Sharing Knowledge with Peers and Stakeholders
In addition to sharing knowledge with farmers, we participate in and present at conferences and events to share our expertise, experience, and action research with peer organizations and other stakeholders. This month has provided several opportunities to elevate our work among diverse audiences.
Africa Food Systems Forum Summit
We began September at the Africa Food Systems Forum 2024 Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. In addition to talking about our work to the wide range of attendees who visited our pumpkin-themed booth, we took part in two panel discussions.
Joshua Mwanguhya, Knowledge Transfer Manager for Uganda, joined five other panelists to discuss youth engagement in agriculture. During his remarks, Joshua emphasized how important it is to raise young people’s awareness of the income potential from a career in vegetable farming. With more than 70% of Ugandans below the age of 30, focusing on youth inclusion in the country’s horticulture sector is vital for the future of farming and for the nation’s food security.
EWS-KT Executive Director Stuart Morris took part in a high-level panel convened by the African Development Bank Group, the US State Department, and the African Union Commission. As part of a wide-ranging discussion, Stuart spoke about the immense opportunities for vegetable production in Africa, what’s needed to get there, and the economic and nutritional benefits to be gained.
“When I look at most vegetable farmers in the countries where we are working in Africa, most of them are getting less than half the yield that they should. And that doesn’t require extra investment costs to increase that yield. It simply requires knowledge—and good genetics of seed. The two of them combined, it’s a very powerful thing,” he said.
“We’ve talked about productivity being twice under what it should be,” he noted later, “but most consumption is the same. So you think about the opportunity for growing markets in vegetables, it’s absolutely enormous.”
Joshua was also featured in a video about the summit (at 0:45 below) posted by the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture & Animal Resources on X (formerly Twitter). In addition to explaining our work of sharing effective vegetable production techniques with rural farmers, Joshua spoke about how we are demonstrating that growing pumpkins can be a viable business—and a particularly attractive opportunity for women farmers and “value addition” enterprises that manufacture pumpkin products.
For more on the Africa Food Systems Forum Summit, check out our blog post “Raising the Profile of Knowledge Transfer in Africa.”
International Conference on Agriculture
Our knowledge sharing continued in Bangkok, where Piyawan “Palm” Phuphong, Technical Research Lead, presented at the 11th International Conference on Agriculture (AGRICO) 2024. The theme of this year’s conference was “Integrated Agricultural Management: Sustainable Eco-friendly Practices,” and Palm spoke about the effects of spunbond fabric on cucumber yields and diseases, based on the results of action research conducted at our learning farms.
This annual conference explores the latest research, ideas, and solutions related to agriculture, bringing together educators, researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders from around the world. “It was a truly productive event, filled with insightful discussions and valuable networking opportunities,” Palm reported.
Asian PGPR International Conference for Sustainable Agriculture
Palm and Linu C, Assistant Technical Manager for India, also participated in the 8th Asian PGPR (Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria) International Conference for Sustainable Agriculture, held in Tainan, Taiwan, and organized by the World Vegetable Center and the Asian PGPR Society for Sustainable Agriculture. This international conference spans academia, research, and industry and aims to foster collaboration and partnership between public and private sectors working on biofertilizers, biopesticides, and other plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria.
In line with the conference’s theme of “Bio-Revolution with the Beneficial Microbes for Healthy Soils, Crops and Planet,” Linu presented the results of action research implemented in partnership with Koppert Foundation during the event’s poster session. This research explored the effects of Koppert biological soil treatments on bacterial wilt in tomatoes, with a focus on wilt incidence and crop yield.
Meanwhile, Palm took part in the Agri-Entrepreneurship and Sponsor Forum panel, sharing our knowledge transfer model, action research, and learning farm initiatives. “This was a great opportunity to explore new innovations in research, connect with technical experts, and gain valuable insights and experiences from them,” she said of the conference.
