Mud slides in Malawi

At Sukambizi Association Trust in Malawi tea plants are not producing as much leaf as they should. On average crop yield is down by about 15 percent. Effects of climate change Drought conditions are responsible for an increase in diseases uncommon in the area in the past. A pest called Helopeltis, which looks like a mosquito, has now become a big problem. The adult lays its eggs on the tea plant and when they hatch...

A crippling drought in Tanzania

A crippling drought since the start of 2011 has decimated the crops planted by the small scale coffee growers attached to Karagwe District Cooperative Union (KDCU) in the Kagera region in the northwest corner of Tanzania. As a result, a large amount of coffee did not flower properly. Consequently, many of the primary societies are reporting that small farmers are going hungry and cannot afford to send their children...

Tree seedling nurseries in Uganda

A new report by climate scientists at the Colombia-based International Centre for Tropical Agriculture shows that if average temperatures rise by an expected 2.3 degrees Celsius by the middle of the century, some of Uganda’s most lucrative tea producing areas could be completely wiped off the map. Such an eventuality would be a catastrophe for the farmers of Mabale Tea Growers Factory and the bigger region, where...