This brief provides insight into the different farming systems of the three study regions and their application of CSA practices, comparing uptake between Heifer supported cooperatives and non-Heifer supported cooperatives, using evidence from a Rural Household Multi-Indicator Survey (RHoMIS).

The CWANA (Central and West Asia and North Africa) region was once considered the birthplace of civilizations and played a significant role in sustaining ancient empires like the Romans through its agricultural productivity. The area is characterized by diverse agroclimatic conditions, which vary across the countries in this extensive region in terms of climate, soil, and topography. Agriculture continues to make a significant contribution to the GDP of many CWANA countries, creating job opportunities and ensuring food security.

Evidence suggests that intensive tillage, crop residue removal/burning, and frequent soil wetting-drying cycles in rice-wheat rotations have led to declining soil organic matter and increased greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), and a consequent deterioration of soil quality (Jat et al., 2023).

Background
The social science and agribusiness research program at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has supported the Institute’s research and delivery efforts since 1967. This Compendium highlights the main achievements of IITA’s social science and agribusiness research over the 55 years from 1967 to 2022.
Methodology

A protocol was developed to establish AICCRA's on-farm demonstration plots for the short rains season of October-November-December 2023 in Makueni, Kitui and Taita Taveta Counties. This protocol outlines the specific roles and responsibilities of extension officers and lead farmers, covering various activities from land preparation to harvesting. It employs a randomized block design, integrating conservation agriculture and conventional tillage systems, with both sole cropping and intercropping of legumes and cereals.

In India, farmer producer organizations (FPOs) promote collective action among small and marginalized farmers, especially women. By facilitating resource pooling and coordination of production activities, improving market access, and providing training and extension, FPOs can contribute to higher agricultural incomes for smallholder farmers. Women’s FPOs also help formalize women’s roles in agriculture, offer them remunerative employment, and enhance their engagement across the value chain.

This project seeks to comprehend historical messaging patterns and their correlation with climate hazard data from livestock farmers' current interactions with agriculture service provider platforms like iShamba. The goal is to develop a high-resolution, targeted, and timely advisory package for livestock farmers through these platforms. The dataset comprises 319,569 records of text messages sent by farmers via the iShamba platform between 2015 and 2022.

Gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched in many agri-food systems (AFS), limiting the potential of women—especially those from agriculture-dependent communities—to be empowered and to build social and economic resilience to climate change challenges. The Harnessing Gender and Social Equality for Resilience in Agri-food Systems (HER+) initiative will generate learning and evidence on where and how to intervene at a deeper level to disrupt the foundations of inequality in AFS. This effort requires high-quality data.

The Local Climate Advisory Committees (LTACs) are spaces for inclusive dialogue between a diversity of local stakeholders such as farmers, extension services, representatives of the public, private and scientific sectors that seek to understand the possible behavior of the climate in a locality and generate recommendations to reduce the risks associated with expected climate variability.

There is a push toward natural, chemical-free farming in India, reflected in the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF). Working to promote on-farm bio-input preparations and agro-ecological practices, the NMNF notably prioritizes working among “traditionally low or no fertilizer input users… generally confined to hilly, tribal, high forestland districts,” ostensibly viewing these areas as more amenable to chemical-free farming.