Effective interfaces of knowledge and policy are critical for food system transformation. Here, an expert group assembled to explore research needs towards a safe and just food system put forward principles to guide relations between society, science, knowledge, policy and politics.
In Colombia, the rise of agricultural and pastureland expansion continues to exert increasing pressure on the structure and ecological processes of savannahs in the Eastern Plains. However, the effect of land use change on soil properties is often unknown due to poor access to remote areas. Effective management and conservation of soils requires the development spatial approaches that measure and predict dynamic soil properties such as soil organic carbon (SOC).
This article draws on recent research (2017–20) into the livelihoods and imagined futures of rural youth in four communities in southern Nigeria. The research involved observations, sex-segregated focus group discussions and individual interviews. Taking up insights from sociologists of education and work, our analysis shows how rural youth simultaneously navigated schooling, farming, low-paid vocational work and family obligations in ways that were highly gendered.
Sustainably managed non-native trees deliver economic and societal benefits with limited risk of spread to adjoining areas. However, some plantations have launched invasions that cause substantial damage to biodiversity and ecosystem services, while others pose substantial threats of causing such impacts. The challenge is to maximise the benefits of non-native trees, while minimising negative impacts and preserving future benefits and options.
Despite the urgent need for comprehensive food systems strategies, the challenge lies in defining feasible, evidence-based intervention points. Too little is known about issues food systems decision-makers and other change agents are running up against, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where food systems are the most vulnerable to a growing number of intertwined crises.
Urban space is highly unequal, gendered, and divided. Urban policy and development planning often overlook the issue of food and water security for the most marginalized populations, who are often unregistered and considered as ‘temporary’ residents. In Bangladesh, the rural-urban migration of women is increasingly common. However, research on gender, food and water security in agricultural organizations often focuses on rural contexts where food is produced.
Malnutrition, mostly resulting from poor food, health, and care practices, is related to physiological, socioeconomic, and psychological factors and remains one of the leading causes of mortality in children under five years of age in low- and middle-income countries. Nigeria, as with many parts of the world, is experiencing a multiple malnutrition burden, where undernutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies, exists alongside overweight, obesity, and associated diet-related non-communicable diseases.
The Asian Mega-Deltas is one of the CGIAR’s research initiatives which aims to create resilient, inclusive and productive deltas, which maintain socio-ecological integrity, adapt to climatic and other stressors, and support human prosperity and wellbeing, by removing systemic barriers to the scaling of transformative technologies and practices at community, national and regional levels.
CIAT’s financial mandate includes maintaining accountability and transparency in its finances, and to evaluate and communicate direct impact from our work to our donors, partners and the wider research and development community.
Crop genetic diversity is a sine qua non for continuous progress in the development of improved varieties, hence the need for germplasm collection, conservation and characterization. Over the years, cowpea has contributed immensely to the nutrition and economic life of the people in Togo. However, the bulk of varieties grown by farmers are landraces due to the absence of any serious genetic improvement activity on cowpea in the country.
Htee Pu village in the Dry Zone was designated as Climate-Smart Village, where participatory action research was undertaken from 2018 to 2020 to find solutions to climate change's challenges to local farmers' lives and livelihoods. A Dry Zone is typically characterized by a lack of water, thin vegetation cover, and severe soil erosion. Nyaung U Township has the highest temperature in Myanmar's dry zone regions. With support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada, the research project was implemented in Myanmar from July 2020 to July 2022.
Traditional crops play an important role in household food security and livelihood needs of mountain communities, while at the same time safeguarding crop biodiversity for future generations. This study aims to analyse socioeconomic, farmspecificagro-ecological and market factors influencing cultivation and maintenance of crop diversity in Nepal. It used sample surveys of 328 households from mountains of Humla, Jumla, Lamjung and Dolakha districts in 2015. The sample survey was supplemented with participatory rural appraisals, field monitoring visits and local stakeholder consultations.