Root, tuber and banana (RTB) crops are vital for food security and income generation for millions of people across sub-Saharan Africa. Breeders of RTB crops are continuously developing new varieties better adapted to pests and diseases, climate...

Poor nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life increases their susceptibility to disease and can lead to death or stunted growth, impairing cognitive ability and reducing school and work performance. Malnutrition during infancy can have...

Many people know cashew nuts as a favourite snack or ingredient, though unless you’ve seen them growing, you might be surprised to know that the ‘nut’ is actually a seed, which grows from the bottom of a curious ‘cashew-apple’.

A devastating factory fire, a deadly building collapse or severe environmental damage highlight the consequences of irresponsible business. Though less widely reported, in many countries the exploitation of workers and human rights abuses occur on...

A value chain, or the journey a commodity takes from production to consumer, involves a variety of activities performed by different operators, with the aim of delivering a valuable product to the market and eventually the consumer. Each link in...

Tiny midges are the pollinators of cacao flowers, from which we get cocoa beans, the raw material for chocolate. Until now, little was known about how the midges find these flowers. Together with researchers in the UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica,...

Predators such as ladybirds directly consume the pest, whereas parasitoids, like parasitoid wasps, lay eggs on or inside pest insects that grow and ultimately kill the pest. Non-crop habitats such as field margins provide shelter, alternative...

In the fourth and final article in this series on the prevention of food loss and waste, NRI’s Professor Steve Belmain outlines his work researching the ecology of rodents as pests in agriculture, and as disease vectors.

In 2016, scientists found fall armyworm in West Africa. Soon it spread across the continent, where it is present in at least 18 countries to date. However, it didn’t stop there, and last year it was found in East Asia with fear of a similar spread.