News and Events
icipe Director General among Bill Gates’ ‘heroes in the field’
Dr Segenet Kelemu, the Director General of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (www.icipe.org) is one of five ‘heroes in the field’ selected by leading philanthropist, Bill Gates, for using their talents to fight poverty, hunger and disease, while providing opportunities for the next generation. Having taken over the helm of icipe in November 2013, Dr Kelemu is the first woman Chief Executive Officer to lead the Centre.
Push-Pull and fall armyworm: First account
In early 2016, the Push-Pull technology was introduced to Malawi and Zambia through the Push-pull sub Saharan Africa, funded by Biovision Foundation for Ecological Development, Switzerland. icipe and partners are now testing the technology on-station and on-farm. Among farmers who were involved in the trials is Mr Alex Chingoli from Salima district, central Malawi. Mr Chingoli was the first farmer to report the possibility that Push-Pull could be tackling the fall armyworm.
Sister Gonzaga Achieng: Testimony of an unlikely Push-Pull farmer
For two years, Sister Gonzaga Achieng managed the front desk of a guesthouse ran by the St Benedict catholic congregation in Mbale district, eastern Uganda. In 2013, she received a group of visitors from Kenya, and in conversation, she learnt that they were Push-Pull farmers who were in Uganda for an exchange visit.
icipe Push-Pull technology halts fall armyworm rampage
The fall armyworm is a destructive moth that causes devastating damage to almost 100 plant species, including sorghum, rice, wheat and sugarcane, as well as a variety of horticultural crops, thereby threatening food and nutritional security, trade, household incomes and overall economies.
BioInnovate Africa phase II launched
2 November 2017, Kigali, Rwanda – BioInnovate Africa Programme, one of Africa’s largest regional innovation-driven science initiative, officially marked entry into its second phase with three key highlights: increased funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); call for a new round of proposals from eastern Africa scientists and innovators, and enhanced steps towards the creation of a bioeconomy strategy for the region.