Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:20:04 +0200https://www.cirad.fr/en/press-area/press-releases/2026/agroecological-practices-limited-by-high-labor-requirementsA study conducted in Rwanda by the NGO One Acre Fund and in partnership with the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) and CIRAD has been published in Agronomy for Sustainable Development. Rwanda faces major food security challenges, and row intercropping has emerged as a promising sustainable solution compared to current sole crops or broadcasting intercropping systems. Researchers show that row intercropping outperforms current cropping systems. Yet its adoption is constrained by the labor required inherent to row-cropping to implement the practice. Following on-farm trials involving 225 farms, only 30% of farmers continued to use the technique, despite its ability to improve yields and economic returns.Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:20:04 +0200https://www.cirad.fr/en/press-area/press-releases/2026/cop17-desertification-recognising-the-role-of-pastoralismCOP17 on combating desertification will be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 17 to 28 August 2026. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is gradually recognising the role of pastoralism in sustainable land management. CIRAD will be at COP17 to call for greater recognition of pastoral social-ecological systems, which are a real asset for the planet.Thu, 23 Jul 2026 12:09:08 +0200https://www.cirad.fr/en/press-area/press-releases/2026/chair-economic-risks-related-to-natureIn the Face of the Ecological Emergency, a Research Chair Develops Innovative Tools to Place Nature at the Heart of Economic Decision-Making. The Banque de France, in partnership with École polytechnique, ENSAE Paris, the International Research Centre on Environment and Development (CIRED), Paris School of Economics (PSE), and the Foundation for Biodiversity Research (FRB), announces the launch of the Research Chair “Modelling Economic and Financial Risks Related to Nature”, hosted by the Fondation du Risque. This research initiative aims to provide public and economic decision-makers with macroeconomic and financial models that incorporate the risks associated with nature degradation, thereby supporting informed decision-making by both public and private stakeholders. In the medium term, the objective is to integrate these tools into international discussions and frameworks, including those of the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).Tue, 07 Jul 2026 13:38:03 +0200https://www.cirad.fr/en/press-area/press-releases/2026/viral-fossils-hidden-in-plant-dnaAn international team of INRAE and CIRAD researchers uncovered over 40 000 remnants of ancient viruses in plant genomes, allowing a unique glimpse into the evolution of plant viruses. Their findings were published in the journal PLoS Pathogens.Mon, 29 Jun 2026 10:33:06 +0200https://www.cirad.fr/en/press-area/press-releases/2026/global-health-disease-vector-eliminationA study coordinated by CIRAD, involving several research organisations including IRD (France), ICIPE (Kenya), Stellenbosch University (South Africa), IRED and PNLTHA (Chad), and CIRDES (Burkina Faso), published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), presents an innovative methodological framework for rigorously assessing the elimination of vectors of tropical diseases. The international team applied this method in the Mandoul region of Chad to the tsetse fly, the vector of the parasite that causes sleeping sickness. This is an outcome of two projects: TRYPA-NO! 3, with IRD and CIRAD as key partners; and COMBAT, coordinated by CIRAD.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 15:35:55 +0200