Smallholder farmers often lack documented land rights to serve as collateral for formal loans, and their livelihoods are inextricably linked to increasingly variable weather conditions. Resulting credit and risk constraints prevent them from making potentially profitable investments in their farms. We implemented a randomized evaluation of the impacts of KhetScore, an innovative credit scoring methodology that uses digital technologies to unlock credit and insurance for smallholders including landless farmers in Odisha, a state in eastern India.

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).

The agricultural innovation system is an approach that consider agricultural innovation from a global perspective. Rapid Appraisal of Agricultural Innovation Systems is one of commonly used methods, it involves series of structured and participatory activities, including interviews, focus group discussions, and stakeholder workshops, to identify the actors, institutions, and relationships involved in the AIS, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the system.

Currently there is little evidence on differentiated gender roles and empowerment in value chains in the Latin America region and few comparative analyses on value chains and between value chain nodes. In this study, we examine different indicators of women’s empowerment among the production and processing nodes of two agricultural value chains—cashew and dairy—in Honduras to understand whether and how women’s roles in the value chains are related to their empowerment.

There has been considerable debate on how to develop gender-equitable agri-food innovations. Much of the debate is on whether gender-accommodative approaches (GAAs) and the more-recent gendertransformative approaches (GTAs) can work and how. Evidence on best pathways for gender-equitable agri-food innovations is limited. Livestock contributes to animalsource foods and to progress toward gender-equitable agri-food systems.

East and Southern Africa is a climate hotspot, with more than US$45 billion in agricultural production at risk from higher temperatures, shorter growing seasons, and more extreme droughts and floods. Women play a strategic role in agricultural development and food security, often in labor-intensive activities. Efforts to quickly address the current water and climate challenges through innovative ways have been underscored. One of such innovations emphasized has been production technologies, recognized as potentially effective in improving agricultural incomes for farmers.

Nepal’s agriculture sector is facing various challenges including, amongst others, inadequate infrastructures, investment, labor shortage, climate-induced changes, and weak agriculture governance mechanisms. With the increase in migration trends among males, the ‘left behinds’ in the mid-hills of Nepal, are mostly women, middle-aged men, and the elderly. Due to the massive decline in the labor force, arable land is left fallow, ultimately affecting food security.

Climate change poses a significant threat to agri-food systems. However, individuals involved in agriculture, particularly women and marginalized communities, bear a disproportionate burden of the climate’s unpredictability. This disparity arises from existing structural inequalities, such as women having limited access to resources; unequal sharing of agricultural and household responsibilities; lack of decision-making power; insufficient availability of nutritious food, leading to malnutrition and food insecurity; and heightened vulnerability to climate-related stresses.

The urgency of India’s food system transformation is more pronounced than ever. Despite high economic growth and rising per capita incomes, approximately 194 million people in India remain undernourished and there is a high prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies, particularly among women and children under 5 years. Agri-food systems in India employ more than 50% of the workforce and engage nearly 82% of smallholder farmers. Therefore, ensuring inclusive growth and reduced poverty necessitates new and enhanced livelihood and employment opportunities in the agri-food sector.

Evidence of women’s participation in value chains is greater on the production side, but scanty in downstream nodes, pointing to women being relegated to unprofitable activities. The consequence is suboptimal value chain performance with wide gender gaps in productivity, income, household food security, and poverty. This study sought to inform the development of gender-inclusive value chains.

Women’s leadership of smallholder households is a major component of women’s empowerment. Approaches to understanding women’s empowerment in Southeast Asian countries require nuance due to the lack of independently managed plots by male and female spouses. We present an approach that allows detailed insights into women’s leadership of activities and the extent to which male and female spouses disagree about leadership.