Contamination of key staples with aflatoxins compromises the quality of food and feed, impedes trade, and negatively affects the health of consumers whereas acute exposure can be fatal.

The productivity of small ruminants in developing countries remains low although the animals play an integral role in the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Current information on their productive performance and contribution to the household incomes of smallholder farmers in Eastern Africa is limited. This study was implemented as part of an on-going small ruminant improvement project by the Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kericho and Kisumu Counties of the Lake Victoria basin of Kenya.

"The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Rainforest Alliance (RA), in conjunction with its partners The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), The Sustainable Food Lab (SFL) and Root Capital (RC) through the Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security’s (CCAFS) Phase 1 (2015-2018) on Mainstreaming Climate Smart Cocoa (CSC) project laid the foundation for this second phase of CCAFS.

This working paper is a collaboration between two CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs): Fish Agri-Food Systems (FISH) and Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB). It documents linkages between fish, roots, tubers and bananas (RTB crops) within food systems; identifies opportunities for strengthened integration in production systems, animal feed and nutritional products; and identifies constraints and research gaps, and provides policy recommendations that support nutrition-sensitive food systems.

The agriculture sector is the largest contributor to Kenya’s economy and includes crop and livestock production, agroforestry, fisheries and aquaculture, agro-processing, trade, and all associated services. Due to its reliance on rain and natural weather patterns, however, this key sector is vulnerable to climate shocks and long-term changes, which already are increasing pressure on Kenya’s food security. Over the years, natural hazards from extreme weather events in the form of droughts and flooding have increased, both in frequency and magnitude of damage.

This report provides an overview of the types and sources of planting material used by 1315 farmers in Uganda and Tanzania. The data was collected from six dristricts; Luwero and Mbarara in Uganda and Meru, Moshi, Bukoba and Rungwe in Tanzania. Nearly all farmers who participated in the study used suckers which they obtained them from their own farms or from friends and neighbours. Suckers are more readily available, exchanged for free or affordable and accessible to farmers.

Credit constraint is considered by many as one of the key barriers to adoption of modern agricultural technologies, such as chemical fertilizer, improved seeds, and irrigation technologies, among smallholders. Past research and much policy discourse associates agricultural credit constraints with supply-side factors, such as limited access to credit sources or high costs of borrowing. However, demand-side factors, such as risk-aversion and financial illiteracy among borrowers, as well as high transaction costs, can also play important roles in credit-rationing for smallholders.

Tanzania is the sixth largest producer of potatoes in Africa. They are generally grown in regions having an elevation of 1,800 and 2,700 meters above sea level. About 70 - 80% of the potatoes are produced in the Southern Highlands, particularly in the Iringa, Njombe and Mbeya regions. SAGCOT reported an annual potatoes production of over 1.7 million metric tons in the year 2017 (SGCOT, 2017). Average yield of potatoes ranges between 10 – 25 tons per hectare (Netherlands Enterprise Agency, 2017). Potato is also grown in Arusha, Eastern and in Kagera regions.

Even though drought tolerant maize (DTM) varieties have proven yield stabilization benefits, the adoptions remains low. In this research, we explore the risk spectrum that male and female smallholder farmers face in agriculture and the gendered barriers and drivers to adoption of drought tolerant maize varieties. The study appraises how communities in four district in Uganda are responding to observed changes and managing agricultural risks.

The study examined the factors for the successful implementation of bylaws on sustainable crop intensification. The study used the new institutionalism theory to examine the implementation of bylaws in the potato cropping system in southwestern Uganda. A mixed model featuring both qualitative and quantitative approaches was used in the study. This involved analysis of primary data. The primary sources were key informants, focus group discussions, and face to face interviews with individual farmers, as well as secondary data sources.

In this article, we operationalized a sustainability framing based on the Sustainable Rural Livelihood Resources Framework (SLF), which consists of five capitals—human, physical, social,
financial, and natural. We proposed a sustainability index (SI) for two landscapes dominated by two agricultural systems: cattle ranching and small-scale family agriculture. Farm variables within
each capital were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. Key variables were identified and index values were calculated for each capital. These were combined through a set of simultaneous