CAB International

Last updated
CAB International
Founded1910;114 years ago (1910)
Type Nonprofit, intergovernmental
Focus Agriculture, climate change
Location
  • Global
Area served
Global
Members
49 [1]
Revenue
GBP £36.9m (Increase2.svg7.4% more than 2021) [2]
Employees
400 at >20 sites globally [3]
Website cabi.org
Daniel Elger, CEO of CABI speaking at the Global Food Security Summit in London on 20 November 2023 Daniel Elger, CEO of CABI speaking during Session 2- Harnessing science and technology for food security at the Global Food Security Summit in London on 20 November 2023 - (cropped).jpg
Daniel Elger, CEO of CABI speaking at the Global Food Security Summit in London on 20 November 2023

CABI (legally CAB International, formerly Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux) is a nonprofit intergovernmental development and information organisation focusing primarily on agricultural and environmental issues in the developing world, and the creation, curation, and dissemination of scientific knowledge.

Contents

Overview

CABI is an international not-for-profit organisation. Their work is delivered through teams of CABI scientists and key partners working in over 40 countries across the world. CABI states its mission as "improving people's lives worldwide by solving problems in agriculture and the environment". These problems include loss of crops caused by pests and diseases, invasive weeds and pests that damage farm production and biodiversity, and lack of global access to scientific research.

Funding

CABI states that only 3% of its revenue comes from core funding. [4]

Donors listed in the company's 2014 financial report include the UK's Department for International Development (£4,962k), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (CHF 972k), the European Union (€3,242k) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (US$570k). A not-insignificant portion of CABI's revenue is made up of member country contributions. [5]

Projects

CABI engages in a variety of projects that address agricultural and environmental issues worldwide. Typically these focus on commodity crops, invasive species, and scientific communication.

Invasive Species

CABI hosts a large number of invasive species-related projects that it is currently planning to bring under one banner. Many of these projects don't focus on a particular area, but on specific species. Notable projects include research into invasive plants including Japanese Knotweed, Giant Hogweed and Himalayan Balsam. [6]

Plantwise

Plantwise is a global programme with the purpose of reducing crop losses and improving food security by collecting and sharing information about plant health. [7] Plantwise is supported by an alliance of international partners, who typically provide content or funding. In 2017, the project won US$100,000 from the St Andrews Prize for the Environment. [8]

BioProtection Portal

CABI BioProtection Portal [9] [ better source needed ] is a global resource for natural, non-toxic biocontrol and biopesticide products. Users can search for a crop or pest to discover the solutions available in a particular country. The initiative was developed to help farmers and growers to use less chemical pesticides.

Microbial services

CABI housed a collection of over 28,000 fungus samples from around the world to carry out microbial identification, preservations, patenting, training and consultancy from their offices and labs in Egham, England. In 2009, these were merged with the collection at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. This move was supported by a £250,000 grant from the UK government. [10]

Notable people

Professor Ruth Oniang'o who is a leading nutritionist from Kenya sits on the board (in 2020). [11]

Publishing

The publishing division of CABI helps to fund the scientific research and projects undertaken by the other two divisions. CABI publishes books, abstract databases (such as CAB Direct) and online resources. Subject areas include agriculture, plant sciences, veterinary sciences, environmental science, food, nutrition, and tourism.

CABI's database 'Global Health' is a specialist bibliographic, abstracting and indexing database dedicated to public health research and practice. [12] Publications from over 158 countries in 50 languages are abstracted and all relevant non-English-language papers are translated to give access to research not available through any other database. In 2010, CABI became an official supporting organisation of Healthcare Information For All by 2015 as part of its support to improve availability and use of healthcare information in low-income countries. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pesticide</span> Substance used to destroy pests

Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others. The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all pesticide use globally. Most pesticides are used as plant protection products, which in general protect plants from weeds, fungi, or insects. In general, a pesticide is a chemical or biological agent that deters, incapacitates, kills, or otherwise discourages pests. Target pests can include insects, plant pathogens, weeds, molluscs, birds, mammals, fish, nematodes (roundworms), and microbes that destroy property, cause nuisance, or spread disease, or are disease vectors. Along with these benefits, pesticides also have drawbacks, such as potential toxicity to humans and other species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biological pest control</span> Controlling pests using other organisms

Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also involves an active human management role. It can be an important component of integrated pest management (IPM) programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Integrated pest management</span> Approach for economic control of pests

Integrated pest management (IPM), also known as integrated pest control (IPC) is a broad-based approach that integrates both chemical and non-chemical practices for economic control of pests. IPM aims to suppress pest populations below the economic injury level (EIL). The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization defines IPM as "the careful consideration of all available pest control techniques and subsequent integration of appropriate measures that discourage the development of pest populations and keep pesticides and other interventions to levels that are economically justified and reduce or minimize risks to human health and the environment. IPM emphasizes the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms." Entomologists and ecologists have urged the adoption of IPM pest control since the 1970s. IPM allows for safer pest control.

A biopesticide is a biological substance or organism that damages, kills, or repels organisms seen as pests. Biological pest management intervention involves predatory, parasitic, or chemical relationships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization</span> Intergovernmental organisation based in Paris

The European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) is an intergovernmental organisation responsible for European cooperation in plant protection in the European and Mediterranean region. Founded on April 18, 1951 and based in Paris, France, EPPO is the Regional Plant Protection Organization (RPPO) for Europe under the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).

<i>Helicoverpa armigera</i> Species of moth

Helicoverpa armigera is a species of Lepidoptera in the family Noctuidae. It is known as the cotton bollworm, corn earworm, Old World (African) bollworm, or scarce bordered straw. The larvae feed on a wide range of plants, including many important cultivated crops. It is a major pest in cotton and one of the most polyphagous and cosmopolitan pest species. It should not be confused with the similarly named larva of the related species Helicoverpa zea.

<i>Colletotrichum sublineolum</i> Species of fungus

Colletotrichum sublineola is a plant pathogen that causes anthracnose in wild rice and sorghum

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research</span> Australian government agency

The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) is an Australian Government statutory agency that forms part of the overseas aid program in the Foreign Affairs and Trade Portfolio, reporting to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. ACIAR was established under the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Act 1982 (Cth),(the ACIAR Act), as amended, to identify agricultural problems in developing problems and brokers Australian agricultural scientists to find solutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Plant Clinic</span> International agricultural organization

The Global Plant Clinic (GPC) is managed by CABI in alliance with Rothamsted Research and FERA Science. The GPC provides plant health services and supports over 80 plant health clinics in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The clinic has a diagnostic service, which covers all plants and types of problems, is used by over 80 countries and helps maintain disease vigilance. The clinic also trains plant pathologists, and work with all sectors to improve regular and reliable access to technical support and advice. The clinics main aim is to create durable plant health services for those who need them most by improving access to technical support and advice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fall armyworm</span> Species of moth

The fall armyworm is a species in the order Lepidoptera and one of the species of the fall armyworm moths distinguished by their larval life stage. The term "armyworm" can refer to several species, often describing the large-scale invasive behavior of the species' larval stage. It is regarded as a pest and can damage and destroy a wide variety of crops, which causes large economic damage. Its scientific name derives from frugiperda, which is Latin for lost fruit, named because of the species' ability to destroy crops. Because of its propensity for destruction, the fall armyworm's habits and possibilities for crop protection have been studied in depth. It is also a notable case for studying sympatric speciation, as it appears to be diverging into two species currently. Another remarkable trait of the larva is that they consistently practice cannibalism, despite its fitness costs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agricultural pollution</span> Type of pollution caused by agriculture

Agricultural pollution refers to biotic and abiotic byproducts of farming practices that result in contamination or degradation of the environment and surrounding ecosystems, and/or cause injury to humans and their economic interests. The pollution may come from a variety of sources, ranging from point source water pollution to more diffuse, landscape-level causes, also known as non-point source pollution and air pollution. Once in the environment these pollutants can have both direct effects in surrounding ecosystems, i.e. killing local wildlife or contaminating drinking water, and downstream effects such as dead zones caused by agricultural runoff is concentrated in large water bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LUBILOSA</span>

LUBILOSA was the name of a research programme that aimed at developing a biological alternative to the chemical control of locusts. This name is an acronym of the French title of the programme: Lutte Biologique contre les Locustes et les Sauteriaux. During its 13-year life, the programme identified an isolate of an entomopathogenic fungus belonging to the genus Metarhizium and virulent to locusts, and went through all the necessary steps to develop the commercial biopesticide product Green Muscle based on its spores.

