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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2012

Abstract

The Horn of Africa includes Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda and is the poorest region on the continent. More than 40 per cent of the population of over 160 million is living in areas prone to extreme food shortages (FAO, 2011). In mid-2011 the world became witness to a widespread food crisis in the Horn of Africa, which has escalated into acute shortages of food notably in the regions of southern Somalia, northern Kenya, southeastern Ethiopia and Djibouti. The U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia on July 20 declared that severely reduced food access, acute malnutrition, and high crude mortality rates indicate ongoing famine conditions in the Bakool and lower Shabelle regions in southern Somalia (UN, 2011). USAID estimates that 2.8 million people in southern Somalia and 12.4 million people in Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Kenya require immediate, lifesaving humanitarian assistance (USAID, 2011). Furthermore, more people in Eritrea, Uganda, Sudan and South Sudan are also facing a worrying food situation. The causes of food crisis are both environmental, structural and avoidable factors have taken in a broader spectrum of problems affecting the region. This paper addresses in detail some important causes and aggravating factors of famine in Horn of Africa and recommend possible interventions to tackle food shortage and famine in a sustainable way.

Abstract

Pest and disease management in organic greenhouse production in Norway Anette Sundbye1, Nina Svae Johansen2, Arne Stensvand3 1, 2, 3 Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research (Bioforsk) - Plant Health and Plant Protection, Email1: anette.sundbye@bioforsk.no Development of organic farming and marketing of organic products is a political priority in Norway, and the major goal is that 15% of the food production and consumption in year 2020 should be organic. This also relates to vegetables in greenhouses. The demand for organic vegetables is increasing and the consumers are increasingly more conscious of how their food is produced. Norwegian growers who choose to convert to organic cultivation have major challenges when it comes to marketing and keeping a stable production. However, guidance by the Norwegian agricultural extension service on organic production of cucumber has been successful (project “Organic cultivation of greenhouse vegetables and herbs” 2010-2012). Also growers of tomatoes, lettuce and herbs are in good progress in converting to organic production. According to current Norwegian regulations, the organic greenhouse production should mainly be based on natural light. The need for and use of artificial light should be documented and can only be used in certain periods of the cultivation time. The main goal of the project “Environmentally friendly development of Norwegian greenhouse industry (2009-2012)” is to reduce energy consumption in plant production. This is practiced by maximizing the utilization of natural radiation and manipulating the light with different greenhouse covering, shading materials and LED based lamps with specific wavelength spectrum. The effect of light quality on powdery mildew and pests is also studied. Experiments have shown that illumination with red or UV-B light some minutes a day can reduce powdery mildew significantly. Blue sticky traps equipped with low intensity LEDs have the potential to increase thrips catches on sticky traps, and lamps with repellent wavelengths may be used to confuse whiteflies in their host finding. Only a limited number of biological control agents (BCA) are currently registered in Norway. On the international market, a wide range of commercially products of BCA is available. Access to these products would benefit the Norwegian organic production. In order to increase the availability and use of BCA in Norway, two projects have been funded by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. In the new project “Increasing the use of biological control agents of plant pests” (2012) bottlenecks will be identified and solution will be proposed to promote the registration and increase the use of BCA in Norway. The other project “Extension in greenhouse biological control” (2006-2012) has increased the implementation of biological control and IPM in Norwegian commercial greenhouses.