Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is a widespread problem in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Here the population is predominantly reliant plant-based diets. Thus, identification of popular food sources with higher vitamin A contents is a suitable means for addressing VAD. For example, Burundi has a VAD prevalence of 46%. In this region, bananas and plantains are a cheap staple food crop and therefore, offer a good avenue for supplying vitamin A in the diets.

In its Phase 1 (September to December 2022) the Climate, Security and Food Systems theme workstream of the HDP coalition worked together with its members to collate state-of-the-art evidence on the connection between climate, food, and peace and security. This brief summarises the latest research conducted by CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security for the country of Kenya as validated by the members of the Climate, Security and Food systems workstream. CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security has developed a Climate Security Observatory (CSO) within the ONECGIAR Climate Resilience Initiative.

The Darwin Initiative funded project “Bridging Agriculture and Environment: The Southern African Crop Wild Relatives Network” aims at establishing strategic partnerships and networks of protected areas for Crop wild relatives’ (CWR) conservation and use. One of the key components of this project is “Access and Benefit Sharing” (ABS).

RUFORUM conducted a scoping study to identify areas of CSA/CIS convergence for member universities from 20th November to March 2022. Consultations were made with the Deans of the Faculties of Agriculture and related disciplines of Congolese member universities in eastern DRC, through zoom and then individual questionnaires to identify the focal persons who are involved in Climate Smart Agriculture teaching and research.

Groundwater resources and irrigation systems are a fundamental consideration for sustainable and inclusive food system transitions in South Asia. Over the course of the latter part of the 20th century and the early 21st century, groundwater has become the primary source of irrigation water across South Asia and globally. The aquifers in Western and Peninsula regions in South Asia have faced water scarcity and groundwater depletion. But in the Eastern Gangetic Plains, aquifers are still considered underutilized by most planners and policymakers.

The presentation discussed the various steps in Climate-Smart Mapping and Adaptation Planning (CS-MAP), such as: defining climate-risks and agriculture products, mapping climate-risks, proposing adaptation plans, revising climate-smart maps and adaptation plans, and map integration at province level.

Among smallholder maize farmers in Ethiopia (and similar areas in Africa), yield and stress tolerance traits in maize varieties are important. While high yields remain a major objective, breeding and seed system development programs are increasingly based on the recognition that farmers also have an interest in other agronomic and consumption traits. In this paper we illustrate these issues by measuring the trade-offs farmers may be willing to make for specific traits in the mid-altitude maize markets in Ethiopia.

In this methodological note, we propose a quantitative framework to develop a Climate and Security Index (CSI), for measuring and monitoring climate security vulnerability. Primarily meant for long-term planning and decision making for resilience building, it incorporates a broad range of drivers of the climate-security nexus, including those from climatic, conflict, socioeconomic, agricultural, and contextual (i.e., mitigating factors, adaptive capacity) dimensions, to indicate climate-security risks at subnational level.

This study evaluates the context within the targeted areas in the Horn of Africa, and summarises common investments in these countries in relation to climate adaptation and climate security based on a review of Nationally Determined Contributions. The report also assesses key agreements in the Karamoja-Turkana/Pokot-Eastern Equatoria cluster, identifying the focus priorities of these agreements and suggested interventions with the purpose of informing stakeholders on regional priorities and investments with cross-border benefits.

Southern Africa is highly drought-prone, and its agricultural and hydrological systems are vulnerable. Climate forecasts provide tools for decision-making and adaptation to climate extreme events. This report presents the preliminary results regarding the development of seasonal drought forecasts for the Limpopo River basin. Using multiple climate-relevant datasets, a diagnosis of the climate of the Limpopo basin was carried out, and the relevance of using the SPEI drought index for characterizing droughts was also assessed.