Across Sub-Saharan Africa, farmers are increasingly losing crops to shifting weather patterns, emerging pests and prolonged dry spells.

Rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall are changing the conditions under which food is grown, while gaps in monitoring systems make it harder to track and respond to these threats.

In this episode of Africa Science Focus, we examine how climate change is accelerating crop loss and what stronger data and climate-informed interventions can offer.

Our reporter, Michael Kaloki, begins in Kenya, where cereals and other staple crops remain vital to national food security. Farmers describe how delayed rains, new pest pressures and erratic seasons are reducing yields and disrupting their livelihoods.

Komi Mensah Agboka, a researcher at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), explains how climate-linked disruptions in the wider One Health system are increasing losses in farmers’ fields. He tells us how emerging technologies can help detect risks earlier.

Cambria Finegold, global director of digital development at the agricultural research organisation CABI (the parent organisation of SciDev.Net), outlines how the Global Burden of Crop Loss project is mapping climate-related hotspots and identifying where yields are most at risk. She discusses how digital tools are helping countries build better decision-making support systems for farmers.

And Elfatih Abdel-Rahman, senior research scientist and interim head of the Data Management, Modelling and Geoinformation Unit at icipe, describes how rising temperatures are altering interactions between crops and insects, increasing the likelihood of outbreaks and further losses.

The episode also features George Waruraya, a farmer in Kiambu County, Kenya, who shares how shifting seasons and water shortages are affecting production and how local groups are mobilising to secure support for adaptation.

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This episode is supported by CABI’s Global Burden of Crop Loss (GBCL) project. GBCL is funded by UK International Development of the UK government and the Gates Foundation.

Do you have any comments, questions or feedback about our podcast episodes? Let us know at podcast@scidev.net

Africa Science Focus is produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk and distributed in association with your local radio station.

Do you have any comments, questions or feedback about our podcast episodes? Let us know at podcast@scidev.net

Across Sub-Saharan Africa, farmers are losing large portions of their harvest before crops ever reach the market. Pests, droughts and shifting weather patterns are decimating yields, while weak data systems make the crisis even harder to fight.

In this episode of Africa Science Focus, we look at how better data and stronger plant health systems can help countries respond more effectively.

Our reporter, Michael Kaloki begins in Kenya, where cereals remain central to national food security. Anthony Kioko, chief executive officer of the Cereal Growers Association, explains that farmers routinely lose up to 40 per cent of their harvest and in some seasons as much as 100 per cent. He says losses directly affect farmers’ income, food security and ability to keep farming.

To unpack the impact of crop loss, Kaloki speaks with experts from the Global Burden of Crop Loss (GBCL) project, an initiative led by the agricultural research organisation CABI (the parent organisation of SciDev.Net).

Rasaki Arasah, a digital development project manager at CABI, says losing less of what is grown is one of the most efficient ways to strengthen food systems without expanding farmland.

Negussie Efa, a senior scientist at CABI, says many African countries still lack reliable diagnostic and surveillance systems. Without consistent data, he says, it is difficult for governments to identify where losses are concentrated or which emerging threats need coordinated action.

To understand the science behind crop losses, Kaloki speaks with Tilahun Negassa, assistant professor of plant biotechnology at Addis Ababa University. He explains how fungal diseases such as rusts, Septoria leaf blotch and Fusarium head blight can devastate staple crops like wheat by damaging the plant’s photosynthetic tissues. He adds that weeds, insect pests and increasingly extreme weather conditions compound the pressure on crops, reinforcing the need for stronger plant health services and improved diagnostics.

Technical lead of the GBCL project, Anna Szyniszewska explains how the team use data on climate and local farming conditions to estimate “attainable yield” and compare it with actual production to assess crop losses.

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Do you have any comments, questions or feedback about our podcast episodes? Let us know at podcast@scidev.net

Africa Science Focus is produced by SciDev.Net and distributed in association with your local radio station.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.

This episode is supported by CABI’s Global Burden of Crop Loss (GBCL) project. GBCL is funded by UK International Development of the UK government and the Gates Foundation.

Do you have any comments, questions or feedback about our podcast episodes? Let us know at podcast@scidev.net

Plant health is quietly shaping what we eat, the diseases we face and how our ecosystems function. But if you look at most One Health discussions, plants barely feature.

In this episode of Africa Science Focus, we unpack why that gap exists, why it matters, and what happens when plant health and One Health finally come together.

Reporter Justice Baidoo speaks with Solveig Danielsen, a plant health systems expert at the agricultural research organisation CABI (the parent organisation of SciDev.Net) and lead author of a study that offers a path forward on this issue.

She explains that One Health has traditionally focused on zoonotic diseases, limiting opportunities to tackle wider challenges. Ignoring plant health, she says, weakens the entire health system.

The study highlights how global One Health frameworks continue to centre around human and animal health, even though plants are essential to nutrition, livelihoods and environmental balance.

Some countries are already demonstrating what integrated approaches can achieve.

In Ghana, projects linking plant health and One Health have delivered tangible benefits, says Michael Osae, a research and development scientist at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission who was involved in such initiatives. He says farmers reported better yields, fewer harmful chemicals on their farms and reduced health risks for people, animals and the environment.

However, for many communities, the connections remain unclear. Kikope Oluwarore, executive director of the One Health and Development Initiative, says this lack of awareness is still one of the biggest barriers.

She believes One Health messaging needs to be integrated into health, agriculture and environmental programmes to help people understand how these systems intersect in daily life.

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Do you have any comments, questions or feedback about our podcast episodes? Let us know at podcast@scidev.net

Africa Science Focus is produced by SciDev.Net and distributed in association with your local radio station.

This episode was supported by Cabi’s One Health Hub.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.

Do you have any comments, questions or feedback about our podcast episodes? Let us know at podcast@scidev.net