The adoption of sustainable agricultural mechanization (SAM) can sustainably increase productivity, and increase ecosystem resilience. Thirty (30) baby trials and One mother trial were established to expand access to smallholder farmers to SAM technologies and generate and share scientific evidence on the performance of SAM technologies, services and information in Ghana. The demonstration trials utilize participatory research and extension approaches by using existing partnerships.

Humanity is challenged with making progress toward global biodiversity, freshwater, and climate goals, while providing food and nutritional security for everyone. Our current food and land-use systems are incompatible with this ambition making them unsustainable. Papers in this special feature introduce a participatory, integrated modeling approach applied to provide insights on how to transform food and land-use systems to sustainable trajectories in 12 countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Finland, India, Mexico, Rwanda, Sweden, the UK, and USA.

This report summarizes findings from the project “Agroecological transitions for building
resilient and inclusive agricultural and food systems (TRANSITIONS)” which is funded by the
European Commission through its Development of Smart Innovation through Research in
Agriculture (DeSIRA) initiative and managed by the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD). The Digital Tools regional work in Vietnam focused on research and
engagement with digital tools for technical advice and performance assessment in sustainable

The Enhancing the Science-Policy-Investment Linkages and Decision Support for Climate-Smart Agriculture Planning learning materials highlights and expands upon key methods, tools, and actions to actively strengthen decision contexts in scaling climate-smart agriculture in Africa. These learning materials and content are built to include both technical skill building resources as well as process and approach guidance to help uncover more equitable, holistic, and resilient pathways to increase climate-resilience in our food and agricultural systems.

Achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment in food systems can result in greater food security and better nutrition, as well as more just, resilient and sustainable food systems for all. This chapter uses a scoping review to assess the current evidence on pathways between gender equality, women’s empowerment and food systems. The chapter uses an adaptation of the food system framework to organize the evidence and identify where evidence is strong, and where gaps remain.

Anthropogenic activities profoundly impact soil organic carbon (SOC), affecting its contribution to ecosystem services such as climate regulation. Here, we conducted a thorough review of the impacts of land-use change, land management, and climate change on SOC. Using second-order meta-analysis, we synthesized findings from 230 first-order meta-analyses comprising over 25,000 primary studies.

This research brief comprises two case studies about carbon farming projects which are currently running in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Telangana.

The EiA 2030 Initiative aims to deliver agronomic gain at scale for sustainable intensification of smallholder farming systems in the global south, co-created by CGIAR centers and strategic scaling partners from the public and private sectors. The Cereal-Legume Agronomy Scaling and Acceleration Platform (GH-CerLeg-GAIP) initiative of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Workshop was organized for the EiA 2030 Northern Ghana Soybean and Maize Agronomy Platform in Tamale on 15-17 August 2023 at Mariam Hotel, Tamale.

The field monitoring activities within the partner network play a crucial role in understanding the territory, production systems, and socio-economic conditions in communities. This knowledge enables effective support for partners, facilitating better interventions. The close relationship between technicians and producers, backed by a supportive team, fosters shared interventions, considering both local knowledge and technical expertise. Identifying production issues and leveraging community experiences with crops, yields, pests, and diseases further enhances collaboration.

Maize is the staple food of most households in sub-Saharan Africa. The adoption of stress-tolerant maize varieties (STMV) is being promoted due to climate change. There are various methods applied to disseminate these varieties. Unfortunately, the adoption at the household level is still unsatisfactory. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the dissemination methods used in Benin. We identified dissemination methods from key informants involved in STMV seed dissemination projects.

Mungbean is an important pulse crop in Bangladesh, where it is primarily grown in the south by small and marginal farming households who produce two-thirds of the total national mungbean crop. Mungbean is a short-duration crop which requires only 60-65 days from planting to harvest. It is typically grown between February and May with few inputs or intensive management, and is thus growing in popularity in southern Bangladesh.