Agriculture Global

06/11/2024 SOURCE: www.inrae.fr

Food security: discovery of a gene for immunity against a disease that ravages rice and wheat crops

The fungus Magnaporthe oryzae ravages rice and wheat crops and poses a formidable threat to human food on a global scale. Researchers from INRAE, CIRAD and the Université de Montpellier, together with the Hunan Hybrid Rice Research Centre (HHRRC) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have discovered a gene in rice for resistance to this pathogen, challenging the findings of a study that remained the reference for 25 years. Published in Nature Plants on 4 June, these results pave the way to new solutions to improve disease resistance in crops that are compatible with the development of sustainable agriculture.

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06/05/2024 SOURCE: www.unep.org

Enhancing Africa’s green economy through eco-geographical indication for coffee

In Uganda, the coffee sector plays a major role in the national economy. It is the main source of income for an estimated 1.7 million smallholder families and a major contributor to gross domestic product and export earnings. Arabica coffee farming is seen as a promising opportunity to enhance the economic prosperity of the region and support its social stability. At Mount Rwenzori, however, the sustainability of the coffee value chain is in doubt because producing coffee is not profitable enough to guarantee economic security and provide decent livelihoods. The Ugandan Government is therefore implementing an agriculture strategy aimed at increasing revenues from the crop, and supports extending the sector.  The National Union of Coffee Agribusiness and Farm Enterprises (NUCAFE) and Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD) are promoting the adoption of a holistic and dynamic marketing approach using a triple certification model that includes regional branding and fair trade and organic designations. They also propose to build on the farmer ownership model, where farmers are organized into cooperatives and associations. This enables farmers to take collective action and responsibility to comply with the triple certification criteria, add value, and market their coffee by touting its unique intrinsic quality characteristics directly to international specialty markets that reward coffee quality, organic and social equity labels, and terroir characteristics. This project aims to build capacity among participants in the Mount Rwenzori coffee value chain for enhanced performance and greater autonomy. It will also help position farmer associations, cooperatives and unions to access offtake markets in consumer countries so as to generate greater profits that will finance their development.

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