Quinoa Growing in Africa
Support the efforts of a recent graduate of Washington State University to test quinoa growing methods in Africa. Quinoa, until recently grown exclusively in South America, has the potential to be a major food source in Africa, and seems to be culturally accepted, but little is known about how best to grow it under African conditions.
Creating an Educational Video Network in India
Support the use of digital video to inform agricultural scientists in India. Digital Green has created a peer-to-peer agricultural extension platform where they record farmers talking about their techniques and show the video to other farmers. They are in a position to, at a small cost, create similar videos to show to scientists to help set priorities.
Eradicating a Kiwi Disease in China
A new kiwi disease has emerged in China’s Sichuan Province. Some farmers believe that it can be controlled without fungicides through some simple measures like changing the time of day of irrigation. However, thus far no grant has been available for a credentialed scientist to test their idea.
Translating Agricultural Apps for a Global Audience
An increasing number of farmers in developing countries own smartphones, but many useful agriculture-related apps (such as irrigation scheduling apps) have not been translated or otherwise localized. This is something that can be done at warp speed compared to traditional agricultural research.
