Taking advantage of Ghana’s gradual extension of cellphone towers in the early 2000s, we analyze the wealth effects of cellphone coverage expansion in a developing country setting using a difference-in-differences (event study) research design. We proxy local wealth using night-time light density over 1996–2016 and an asset ownership-based index from the 2000 and 2010 censuses. We find that cellphone coverage expansion significantly r raised wealth in Ghana. We then explore possible downstream effects of cellphone coverage expansion on electoral outcomes.

Efficient conservation and subsequent utilization of genetic resources are primarily dependent on the strength in the assessment of variation among geno-types. An experiment was carried out aiming at determining the extent of pheno-typic variability present in a panel of 320 barley genotypes and identifying candidate lines for further evaluation in improvement programs and successive utilization. It was conducted at two locations in Ethiopia, Aris Negelle and Holetta in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 cropping seasons.

Quantifying the welfare benefits of climate information services (CIS), which provide farmers with weather forecast information and advice can be empirically challenging, given farmers' agricultural investment may increase or decrease depending on the content of the forecast and their levels of risk aversion. In this paper, we quantify the benefits of CIS in terms of the extent that forecast information is able to align a farmer's agricultural investments to those that they would have chosen if they had known the weather realization with full certainty.

The detrimental impact of hydro-meteorological risks on agriculture frequently leads to food insecurity, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Hence, the agriculture communities require climate-informed decision support tools that guide adaptation measures against climate change in the agriculture sector. The climate-informed crop capability prediction tool is one of these tools to benefit user community in making tactical and strategic decisions on inputs needed for agriculture and food security sectors as early as the crop-growing season.

Analysis of hydro-climatological time series and spatiotemporal dynamics of meteorological variables has become critical in the context of climate change, especially in Southern African countries where rain-fed agriculture is predominant. In this work, we compared modern unsupervised time series and segmentation approaches and commonly used time series models to analyse rainfall regime changes in the coastal, sub-humid and semi-arid regions of Southern Africa.

Enset [Ensete ventricosum (Welw.) Cheesman] is an important food security crop of the Southern Ethiopian highlands. The cultivation of enset is characterised by a wide variety of landraces, suitable to varying agro-ecological conditions and with multiple uses by households. The objective of this paper is to present enset landrace diversity, characteristics and uses in Ethiopia.

The biomedical domain has shown that in silico analyses over vast data pools enhances the speed and scale of scientific innovation. This can hold true in agricultural research and guide similar multi-stakeholder action in service of global food security as well (Streich et al. Curr Opin Biotechnol 61:217–225. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2020.01.010, 2020).

ICTforAg is an annual convening where agricultural stakeholders and technology experts come together to share knowledge, find solutions, and form partnerships to address challenges in agri-food systems across low- and middle-income countries. The main goal of ICTforAg is to grow communities and catalyze meaningful conversations, insights, and collaborations, increase participation of participants from the developing world, promote knowledge sharing and learning, and inspire practitioners to develop inclusive and sustainable ICT solutions.

This report is intended for actors, policymakers and funders concerned with improving food and nutrition
security with fisheries as an entry point. It is equally valuable for food system, agricultural, health and
nutrition actors who are seeking to protect and enhance the benefits that fish and other aquatic foods
provide to a diversity of nutrition goals.
This report has been developed from an extensive review of published scientific articles and technical

Brown spot, caused by Bipolaris oryzae, is becoming more prevalent and important in the Philippines but risk assessment is limited. Surveys of 2186 farmers' fields were conducted in the major rice‐growing areas in the country from 2015 to 2018 to analyse the components of production situation (PS) that contribute to the area under the progress curve of brown spot incidence (aBS). Based on lasso regression, the components of PS that influence aBS, in decreasing order, are ecosystem (irrigated vs. rainfed), crop establishment method (direct seeding vs.

Today, most African countries have dysfunctional municipal waste management system, negatively impacting the environment and human health. However, as most of this waste is recyclable, informal actors are making their income out of the collection/sorting of waste. Accounting for the risks involved in waste manipulation, it is important to ensure decent working conditions for those recycling it.