Farmers in Cameroon struggling with the effects of prolonged drought are finding relief through a government-supported initiative to give them access to better crop seeds.
A plague of fall army-worm that has spread to all the country's provinces has infested nearly 150 000 hectares posing a serious threat to the country's major staple food crop -- maize, preliminary
Fall armyworm,Spodoptera frugiperda(J E Smith), an economically important pest native to tropical and sub-tropical America has recently invaded Africa, causing substantial damage to maize and other crops. We eval-uated functionality of a companion cropping system,‘climate-adapted push-pull’, developed for control of cereals
India has among the highest lost years of life from micronutrient deficiencies. We investigate what dietary shifts would eliminate protein, iron, zinc and Vitamin A deficiencies within households’ food budgets and whether these shifts would be compatible with mitigating climate change. This analysis uses the National Sample Survey (2011–12) of consumption expenditure to calculate calorie, protein and the above micronutrient intake deficiencies and relate them to diets, income and location.
Traditional yellow maize though contains high kernel carotenoids, the concentration of provitamin A (proA) is quite low (<2 μg/g), compared to recommended level (15 μg/g). It also possesses poor endosperm protein quality due to low concentration of lysine and tryptophan. Natural variant of crtRB1 (β-carotene hydroxylase) and lcyE (lycopene-ε-cyclase) cause significant enhancement of proA concentration, while recessive allele, opaque2 (o2) enhances the level of these amino acids.
Pune: The recent, untimely rain and hail has not just destroyed crops but is causing an attack of various pests and diseases on the state’s rabi harvest.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in co-ordination with the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) and their respective implementing partners
Shang’ombo District Commissioner Captain Lawrence Nyambe has disclosed that the district in Western Province is likely to be affected by hunger this year due to poor rains experienced in the distri
