Impact Stories
Climate Change and Conflict in Chad - Using P3DM to secure peace
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, with support from CTA, facilitates participatory three-dimensional modelling (P3DM) events to help settle disputes over land and resource ownership between the local and indigenous communities in the district of Baïbokoum, Chad.
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Boosting pineapple cultivation in Cameroon
Mukete Estates Limited, an agri-food company in Cameroon, produces a range of products from cocoa to rubber, and more recently, with the help of an agricultural support programme, pineapples.
Read MoreAFDB approves $280m to support Nigerian youths in agriculture
The President of the African Development Bank (AFDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, says the $280 million approved by the bank would be used to encourage Nigerian youths to go into agro-business. Adesina, represented by Dr Chiji Ojukwu, a Director in AFDB, stated this on Tuesday in Ibadan at the African Youth Agripreneurs (AYA) Forum organised by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan.
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Jean Marie Kameni / Cameroon: Sound investment brings good returns
As a young man growing up in rural Cameroon, Jean Marie Kameni knew that his future lay in launching some form of agribusiness. But his plans lacked one basic ingredient – the technical knowledge to ensure that his crops thrived.
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Transforming smallholder farming through remote sensing
The STARS project explores ways to use remote sensing technology to improve agricultural practices of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia with the aim to advance their livelihoods. "STARS" stands for Spurring a Transformation for Agriculture through Remote Sensing.
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The challenge of comparing crop imagery over space and time
Imagery collected by drones can help agricultural experts identify the causes of low crop productivity. But the technology must be adapted to determine different crop varieties from multispectral images. And problems of image calibration must be resolved.
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News
European Development Days 2017: Inclusive trade in Africa
Supporting the realisation of Simplified Trade Regimes (STRs) is part of CTA’s activities in trade facilitation. To further this and other conversations, CTA is co-organising four events during this year’s European Development Days in Brussels. Promoting inclusive trade in Africa: Boosting cross border trade through simplified trade regimes [1] will take place on 7 June as part of the Sustainable Investment theme.
Read MoreFrom farm to TV: watch the stories of 14 African women entrepreneurs
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, CTA is pleased to showcase the work of young women involved in agribusiness. The stories narrated in these videos have been identified and elaborated by our partner Agribusiness TV. Happy International Women Day to all women involved in agriculture in ACP countries!
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Sowing innovation, harvesting prosperity: CTA's Strategic Plan 2016-2020
The world does not stand still, and neither does CTA. CTA's Strategic Plan 2016-2020 is a way-station on a road of continuous change that has seen CTA become a results-based organisation closely aligned with the priorities of the ACP countries it serves.
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Final recommendations and procedure for the finalisation of the road map
The Regional Forum on Cassava in Central Africa – Challenges and opportunities for smallholders ended on Friday 9 December 2016. Here are the Forum’s final recommendations as well as the description of the finalisation procedure for a road map.
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Building climate-resilient cereal and livestock farming in southern Africa
Climate change poses a critical challenge to cereal and livestock farmers in southern Africa. More frequent failure of the annual wet season to deliver adequate rain endangers the food security, nutrition and incomes of up to 6 million people in rural households. Drought this year has already led four southern African countries to declare national emergencies.
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Communiqués
10,000 smallholders to benefit in new Central African cassava project
The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA), together with the Regional Platform for Central African Producers Organisations (PROPAC) and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has launched this week in Kinshasa a new project to unlock the economic potential in cassava value chains in both DRC and Cameroon.
Read MoreCashing in on cassava - a strategic crop for Central Africa
Of all the crops grown in Central Africa, cassava has the strongest potential to increase food security, generate greater benefits for farmers from value addition and foster regional trade. A Regional Forum on Cassava in Central Africa - Challenges and opportunities for smallholders will examine how to develop a regional value chain that can tap into these opportunities, creating jobs and income for a large number of people.
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Opening Statement by Michael Hailu, Director of CTA
Opening statement delivered by Michael Hailu, Director of CTA, at the Blending4Ag conference, on Monday 7 November. The Blending4Ag conference is taking place in Brussels and is focusing on the strategic use of international and national development finance and philanthropic funds to mobilise private capital flows into agricultural value chains in developing countries.
