A new policy brief from leading experts at the Centre for International Forestry Research-World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) and IPB University, as a part of the Center for Global Sustainability’s (CGS) Indonesia Program new guest policy brief series, provides an overview of the crucial interconnection between bioenergy and land use, focusing specifically on the production and employment of biomass for bioenergy and biomaterial. This guest analysis evaluates four case studies to understand sustainable biomass management methodologies.

Introduction Indigenous Wild edible plants (IWEPs) are consumed daily in some form by at least one in seven people worldwide. Many of them are rich in essential nutrients with the potential for dietary and nutrition improvement particularly for poor households. They are, however, often overlooked. This study investigated diversity, consumption frequency, and perceptions of IWEPs and the contribution they make to the food security of communities in Turkana County, northern Kenya.

This study used gender-intentional participatory approaches to address the challenges of low genetic correlation and lower genetic gains for small-scale bean producers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Bird- and bat-mediated biocontrol benefits the productivity of tropicalcommodity crops such as cacao, but the ecological interactions drivingthese ecosystem services remain poorly understood. Whereas birds and batsprey on herbivorous arthropods, they may also prey on arthropodmesopredators such as ants, with poorly understood consequences for pestbiocontrol.

Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) originated in Central America or north-western South America from where it was introduced to Europe, Africa, Asia and North America in more recent times. Sweetpotato is now cultivated in nearly all parts of the tropics and sub-tropics as well as in the warmer parts of the temperate regions (CIP, 2019). This is because Sweetpotato is a dry-land crop, tolerant to a wide range of edaphic and climatic conditions. It is more tolerant of cold than other tropical root and tuber crops, hence, it can be grown at altitudes as high as 2500 m.

Sustainable environmentally, economically viable, and socially acceptable ways are important factors in increasing food production and achieving food security. To achieve increasing food production, the capacity development of key stakeholders especially extension agents and youth farmers is of great necessity, toward increasing the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices.

The CGIAR Gender Equality Initiative organized a stakeholder workshop on 23 – 24 May 2023. The workshop focused on exploring the technology and innovation bundles that have the potential to revolutionize farming practices and enhance the resilience of women farmers.

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is able to grow and complete its life cycle while being rooted in highly saline soils. Which of the many well-known salt-tolerance strategies are combined to fine-tune this remarkable resilience is unknown. The precise location, whether in the shoot or the root, where these strategies are employed remains uncertain, leaving us unaware of how the various known salt-tolerance mechanisms are integrated to fine-tune this remarkable resilience.