As part of the 19th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), held on 28th October-2nd November 2023 at Palais des Congres in Yaounde, Cameroon, partners of AICCRA (Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa) RUFORUM and WASCAL have organized a side event entitled “Accelerating and scaling up Africa’s climate change adaptation and mitigation actions”.

Climate change is severely impacting our food systems, making it increasingly challenging to provide food security and healthy diets for all people. At the same time, food systems contribute 25–30% of all greenhouse gas emissions. The livestock sector alone contributes about half of these GHGs, and has a large land and water footprint.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) conducted a one-day workshop on “Leveraging the Role of Computer Vision in Agriculture Applications” as part of the CGIAR Initiative on Digital Innovation Initiative (DI). The workshop was organized at Delhi Technological University (DTU) on 20th November 2023. It was a joint effort by CGIAR's IRRI with DTU, New Delhi, and was meant for research scholars, and engineering students working in the field of Digital Agriculture. Sessions on the latest technologies used in Digital Agriculture were conducted during the workshops.

Climate change is projected to cause an increase in average temperatures in Zambia and a decline in rainfall, particularly in the southern and western regions. The country experiences high rainfall variability, which climate change is expected to exacerbate, resulting in likely higher frequency and intensity of already reoccurring extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods.

The objective of this research was to assess the effectiveness of the innovation platform (IP) (Terbol Station) on the wheat seed sector in Lebanon. Data were collected from 16 seed producers after identifying and mapping the key stakeholders in the seed sector. Descriptive statistics was used to categorize and evaluate the efficacy of the innovation platform by identifying six groups: seed availability and access, knowledge and training, seed production and market impact, incentives, joint planning, and the situation of the seed sector in Lebanon.

Substantial model variability exists regarding the likely meteorological impact of climate change on Kenya, particularly with respect to future precipitation levels. Significant regional differences are expected, largely due to Kenya’s diverse climate profile. Overall, temperatures are projected to increase while future precipitation levels are highly uncertain. Climate change is expected to significantly affect coastal areas, including because of sea level rise risks, stronger winds, and an overall warmer and drier climate.

The frequency of El Niño occurrences in southern Africa surpasses the norm, resulting in erratic weather patterns that significantly impact food security, particularly in Zimbabwe. The effects of these weather patterns posit that El Niño occurrences have contributed to the diminished maize yields. The objective is to give guidelines to policymakers, researchers, and agricultural stakeholders for taking proactive actions to address the immediate and lasting impacts of El Niño and enhance the resilience of the agricultural industry.

This guide is here to help smallholder farmers deal with the challenges of climate change and make their farms more resilient. By going through this manual, we want to not only assist farmers in adapting to climate change but also enhance their food security and livelihoods. The goal is to build farming households that can withstand the impacts of a changing climate

This report investigates the application of game design elements in agricultural contexts to influence user behavior and outcomes. It examines the effectiveness of gamification in bridging the gap between knowledge and action among farmers, utilizing various strategies like simulations, goal setting, and social gaming. The study, helps in identifying pathways to help agribusinesses scale their operations, improve their product and channel more effective marketing strategies using game elements.

The study was conducted by the Harnessing Gender and Social Equality for Resilience in Agrifood Systems (HER+) initiative in collaboration with UU in the context of the UU learning sites and HER+ learning labs.

Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) is an agricultural extension and climate services approach that supports farmers in making plans and decisions tailored to each farmer’s own ‘context’ in their production systems. It is implemented by facilitators (e.g., extension officers, non-governmental organisation field staff, community volunteers and researchers) through a series of meetings with groups of farmers.