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Opinion articles
Will young people be attracted to the agricultural sector if access to finance is made possible?
Will young people be attracted to the agricultural sector if access to finance is made possible? Will they be willing to involve themselves in agriculture? According to Mike Njau, the answer is yes.
Read MoreInterviews
It is essential to work with indigenous people on climate change adaptation
Ahead of COP24, taking place in Poland between 3–14 December, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change, explains why indigenous knowledge must be taken into consideration.
Read MoreFarmers need to organise
For Theo de Jager, president of the Pan-African Farmers’ Organization, mechanising agriculture in Africa calls for farmers, especially women, to join together and organise in cooperatives, to be able to access modern equipment.
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Farms could become the offices of the future
Interview with Michael Oluwagbemi, co-founder and executive partner at LoftyInc Allied Partners and operator of the Wennovation Hub based in Lagos, Nigeria.
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A voice for women farmers
A farmer herself, Elisabeth Atangana is passionate about the need for effective associations to give a voice to producers and the importance of acknowledging women’s contribution to agriculture. She has been instrumental in shaping the farmers’ movement in her native Cameroon, as well as at regional and continental levels.
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Reviews
New directions for targeted outcomes
While reflecting on its 30-year history during its anniversary year in 2014, CTA was also busy making plans for the future. CTA's goal is to contribute to enhanced agricultural and rural development policies and inclusive value chains that promote food and nutrition security, prosperity and sustainable management of natural resources across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP).
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Making Agriculture Cool
At every conference she has attended on the youth, Nawsheen Hosenally has been frustrated to hear that agriculture is not ‘cool’. The 29-year-old graduate in agricultural extension and information systems knew she wanted to do something to redeem the image of agriculture among young people.
Read MoreTechnical and scientific articles
Climate-proofing communities in Mozambique and Rwanda
In drought and flood-prone communities in Mozambique and Rwanda, low carbon initiatives are introducing renewable solar-powered irrigation systems to reduce the use of fossil fuels and increase climate resilience.
Read MoreMultilateralism – The way forward for African agriculture
Secretary general for the Inter-African Coffee Organization (IACO) for 13 years, Josefa Sacko was elected as the African Union (AU) Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture in January 2017.
Read MorePepper certification secures farmer incomes in Cameroon
A geographical indication label for a unique variety of pepper in Cameroon is improving the incomes of local farmers and ensuring the long-term future of the product. Recognition of the pepper’s quality and economic importance means it is one of only three African commodities with such a label.
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A smart farming approach to agriculture
Precision agriculture promises better returns to investment and improved livelihoods for farmers around the world. One of the biggest changes in agriculture in our lifetimes, it is spreading to developing countries, where smart farming technologies, including data collected from satellites and drones, are set to fine tune the way farmers grow their crops.
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Gender and open data: Is there an app for that?
Wouldn’t it be handy if you could just switch on that app and see the agricultural (or any other) sector through a gender lens? And what if everyone else also working in the agricultural sector just magically started to use it? Would it make us do things differently, collect different data, push for the release and visualisation of other types of datasets, or would we make sure the data were more equally accessed and used?
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Background articles
Boosting cross-border trade through simplified trade regimes
One of the many challenges that Africa faces in expanding its own regional trade is the application of poor trade facilitation measures, including uncoordinated border management practices. These, unfortunately, contribute to Africa’s low intra-trade levels and cross-border trade.
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Technology takes on illegal fishing
Satellite mapping technology is being used to identify illicit fishing practices and help enforce tighter regulations to protect global fish stocks. Global Fishing Watch is a free online platform which allows people to track the movements of fishing vessels and detect any suspicious activity.
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An entrepreneurial approach to dairy transformation
The Tadu Dairy Cooperative business model supports traditional women dairy farmers in Cameroon, and provides not only milk but processed dairy products. Increased milk production has not only helped to reduce imports of dairy products but has led to the establishment of many new shops selling feed for cattle.
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