crop improvement

This report elaborates on the impact of agricultural taxes and subsidies on crop yields in Africa. The key finding presented is that both taxes and subsidies wield a negative influence on crop yields. Clearly, levying taxes and subsidies have their merit, for raising public finances and providing rural income support respectively, but neither leads to a more intensified agriculture. »

This research on the Royal Society shows how the origins of food plants has led to the recognition that specific geographical regions around the world have been of particular importance to the development of agricultural crops. Yet the relative contributions of these different regions in the context of current food systems have not been quantified. The authors determine the origins (‘primary regions of diversity’) of the crops comprising the food supplies and agricultural production of countries world. »

This article elaborates on the importance of informal seed markets for African family farmers. Using a comprehensive data set with 9660 observations across six countries and covering 40 crops, the authors show that farmers access 90.2 % of their seed from informal systems with 50.9 % of that deriving from local markets. However, current investments are mostly geared towards formal markets instead of informal ones, while the informal sector remains the core for seed acquisition in Africa. »

This movie on SciDevNet shows how improved seed varieties in Timor-Leste have contributed to improved food security. The movie documents the advances of the project Seeds of Life, which is designed to improve food security through helping farmers produce and distribute improved seed varieties. The farmers can use the seeds themselves but also sell the seeds for profit. Improved seed varieties can improve climate resilience. »

This document (PDF) by CIAT/CGAIR, reports findings from research conducted over the last year on heat tolerance in selected bean lines and show their potential for adapting bean production in Africa and Latin America to future climate change impacts. The paper highlights that high temperatures will become limiting for common bean, especially Latin America is »