Kenya faces devastating Prosopis invasion: What can be done

Prosopis tree branches with yellow seed pods hanging from them.
By Purity Rima Mbaabu. Originally published on The Conversation. Woody plant species have been deliberately introduced into many arid and semi-arid regions across the world as they can help combat desertification and provide resources – like fuelwood – to the rural poor. But some of these alien trees and shrubs have become invasive, having devastating effects on other species as…
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Scientists recommend measures to contain rapid woody weed spread in Baringo County, Kenya

People in Kenya cycle and walk on a road completely surrounded by invasive prosopis bushes and trees
A team of international scientists, including CABI’s Dr Urs Schaffner, have recommended ways to manage the devastating spread of the woody weed Prosopis juliflora, where in Baringo County, Kenya, its coverage rapidly increased by 2,031 percent in just 28 years. PhD student Purity Rima Mbaabu, affiliated to the University of Nairobi and co-supervised by Simon…
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Invasive weed could cut crop yields by 30 per cent

By Nicholas Okeya. Originally published on SciDev.Net. A dangerous invasive alien weed known as field dodder could be a serious menace to agriculture and biodiversity across Sub-Saharan Africa, and reduce crop yields, scientists say.
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Why Prosopis no longer ‘pays’ as a prospect for positive environmental and socio-economic productivity

In the late 1970s and early 1980s the group of closely-related woody plant species and hybrids known as Prosopis were seen as a ‘saviour’ for millions of pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in East Africa whose very livelihoods were threatened by the degradation of dryland ecosystems spurred on by overgrazing, and by deforestation and a shortage of…
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Fight against fall armyworm in Kenya ‘mobilised’ with new government text messaging campaign

A new weapon in the fight against the fall armyworm caterpillar in Kenya is being launched giving thousands of smallholder farmers free expert help and advice on how to tackle the devastating pest through mobile SMS text messaging.
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Farmers Need Long-Term and Short-Term Solutions to Combat Fall Armyworm in Kenya

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Ebola and IAS

A conversation with Dr Arne Witt The recent outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa made headline news around the world. During the outbreak this fatal disease, endemic to parts of Central and West Africa, rapidly spread from Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia to other countries in the region such as Nigeria, Mali and…
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