Browsing: Global Affairs Canada

• Imaginative agriculture concepts are essential to sustainable food production
• Women and youth are the most affected by climate change’s effects on agriculture
• Canada commits 20 million dollars to support smart agriculture in Tanzania

Smart agriculture is the only sustainable solution to food security and economic growth through commercial agriculture in Tanzania.

However, in Tanzania, economic losses from climate change impacts on agriculture are estimated to exceed $200 million yearly.

“The adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices gives an opportunity to minimise such losses, create resilience in the agriculture sector, maximise productivity and farmer incomes, and contribute to climate change mitigation,” notes the World Bank.

Further still, if Tanzania is to adopt climate-smart agriculture, its focus must be on the livestock sub-sector, which is estimated to contribute the most to greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the World Bank, an increased focus on developing livestock-based programs is needed to support the country’s …

• Three startups Twende Green Ecocycle, Oceania Pacesetter, and Eco-Redemptors offered the most effective solutions in tackling Mombasa’s marine plastics problem. 
• Marine plastic waste is the most harmful form of scrap accounting for at least 85 percent of total marine waste.
• The Mombasa Plastics Prize Awards and Celebration by Challenge Works  was  funded by USAID and Global Affairs Canada. 

Three Mombasa-based startups that are helping reduce marine plastic waste have secured $50,000 in prize money for their innovations fighting pollution in the coastal region. 

Twende Green Ecocycle emerged first place receiving $25,298. Twende Green Ecocycle is a social enterprise that promotes sustainable development. It tackles pollution by recycling marine plastic waste from informal settlements into school eco-desks. The startup says it uses advanced recycling technology to turn plastic waste into eco-desks. The start-up’s high-quality school lockable eco-desk are used by students and teachers.

Startups reducing marine plastic waste

Oceania Pacesetter emerged …

Beans are one of the most important crops in Rwanda with approximately 62 percent of One Acre Fund farmers growing climbing beans in 2014, and 49 percent grew bush beans, with a total average of 0.1 hectares under beans for those who cultivated.

In Rwanda, smallholder farmers are testing ways to transition from subsistence-oriented approaches to more market-based production. A pilot has demonstrated potential to significantly increase their production, as well as profits.

Presently beans, With a per capita consumption of more than 150g per person per day, beans are the most consumed and important source of protein and essential micro-nutrients in Rwanda.

With Rwanda’s Eastern Province prone to climate risks for bean production due to long dry spells, increasing temperatures, and erratic rainfall that lead to frequent crop failure and food shortages, the

Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT, in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada, has been at …