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For more than 25 years, ICBA has extended its reach to support communities in more than 50 countries. (Image source: ICBA)

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The International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) reflects on a journey marked by resilience, innovation and commitment to supporting sustainable agriculture in some of the world’s most harsh environments

Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, ICBA was founded to address the urgent challenges of agriculture in saline and arid environments. Since its establishment in 1999, ICBA has grown from a regional initiative to a global leader in biosaline agriculture and climate-resilient farming solutions.

For more than 25 years, ICBA has extended its reach to support communities in more than 50 countries, addressing pressing global challenges such as food security, water scarcity, and adaptation to climate change. Through its revolutionary research and development, ICBA has helped equip these communities with solutions for sustainable agriculture.

Initially focused on identifying salt-tolerant crops and developing resource-efficient technologies to enable agriculture in water-scarce regions, ICBA today, leads pioneering projects that range from natural resource management and climate adaptation to agri-aquaculture. Moreover, the world’s largest collections of drought-, heat-, and salt-tolerant plants are contained within its genebank

ICBA has also taken part in groundbreaking initiatives including developments such as the Emirates Soil Museum and the Desert Life Sciences Laboratory, each contributing to a better understanding of soil and plant resources in arid climates. Additionally, ICBA has championed the use of climate-resilient crops, like quinoa and pearl millet, to strengthen food security and support sustainable production in arid regions.

With a strong focus on capacity development, ICBA has collaborated with organisations worldwide to empower farmers, scientists, and policymakers with expertise in sustainable agricultural practices. 

As it celebrates its 25th anniversary, ICBA aims to deepen its research, expand its partnerships, and continue building resilient food systems to benefit communities around the world.

Developed under the AADGG, the app enables users to search and view historical data on each individual cow. (Image source: AADGG)

Cattle

In an attempt to boost productivity and support smallholder farmers, an advanced livestock monitiring app has been launched under the African Asian Dairy Genetics Gains Project (AADGG)

As part of the combined effort from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH), this tool offers real-time capabilities in livestock health, feed management, and artificial insemination data collection, none of which were previously available with the commonly used Open Data Kit (ODK) system.

How it works

The app replaces a simpler ODK data-gathering system that could be accessed through a tablet or laptop but could not be accessed by farmers, while also making it relatively difficult to retrieve collected data. Developed under the AADGG, the app enables users to search and view historical data on each individual cow. It also makes it easier to register farms, farmers and their livestock, enabling the recording of household information, health, breeding, and productivity data on individual cattle by farmers, researchers, and AADGG collaborators. With improved visibility and data quality through this mobile app, efforts to select adaptable, high-yielding dairy genetics for smallholder dairy farmers in Africa and Asia will be significantly strengthened.

"The app is a game-changer for us, providing a long-term sustainability path for our data collection. It gives us many more opportunities for data capture and of higher accuracy," said Raphael Mrode, ILRI Principal scientist and researcher at CTLGH.

Some of the features and benefits of the application include:

1. Real-time data collection: Enables instant recording and feedback on livestock health, breeding, and productivity.

2. Advanced modules: Tracks pedigree, milk output, farm size, animal traits, and more, offering comprehensive insights.

3. Historical data access: Provides farmers with visibility into past records, enhancing decision-making.

4. User-friendly design: Runs on Android smartphones and is designed for accessibility, with future plans for local language translations.

The AADGG-Dairy Data App runs on Android smartphones and was rolled out by a multi-national team in four African countries, namley, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda and in Nepal during the months of September-October. Jennifer Volk, senior Information and Data Systems Lead at CTLGH emphasised that the app's interface and real-time feedback greatly helped farmers to better manage their livestock, while also addressing the key challenges faced by them.

By advancing sustainable livestock management, ILRI and CTLGH have embarked on a quest to empower smallholder farmers through innovative solutions. They have also invited stakeholders, policymakers, and development partners to join efforts in scaling its impact and transforming farming practices globally.

Modern solutions, such as the JOSKIN spreading booms and injectors, ensure greater precision, better distribution and reduced losses. (Image source: JOSKIN)

Agriculture

Once considered a waste product, liquid manure is now recognised as a valuable fertilising resource, with some factories producing liquid wastes such as vinasse, molasses or sludge, which also contain valuable fertilising elements for agriculture

To optimise the properties of these effluents and minimise losses, particularly of ammonia, a specific spreading equipment is required. This reduction in losses limits odour nuisance and economic losses. Traditional spreading methods, such as scatterers, were imprecise and lacked homogeneity, resulting in significant nitrogen losses. In response, modern solutions, such as the JOSKIN spreading booms and injectors, ensure greater precision, better distribution and reduced losses.

JOSKIN spreading booms and implements, such as those with line hoses or skids, have transformed effluent spreading practices. Line spreading booms deposit the liquid directly at the foot of the plants, limiting contact with the air and reducing volatile losses by over 35%. JOSKIN Pendislide line spreading booms with skids, on the other hand, apply nutrients to the soil without contaminating plants, reducing volatile losses by up to 50%. The slurry tanker can also be fitted with a JOSKIN arable injector, which mixes soil and effluent. In this way, waste is used optimally and losses are practically nil.

Technological advances, combined with increasingly stringent regulations, are fostering a more sustainable agriculture. The latest generation of JOSKIN spreading implements preserves the fertilising properties of liquid effluent and reduces the cost of mineral fertilisers, making this investment more profitable. Thanks to the efficient use of livestock effluents, these innovations enable a profitable, sustainable and environmentally-friendly agriculture.

One of the project's key components is the development of a mobile application that provides farmers with real-time weather data. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Machinery & Equipment

As harsh weather conditions continue to hamper food security strategies globally, a postgraduate researcher at the University of Leicester aims at getting more farmers in Kenya to harness the insights of Earth Observation (EO) technologies

Extreme weather events have led to reduced agricultural yields, especially for those in Sub-Saharan Africa that largely depend on rain-fed agriculture. 

A PhD project at University of Leicester focuses on exploring how EO technologies such as remote sensing, satellite monitoring and land surface models for weather predictions and soil moisture assessments can equip farmers with the necessary data to make informed agricultural decisions.

One of the project's key components is the development of a mobile application that provides farmers with real-time weather data, which empowers them to plan their agricultural activities with greater accuracy. 

“Earth Observation technologies provide a strategic solution to enhance better farming practices but require better strategies for communicating with farmers to allay any ethical and environmental fears and improve their adoption,” said Fiona Imbali, PhD student in the University of Leicester School of Geography, Geology, and Environment. “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlights the importance of working with local communities and respecting their indigenous knowledge for climate governance and this research will be working with indigenous farming communities to develop participatory science communication strategies for the adoption of EO technologies.”

In addition, she also emphasised how the disregarding women’s challenges would also hamper technology adoption. “This study will engage communities from the onset of the research to understand their challenges, priorities, as well as their socio-cultural perspectives and more so for the women who have always been considered as a homogenous group in order to develop participatory, inclusive communication approaches,” Imbali added. 

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