The Ethiopian government has recently convened a national conference on ‘Shaping Agriculture for Greater Impact’ to map the path forward in a renewed commitment towards agricultural transformation through resilient agriculture and food systems. These include forging innovative partnerships, public policy, food value chain and livelihood, and on-farm and productive landscape solutions.

Forage-based cattle systems play a key role in rural economies of developing countries in terms of food security and poverty alleviation, particularly in tropical Latin America. However, they are often related to being a major cause of negative environmental impacts by contributing to increased greenhouse gas emissions, land degradation, and the reduction of biodiversity. Significant resources have been allocated to research and development in forage material improvement, including selection and breeding.

Agri-food systems approaches have gained international recognition over the last years. The role of livestock—both in mixed crop-livestock and pastoral systems—in sustainable agri-food systems transformation remains contested. In this review paper we present new analyses of original data from an international livestock expert survey, a quantitative search in Web of Science, and a literature review to unravel the potential for livestock systems to sustainably transform agri-food systems through regenerating soils and restoring degraded landscapes.

Societal Impact Statement:

In collaboration with AICCRA, EMI held a workshop to present the assessment of the Belg 2023 climate and the outlook of the upcoming Kiremt 2023. It was held within the NFCS-E framework, mainstreaming climate into key socio-economic sectors for resilience and sustainable development. It was convened on May 16, 2022, at Haile Resort, Adama, Ethiopia, and brought together 300 government officials of WoWE, EDRMC, EMI, representatives from socio-economic sectors, international partners, civic societies, and media.

A working group of stakeholders has been created to aid in shaping results and result dissemination for effecting policy change in Zambia. A first meeting was held in Lusaka on March 7th to present iFEED to the working group and begin discussions about how to use results to inform policy development. Further meetings took place in Q2 2023 between Leeds WP3 and the working group to finalise these results and how they will be used to inform policy change.

Adapting food systems to climate change is a global priority, including for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in East Africa. Food systems are impacted by climate change, and also contribute to climate change. In the East Africa region, climate change (particularly severe drought) is negatively impacting agricultural production (crops and livestock) and disrupting supply chains, putting pressure on livelihoods and threatening to significantly increase hunger and malnutrition. There is therefore a critical need for enhancing climate change adaptation efforts.

The CGIAR Initiative on Gender Equality (HER+: Harnessing Gender and Social Equality for Resilience in Agri-food systems) aims to achieve climate resilience by strengthening gender equality and social inclusion across food systems in the Global South. Together with partners, the initiative supports women to increase their agency and to acquire and gain control over resources. The initiative facilitates women’s pathways to empowerment and helps them adapt to future climate-related shocks and stresses.