Best Bets – reflections on West Africa and emerging lessons

20 March 2010

We have just completed screening the proposals submitted for the West African round of our Best Bets programme – all 85 of them. The Best Bets initiative aims to put existing agricultural research findings into use at scale through partnerships in which the private sector plays a significant role. Ideally I want RIU to provide a one-off grant which will clear a ‘logjam’ to enabling a sustainable enterprise to be created or an existing one strengthened.

Caterpillars, comics and contexts

18 February 2010

An update on three Best Bets working on armyworm, sleeping sickness and communicating agricultural messages to young people.

The first few weeks of 2010 have been a busy time for RIU. The four Best Bets projects selected for funding late last year have now all passed due diligence and contracts have been issued. One of these is concerned with armyworm and combines community-based forecasting of an attack with control using a bio-pesticide.