Abstract Globally, land and seascapes across the bioculturally diverse tropics are in transition. Impacted by the demands of distant consumers, the processes of global environmental change and numerous interventions seeking climate, conservation and development goals, these transitions have the potential to impact the relationships and plurality of values held between people and place. This paper is a Synthesis of seven empirical studies within the Special Feature (SF): ‘What is lost in transition?

A Digital Twin (DT) is a digital representation of reality. This report explores the implementation of DT in the context of basin scale water management, with a particular focus on developing countries. The review begins with an examination of the background of DT and then delves into successful applications of DT particularly in developing nations. It also explores the potential of integrating Virtual Reality (VR) technologies as a part of DT, emphasizing the importance of stakeholder needs assessment for effective deployment.

Open-pollinated varieties (OPVs), such as beans, sorghum, and groundnuts, are important for increased income, job creation, food security, and nutrition of both urban and rural households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the main constraint is underdeveloped seed systems, which contribute substantially to dwindling productivity among small-scale farmers due to limited access to reliable and quality planting materials.

Tanzania is endowed with a diversity of ecosystems, huge number of cattle farming and available arable land. However, the productivity per cow is still very low due various reasons. This study used data from African Asian Dairy Genetic Gains (AADGG) database collected over a period of 2016 to 2023 in combination with mini survey of cost of production done in twenty-four (24) Local Government Authorities (LGAs) to determines factors that influence total factor productivity in the small-scale dairy farm in selected district in Tanzania.

The introduction of 'Kounouz,' a drought-tolerant barley variety, has significantly enhanced farm income and reduced production risks for small-scale farmers in Tunisia.

Compressing agro-industrial by products into nutrient dense livestock feed pellets is a worthwhile innovation to compete with expensive and imported feed pellets. This innovation consists of a small-scale compressor 'pelletizer' and formulas to create qualitatively sufficient feed pellets with local available inputs.

Women are more food insecure than men globally and in every region. This paper investigates the global gender gap in food insecurity and its evolution following the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the food insecurity experience scale (FIES) data collected from over 700,000 individuals across 121 countries, our empirical analysis showed that individuals aged 25– 34, regardless of gender, and women in rural areas had been disproportionally affected by the pandemic.

VALUE4HER is a continental initiative of the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) aimed at strengthening women’s agribusiness enterprises and enhancing voice and advocacy across Africa. The initiative aims to increase the performance of women entrepreneurs through access to markets and trade, access to finance and investments, learning, networking, and global advocacy aimed at addressing some of the key barriers to women’s business growth and market participation in agriculture.

Sustainable mechanization can help reduce women smallholder farmers’ time and labor burden while increasing farm productivity and building resilience. However, the reality is that most agricultural innovations and technologies do not cater to women’s needs or preferences and are primarily designed for middle-income male farmers. While the adoption of mechanization in Bangladesh is rapidly increasing, women smallholder farmers face sociocultural constraints that can make operating machines difficult.

Cashew is one of the cash crops mostly grown by smallholder farmers in Tanzania. It provides a major source of rural employment and income. Women provide 90% of labor in small-scale cashew processing and largely sell to the domestic market. However, women face constraints in increasing the productivity and profitability of small processing operations. This study assesses the effectiveness of an intervention that provided equipment and training to women’s cashew processing groups (WCPGs) in the Mtwara and Lindi regions, implemented by the Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO).

Plenary presentation on “Fail to Scale: The persistent Problem of Technology Transfer and Possible Solutions Based on Key Agroecological Principles” – delivered on October 11th. This communication occurred during the 20th International Scientific Day of INRGREF in Tunis, Tunisia “Sustainable Ecosystem Management for Agroecological Transition and Food Security” (10-11 October 2023).