Curated Content

This manual aims to provide clear, actionable information on the most important pests and diseases that affect the major food crops grown by smallholder farmers in Africa.

For each pest or disease, information is provided on how to recognise the problem, what to do to prevent it occurring and how to control it when it occurs. The management options for each pest or disease are divided into ‘cultural approaches’, such as use of resistant varieties, clean seed, crop rotations and good hygiene in the eld, and ‘chemical approaches’, which involve the use of appropriate pesticides. In addition information is provided on the organism that causes the problem and its impact. Finally, a short list of publications and websites is given where additional information can be obtained.

A team of plant health experts has compiled this information; in doing so they have drawn upon the latest research and information available in 2015.

This manual is targeted at extension workers and anyone else who needs access to clear, actionable information on the most important pests and diseases affecting the major food crops grown by smallholders.

Livestock production is the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture (Smith et al. 2014, Tubiello et al. 2014). In terms of global averages, the emission of methane as a result of enteric fermentation in the digestion process of ruminants produces about 40% of the total emissions. In Africa, although total emissions from livestock are still lower than in the member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the emissions intensities per unit of animal product produced are very high (Herrero et al. 2013), which is a cause for concern given the rapid growth projected for the sector.

This technology description introduces crop rotation as a fundamental principle of conservation agriculture. The basic principles and aspects to consider when transitioning to crop rotation are discussed. Crop rotation is the alternation of subsistence, cash and green manure/cover crops (GMCCs) with different characteristics, cultivated on the same field during successive years, and following a previously established sequence.
This technology is part of a series on conservation agriculture.

Shamba Shape Up is produced by The Mediae Company, an organisation dedicated to addressing the informational needs of East Africans through sustainable media productions that are entertaining, educative and help improve livelihoods.

Other Mediae shows include the popular soap drama Makutano Junction, the children’s educational series Know Zone, and more recently, Don’t Lose the Plot, which aims to encourage youth into agribusiness.

There are rich communities of beneficial insects, spiders, and diseases that attack insect pests of rice. The beneficial species often control insect pests, especially in places where use of broad-spectrum pesticides is avoided. Without these beneficial species the insect pests would multiply so quickly that they would completely consume the rice crop.

Pests have high reproductive capacities to offset the naturally high mortality that they face in nature. For example, a brown planthopper female produces many offspring, but because of the action of predators, parasites, and diseases, only about 1 or 2 will survive after one generation. It is not unusual for 98-99% mortality to occur; otherwise, a pest population explosion can be expected.

Natural enemies also have enemies of their own. Parasites and predators each have predators, parasites, and pathogens. Most predators are cannibalistic, a behavior which ensures that, in the absence of prey, some will survive.

The natural balance between insect pests and their natural enemies is often disrupted by indiscriminate use of chemical insecticides. Although insecticides are needed in some cases, they must be used judiciously to save these vulnerable natural control agents.

The livestock sector of Uganda is growing fast in response to the Government’s Policy on Poverty Eradication and the Plan for Modernization of Agriculture (PMA). To enhance the process, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and various development agencies have introduced different pasture improvement technologies in an effort to increase and broaden the livestock feed resource base. Some farmers have adopted various technologies, which they have tested on-farm. However, such information has not been documented and thus achievements in this area have not been shared among the livestock keepers.

In order to successfully disseminate agroforestry technologies, various hurdles that currently limit the scaling-up process must be tackled. The lack of tree seed, seedling and other planting materials (tree germplasm) is a major constraint to the scaling up of agroforestry innovations. Sustainable production of high-quality germplasm for a wide range of agroforestry species is the basis of a successful scaling-up process. Institutional and organizational procedures that are adequate and conducive to large-scale production and distribution of agroforestry seed are also needed.

A gliricidia–maize  simultaneous intercropping agroforestry system has shown to be a suitable option for soil fertility improvement and yield increase in highly populated areas of sub Saharan Africa where landholding sizes are very small and inorganic fertilizer use is very low.

The Forestry Compendium was conceived to meet the need for the improved dissemination of knowledge on forest trees. The pilot phase in Compendium development in 1994-95 resulted in a demonstration version of a PC-based multimedia system. This interactive demonstration version was produced by CABI in collaboration with the Oxford Forestry Institute (OFI; now part of the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, UK) in a project sponsored by the Forestry Research Programme of the UK Overseas Development Administration (now the Department for International Development - DFID). In 1995 CABI conducted a comprehensive survey of user needs for a Compendium for the Asia-Pacific Region, the results indicating an urgent need for the Compendium among a wide range of user groups.

The Agroforestree Database provides information on the management, use and ecology of a wide range of tree species which can be used in agroforestry.

While the database provides information on native and exotic trees globally, it also provides a searchable interface where users can search by country, native or exotics species, products and/or services provided, as well as the first letter of the species.

Currently, the database holds information on 600 tree species useful in agroforestry systems. The details on each of the species covered by the database include a species botanic description detailing the tree's characteristics, details on climate, distribution range, and ecology. Each species documentation also provides information on tree propagation, management and uses.