Publisher’s Comments and Table of Contents – June 2025

Welcome to the Appropriate Technology June 2025 issue.

Appropriate Technology (AT) June 2025 issue brings you powerful examples of innovation rooted in equity, sustainability, and local empowerment. I would like to thank Andy Crump for his invaluable contributions throughout this issue. His input in each section has been truly significant.

Europe’s newly launched agroforestry strategy offers hope for climate resilience, biodiversity, and livelihoods, while projects like PMPD and CAR-iSMa reaffirm the critical role of market development and equitable land access in tackling hunger and rural poverty.

In Agriculture & Food, GEiGS® gene-editing technology heralds a paradigm shift in crop production and food waste reduction, and Japan emerges as a world leader in gene-edited foods. Stories from Ghana, Angola, South Sudan, and Jamaica illustrate how bees, mopane worms, coffee, and hot peppers are shaping dynamic agricultural futures. Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s jackfruit could soon shine as its “golden fruit” with immense potential.

Energy innovations this month include PRO power harnessing tidal flows, and solar-powered milking technology boosting efficiency in Malawi’s dairy sector.

In Health & Wellbeing, we spotlight a promising antibiotic targeting the gonorrhoea superbug and a blood test capable of detecting Parkinson’s disease years before symptoms appear.

Climate Change features drought-resistant ‘resurrection’ crops, the complex impacts of sargassum seaweed, and Pacific youth voices leading global resilience dialogues.

IT & Technology updates explore high-tech sensory plant monitoring and ultrasonic-controlled nanodrugs tackling AMR. Engineering for Change provides information on Africa’s transition to electric vehicles, alongside Keziah Ntwiga’s practical tips for hardware startups navigating technological shifts.

Prolinnova shares lessons from Kenya and Ghana on mainstreaming farmer-led innovation, and Appropedia inspires us with community-led pathways to resilience and sustainability.

We hope this issue energises your work, partnerships, and advocacy, reaffirming that appropriate technologies remain vital to achieving dignified, inclusive, and climate-secure futures.

Ras Patel - Publishing Director
raspatel@appropriate-technology.com

Contents Appropriate Technology June 2025
Volume 52, Number 2

News Briefing
A new agroforestry strategy for Europe
Project for Market and Pasture Management Development (PMPD)
CAR-iSMa project
Equitable access to land is key to investing in rural development, fighting hunger and protecting biodiversity, says IFAD

Agriculture & Food
GEiGS® technology: a paradigm shift in crop production and food waste reduction
Ghana beekeeping developing apace with international collaboration
Fertilisers and bio-stimulants from bio-waste promote sustainable agriculture
Global coffee crisis offers opportunities for South Sudan's Excelsa coffee
Cassava and mopane worms leading Angola's agricultural revival
Firing up Jamaica’s hot peppers
Japan – world leader in gene-edited food
Jackfruit – Bangladesh’s golden future?

Energy
PRO power – electricity from water flowing from rivers to oceans
Solar-powered milking technology boosts efficiency for Malawi's dairy farmers

Health & Wellbeing
New antibiotic to fight gonorrhoea superbugs
Blood test detects Parkinson’s disease years before symptoms appear

Education & Knowledge
Marine fungi: untapped biotech superstars?

Housing & Infrastructure
New biodegradable bio-plastic packaging films set to shake up the industry

Climate Change
Novel drought-resistant 'resurrection' crops
Sargassum seaweed – good or bad?
Voices of climate resilience: what pacific youth can teach the world

IT & Technology
High-tech sensory monitoring of crop plants for enhanced resilience
High-tech ‘early warning’ system for crop health
Novel ultrasonic-controlled nanodrugs to tackle AMR

Engineering for Change
African nations power up their shift to electric vehicles
Keziah Ntwiga's tips for hardware startups in a technologically dynamic age

Prolinnova
Beating drought in the Sahel by supporting water-conserving farmer innovations
Getting farmer-led joint innovation processes mainstreamed: Lessons from Kenya and Ghana

Appropedia
Building resilient and sustainable communities

Events Calendar

Front Cover: A Bangladeshi farmer with one of his jackfruits.
Credit FAO (see page 29)