As part of the AICCRA, the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) are tasked to develop curricula and training materials to accelerate the mainstreaming of Climate Information Services (CIS) and Climate- Smart Agriculture (CSA) into University’s curricula in Africa. This report describes the activities of a training of trainers’ (ToT) workshop on soil nutrient and water management in crop production course module, held from 28 February to 03 March 2023.

As part of the AICCRA, the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) are tasked to develop curricula and training materials to accelerate the mainstreaming of Climate Information Services (CIS) and Climate- Smart Agriculture (CSA) into University’s curricula in Africa. This report describes the activities of a training of trainers’ (ToT) workshop on Indigenous and local trees-based agroforestry systems course module, held on 11-14 April 2023.

This study documented existing knowledge on traditional fruits, vegetables and pulses in Kenya and Ethiopia. The aim was to identify neglected and underutilized species with high potential for food security, for their economic value and contribution to sustainable agriculture, based on a literature review and confirmation of existing data by local experts. In order of priority, the top 5 fruit species in Kenya are Tamarindus indica L. , Adansonia digitata L.

Climate change is a key driver of the spread of pests and diseases that affect food production in West and Central Africa. Science-policy linkages are essential for developing effective pests and disease management systems that can minimize agricultural losses to pests in Africa. With AICCRA support and engagement, a regional plan for preparedness and response to pest and disease outbreaks in West and Central Africa has been developed.

Scaling up Gender and Nutrition Sensitive (GNS) Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies and Climate Information Services (CIS) is essential to reducing gender inequalities and empowering women in agriculture and food systems in West Africa. AICCRA collaborated with its regional partner, CORAF to promote tested and sound GNS Technologies during the 2023 Market for Agricultural Innovation and Technology (MITA).

Women are less represented in agricultural research and development sector representing only 25% of agricultural scientists in Africa in the last decade, and a much lower proportion of decision makers on agriculture and climate change at institutional, national, and global levels. Research activities on climate change and outputs must be inclusive, gender-oriented and promote gender equity to enable women scientists to make a greater contribution and be represented at all levels.

Accelerating the scaling of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) requires institutional innovations and interactions among stakeholders operating across scales. The West Africa CSA Alliance (WACSA) and the Central Africa CSA Alliance (CACSA) are two CSA institutional innovations operating at regional scale and aimed at facilitating dialogue and discussions among stakeholders, as well as fostering collective actions to transform and reorient agricultural systems in face of climate change.

It is widely acknowledged that climate smart agricultural (CSA) practices prioritization is influenced by subjectivity and relies heavily on the expertise and exposure of the experts. The objective of this paper is to enhance the precision and objectivity of prioritizing CSA practices by leveraging a combination of research findings and expert knowledge. This is the first attempt to integrate experts’ knowledge and meta-analysis in the prioritization of CSA practices. Before integrating the two ranks, separate approaches were used to prioritize and rank CSA practices.

This report aims to explore the intersection of gender and social inclusion, with a focus on the challenges and opportunities faced by women and youth in the agribusiness sector. It examines the ways in which gender norms and stereotypes shape social inclusion, and how exclusionary practices can perpetuate gender-based inequalities. The report draws on the gender analysis studies, baseline surveys and positive case study examples from diverse settings to highlight the key issues and strategies for promoting Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) in the agribusiness sector.

This chapter advances the state-of-the-art understanding of tipping cascades across scales and systems between Earth system and social tipping points. We consider a tipping cascade to occur when extremes or passing of a tipping point in one system triggers or increases the likelihood of reaching a tipping point in another. Here, this means that crossing an Earth system tipping point or experiencing an extreme volatility in the natural system can lead to cascading impacts that trigger social tipping points, and vice versa.

Voluntary Sustainability Systems (VSS) are varied in their commitments, actions and performances on gender equality. But as more VSS seek to address gender inequalities in agri-food value chains, the timing is ripe to reflect on existing evidence to inform future strategies. A recent evidence review sought to understand if and how VSS can support women’s full and effective participation and leadership in decision-making in agri-food value chains.

The SIMFS initiative in Ethiopia is implemented under the scheme of sustainable intensification of crop-livestock mixed farming systems. Its purposes are to encourage the adoption and innovation of sustainable intensification technologies that improve crop, livestock, and water productivity, and conserve natural resources for smallholder farmers in Ethiopia.