HORIZON INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS SITE

There has been a combination of local input and international agency involvement, along with many others, who participated in developing The Kenya Ceramic Jiko (KCJ).

The stove is a portable improved charcoal burning stove consisting of an hour-glass shaped metal cladding with an interior ceramic liner that is perforated to permit the ash to fall to the collection box at the base. A thin layer of vermiculite or cement is placed between the cladding and the liner. A single pot is placed on the rests at the top of the stove.

Cochabamba, a predominantly agricultural region, has a great vegetation diversity due to the different ecosystems present. However, Cochabamba does not have the means for transforming these resources. For this reason agricultural products are generally commercialized in a fresh state, which gives rise to all the problems usually associated with this type of commercialization: perishability, price fluctuation and a diminished ability to compete in the market.

The need for applied research on the utilization and transformation of the region's vegetal resources in order to obtain products with greater value added, led a group of researchers from the Faculty of Science and Technology at the “Universidad Mayor de San Simon (UMSS)” to create, in 1980, the “Programa Agroquímico” (at present the Centro de Tecnología Agroindustrial -CTA-).

By incorporating an integrated approach to farming and water management, Pyneham farm in Frankland, Australia, has overcome problems caused by land degradation to create a more sustainable system. The newly established farming system, known as integrated whole farm -- whole landscape planning, has not only helped combat desertification, but also helps restore biodiversity in an area which previously experienced vast forest depletion for agricultural expansion.

Problem Overview:

Controlling Striga infestation

The pretty pink flowers of a weed named Striga belie its devastating impact on cereal crops such as corn, sorghum, millet, and rice. Parasitic by nature, Striga compensates for the lack of its own root system by penetrating the roots of other plants, diverting essential nutrients from them, and stunting their growth. Also known as witchweed, Striga infests an estimated two-thirds of the 73 million hectares devoted to cereal crops in Africa, resulting in crop losses of up to 70% among subsistence farmers. Striga accounts for an estimated 4.1 million tonnes in lost cereal yields each year, and is considered by many experts to be the greatest obstacle to food production in Africa, particularly in the Sahel region.

Problem Overview:

In the semiarid zones of west and central Africa, farmers cultivate different cowpea varieties. Some are for grain for human consumption and others for animal fodder. The aboveground parts of cowpeas, except pods, are harvested for fodder.

Traditionally, farmers cultivate two main types of cowpea: early maturing varieties, grown for grain and late maturing varieties that are grown for fodder production. The dry season is characterized by scarcity in good quality fodder and hence there is a need for dual purpose varieties that give reasonable grain and fodder yields, and, thereby, maximize the output from land and labor.

A recently published report, Shifting Sands: The Commercialization of Camels in Mid-altitude Ethiopia and Beyond, describes a relatively new trend in pastoralist livestock marketing that is a dynamic response to increasing demand for camels in mid-altitude areas of Ethiopia and in neighboring Sudan.