The Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project is a three-year initiative funded by the World Bank and implemented in six (6) African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal and Zambia. In Senegal, the project’s objective is to reach and impact over 300 000 farmers and value chain players with climate informed agro-advisories and new/improved climate smart-agriculture (CSA) packages and technologies by the end of 2023.

The Department of Crop Production coordinated with the International Rice Research Institute in Vietnam to develop this technical guideline for rice-producing provinces in the Red River Delta. The guideline focused on reducing inputs, improving efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change for rice production.

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.

Context

This info brief provides an executive overview of the research methods and key finding of a series of information briefs. The briefs were developed to assess the role of Heifer Nepal programming in supporting the adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices amongst Heifer supported goat cooperatives, and their impact on a range of environmental and economic indicators.

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.

More structured production, distribution, and trade are important in upgrading bean value chains for higher trade volumes, farmer incomes, and national revenue. A strategic intervention to achieve these goals efficiently and effectively involves the use of a commodity corridor approach. Commodity corridors are areas of bean intensification characterized by flows of products from production to consumption points. These intensification zones are characterized by significant bean activities that include production, distribution, and consumption, and are supported by vast networks of actors.

Restoration of degraded land is key to enhancing land productivity and farmers' wellbeing in sub-Saharan Africa. Evidence shows that the benefits of land restoration are tremendous, ranging from biophysical benefits in soil health, agricultural productivity, ecosystem services, to socio-economic dimensions such as improving farmers’ income and livelihoods. Yet one issue that is rarely considered is how the outcomes of restoration initiatives affect different social groups, specifically women, men, and the marginalized.

The Feed Assessment Tool (FEAST) is a research for action tool that asses the availability and utilisation of local feed resources with the aim of creating context specific feed interventions. It is a tool that is more inclined towards pushing for participatory methods in agricultural research for development, while incorporating the increased use of technology in the developing world.

Until recent decades, labour-intensive subsistence farming was a way of life and livelihood in the hill communities of Uttarakhand, India. However, the nature of agriculture falls far short of the expectations of the main labour force, the rural youth, leading to their mass migration to non-agricultural occupations. The large-scale youth migration has left many hill farming landscapes depopulated and farmlands abandoned. As youth have special stakes in food systems, they must be included in the sustainable transformation of food systems.

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.