The International Organization for Biological and Integrated Control (IOBC), is an organization, affiliated with the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS), organised to promote and study biological pest control, integrated pest management (IPM) and integrated production.

CAB Direct is a source of references for the applied life sciences It incorporates two bibliographic databases: CAB Abstracts and Global Health. CAB Direct is an access point for multiple bibliographic databases produced by CABI. This database contains over 11 million bibliographic records, which includes 746,000 full text articles. It also includes noteworthy literature reviews. News articles and reports are also part of this combined database. CAB Direct has now migrated to CABI's new platform CABI Digital Library - the new home of CABI's research content. https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Institute of Spices Research</span>

The Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) is an autonomous organisation engaged in agricultural research related to spices in India. The institute has its headquarters in Moozhikkal, Silver Hills, Kozhikode, Kerala and is a subsidiary of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, under the Ministry of Agriculture, India.

Pest risk analysis (PRA) is a form of risk analysis conducted by regulatory plant health authorities to identify the appropriate phytosanitary measures required to protect plant resources against new or emerging pests and regulated pests of plants or plant products. Specifically pest risk analysis is a term used within the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and is defined within the glossary of phytosanitary terms. as "the process of evaluating biological or other scientific and economic evidence to determine whether an organism is a pest, whether it should be regulated, and the strength of any phytosanitary measures to be taken against it". In a phytosanitary context, the term plant pest, or simply pest, refers to any species, strain or biotype of plant, animal or pathogenic agent injurious to plants or plant products and includes plant pathogenic bacteria, fungi, fungus-like organisms, viruses and virus like organisms, as well as insects, mites, nematodes and weeds.

Karen Bailey is a retired research scientist who specialized in plant pathology and biopesticide development at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Her research focused on developing alternatives to synthetic pesticides and improving plant health through integrated pest management strategies. She is internationally recognized for her expertise on soil-borne pathogens and biological control, and she has more than 250 publications, 23 patents, and 7 inventions disclosures in progress.

The Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting (ABIM) in Basel is an annual conference of manufacturers of biological plant protection products worldwide. Every year since 2005, 700 – 800 delegates from 300 – 400 firms take part in this English-speaking meeting.

The International Biocontrol Manufacturers' Association (IBMA) is a worldwide association of the biocontrol industry, with its head office in Brussels. IBMA has over 220 member companies.

<i>Hypomeces pulviger</i> Species of weevil

Hypomeces pulviger, also known as the gold-dust weevil or green weevil, is a species of beetle in the true weevil family. The adult weevil can reach a length of about 14 mm (0.6 in) and is covered with iridescent green or yellowish-green dust-like scales all over the body. This species can be found in India, tropical Southeast Asia, and the Philippines. Both the larvae and adults are crop pests. The larvae live in and pupate in the soil, feeding on living plant roots. The adult weevils are long-lived, doing damage to foliage, and sometimes defoliating young bushes and nursery trees.

References

  1. "Member Countries". CAB International. 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  2. <Robert Sloley CFO> (2023). "CABI Financial Statements 2022". www.cabi.org. CAB International. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  3. "Our people". CAB International. 2020. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
  4. "CABI: Who we work with, Donors". CABI. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  5. "CABI Annual Report & Financial Statements" (PDF). CABI. 31 December 2014. pp. 21, 31. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  6. "Biological control: Our best defence against pests such as knotweed". The Guardian . 4 December 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  7. "About Plantwise". CABI. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  8. "2017 WINNER ANNOUNCED – PLANTWISE". St Andrews Prize for the Environment . Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  9. "BioProtection Portal – biocontrol and biopesticide products". bioprotectionportal.com. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  10. "UK fungi get protection strategy". BBC News . 12 January 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  11. "Hon. Prof. Dr. Ruth K. Oniang'o – 1st GHI World Congress" . Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  12. "CABI: Global Health". CABI. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  13. "Supporting Organisations". HIFA. Archived from the original on 8 December 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2015.