MEMBER OF THE MONTH

October 2009: CABI – AFRICA

CABI is a non profit, science-based development and information organization. We improve people’s lives by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment. CABI helps to address the challenges of food security by helping farmers grow more and lose less. We do this by improving crop yields, safeguarding the environment and improving access to agricultural and environmental scientific knowledge.

Our mission and direction is influenced by member countries who help guide the activities undertaken. These include scientific publishing, development projects and research and microbial services.

We work with partners to provide information, training and support that rural communities need to identify and implement appropriate solutions to many of the key problems they face. Farming communities are supported so they can adapt to improved ways of growing their crops, managing their surrounding environments and accessing markets.

CABI has been working in Africa for over 90 years and the Africa regional centre is one of 10 CABI centres around the world. This means we can work with people to solve their problems together. We have active programs in invasive species, commodities, knowledge management and knowledge for development in both member and non-member countries throughout the continent.

There are currently 17 CABI member countries in Africa and these are Botswana, Burundi, Cote d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Our work:

1. Empowering smallholder commodity farmers in Africa
   
   CABI is working to boost farmers’ incomes by helping them to grow more and better crops such as coffee, cocoa, bananas and cotton by tackling production problems like pests and diseases, improving techniques for post harvest processing and through other post harvest activities that add value to produce. We link farmers to markets and enable them to understand and respond to customer demand.
   
   
2. Tackling invasive species in Africa
   
   Invasive plants, insects and diseases cause huge damage to crops, animals and the environment. CABI promotes integrated pest management by providing farmers with a range of control options and the skills for choosing what’s best for their fields. 
     
   We are also helping countries comply with international agreements which aim to stop the spread of invasive species. These include the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement of the World Trade Organization. 
   
   As part of this, CABI is working with bodies such as COMESA and the International Plant Protection Convention. CABI Africa also hosts the Secretariat of the Global Invasive Species Program (GISP).
   
   
3. Sharing knowledge
    
   CABI enables farming communities to prosper by bringing together different actors in the public and private sectors to work together for the benefit of the poor.
   
   We look at the big picture. This means understanding the needs and wants of the whole range of people involved – from seed suppliers and farmers to buyers, regulators and policy makers.
   
   CABI was instrumental in introducing farmer field schools to East Africa. Field schools help farmers to share and acquire knowledge and to try out new methods in their own fields. We are also helping national agricultural research systems (NARS) and regional organizations such as the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) to find better ways of applying and scaling up the results of their research.

Who we work with:

We work in partnership with many organizations through our project activities. Our partners include farmers' organizations, research centres and businesses. Working together helps us to achieve shared objectives and greater impact. Our staff is skilled in forging effective partnerships that ensure sustainable development.

Our sponsors and partners:

African Governments through the agriculture sector ministries, national research organizations, educational establishments, non governmental and community based organizations, the private sector, development agencies, regional bodies and international agricultural research centres.

Contact us:

CABI Africa
ICRAF Complex,
United Nations Avenue, Gigiri,
P. O. Box 633 - 00621,
Nairobi, Kenya 
Tel: +254 (0)20 722 4450/62
Fax: +254 (0)20 712 2150
E-mail: africa@cabi.org

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