision making tool, G-FEAST

A workshop in Dehra Dun, India, to develop a tool for feed technology screening and prioritization (photo credit: ILRI/Peter Ballantyne). Seven years ago, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) developed a decision-making...

Buffelgrass: a drought-tolerant bunchgrass

Buffelgrass growing in a field trial in Bishoftu, Ethiopia (photo credit: Ricardo Sanchez Gutierrez/Ethiopia). Buffelgrass ( Cenchrus ciliaris L.) is a bunchgrass that grows in clumps, it can transform deserts into grasslands. It is one of the most popular forage species and is extensively grown...

The business in seed potato: New technology spurs hope for better incomes

The Feed the Future Kenya Accelerated Value Chain Development (AVCD) program implemented by a consortium of CGIAR centers, sought to harness the technologies and innovations within the research system ‘to sustainably reduce poverty and hunger in Kenya with the objective of increasing inclusive...

‘High-yield’ farming costs the environment less than previously thought—and could help spare habitats

‘Breed More Dairy Cows’ poster from Vietnam. ‘New findings suggest that more intensive agriculture might be the “least bad” option for feeding the world while saving its species—provided use of such “land-efficient” systems prevents further conversion of wilderness to farmland. Our results suggest...

Better incomes and health through orange-fleshed sweetpotato in Kenya