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Oxitec has begun taking its “Friendly” technology for controlling disease-transmitting mosquitoes without pesticides directly to the Brazilian public. “It’s time to give power to the people to act against this growing public health threat with safe, effective products they will love to use,” said Oxitec CEO Grey Frandsen in a…

Nigeria continues to emerge as a leader in Africa’s adoption of crop biotechnology, approving insect-resistant and drought-tolerant TELA maize for open cultivation. The improved maize joins insect-resistant Bt cotton and pod borer-resistant Bt cowpea as genetically modified (GM) crops that can help Nigeria’s smallholder farmers reduce pesticide use, increase…

Africa will be pushing for a rapid adoption of biotechnology as one tool to help transform the world’s food systems at the historic United Nation’s Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) on Thursday. The 2021 Africa Agriculture Status Report 2021, launched a few days ago by the Alliance for Green Revolution…

Though several African countries, including Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia, are making tremendous strides in their quest to develop and commercialize genetically modified crops, it’s not the same story in Uganda. Despite very promising initial successes, Ugandan scientists in the East African country have struggled to progress their GM crop research…

Whether it is ugali, a popular dish prepared from maize flour and often accompanied by meat, vegetables and pulses, or porridge, the staple of the Kenyan diet is maize. Nothing goes to waste from the harvest, as the crop’s by-products are used as livestock and poultry feed. But experts say this critical…

Technology that has been used to control mosquitoes and fall armyworm will now be applied to solving the world’s cattle tick problem under a new $1.283 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The 14-month award funds a feasibility project to determine if Oxitec’s self-limiting insect technology…

Climate change is encouraging the proliferation of new crop insect pests that pose a serious food and financial threat to African farmers. From tree-drilling beetles to leaf-munching worms and fruit-puncturing flies, invasive pests are destroying food and inflicting financial ruin on farmers in Africa. Mango farmers in Southern Africa have…

A model of agroecology that limits farming inputs in Africa to solely indigenous materials is meeting resistance from farmers and others who worry it will most likely force even more people on the continent into poverty and hunger. “The agroecology promoters will use terms like indigenous foods, indigenous crops, indigenous…

Impressed by the high yields realized in open field trials, Kenyan farmers are urging their government to speed up the process of allowing them to access genetically modified Bt maize. “I have seen today that when I will be able to plant Bt maize, it will improve my yields and…