Special report
Better surveillance of fruit flies in the Indian Ocean
Fruit and vegetable producers in the Indian Ocean are threatened by nine species of fruit flies. One of them (Bactrocera invadens), present in Africa (detected in Kenya for the first time in 2003), Comoros and Mayotte, has not yet been introduced to the other islands. Monitoring is improving thanks to the Plant Protection Network (ePRPV), while biological control methods are being studied.
Special guest
Caroline Bidault, IFAD Project Officer, on the integration of agroecology into national policy and development priorities
Caroline Bidault is the Project Officer in the IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) operations department. On theeve of the third and final Steering Committee of the Regional Agroecology andClimate Change Initiative (IRACC), we interviewed her to find out more about the origin of this initiative, its objectives, its achievements and its extensions.
International and regional news
Food security a priority for Indian Ocean islands
MoreNearly 200 representatives from public and private sectors of the Indian Ocean islands met in Mahajunga, Madagascar on 25 & 26 March on the theme of food security in the Indian Ocean. The seminar was organized by the IOC and the aim of the meeting was to set up a collaborative regional food security scheme. The CIRAD took the opportunity to reiterate its commitment to food security research.
Biodiversity: the first plenary session of the IPBES
MoreThe first plenary session of the IPBES was held at its headquarters in Bonn from 21 to 26January, in order to complete the setting up of this inter-governmental science policy platform established in 2012. Officers and multidisciplinary experts were voted in and discussions took place on its work program for the coming years (Read here all the exchanges of this first plenary session).
Agricultural research 'key to easing climate-change impacts'
MoreAgricultural research should be a strategic priority of the UN's efforts to lessen the impacts of climate change, according to a report launched at a UN climate change conference in Doha, Qatar.