Estimating genetic gains is vital to optimize breeding programs for increased efficiency. Genetic gains should translate into productivity gains if returns to investments in breeding and impact are to be realized. The objective of this study was to estimate genetic gain for grain yield and key agronomic traits in pre-commercial and commercial maize varieties from public and private breeding programs tested in (i) national performance trials (NPT), (ii) era trial and, (iii) compare the trends with the national average.

Land degradation is a major obstacle to agricultural development in Africa,
where it’s accentuated by poor agricultural practices and climate change effects.
Restoration of degraded lands is crucial to prevent incursions into virgin and
marginal lands. A field experiment was carried out over a four-year period on
two degraded sites, to assess and compare the effect of the common practices
of: (i) burning crop residues and weeds by resource-poor farmers (T1) and (ii)
burning crop residues and weeds followed with application of manure and/or

Gender Equality, Climate Change and Agriculture in the MENA region: Priorities and Possibilities.

From Fragility to Resilience in Central and West Asia and North Africa (F2R-CWANA) - CGIAR Initiative drop in call: RAFS RIIs, March 9, 2023

This is a report on an innovation packaging exercise for the Munda makeover innovation. Munda makeover innovation packaging is being implemented by the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (ABC) and partners. It is part of the work under the Diversification in East and Southern Africa (Ukama Ustawi) Regional Integrated Initiative of the CGIAR.

This brief conducts benefit-cost analysis for key climate-smart practices to support agenda setting for the attainment of National mitigation targets under Nepal’s updated NDC and Net-Zero strategy.

One of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is reducing food loss and waste (FLW) across all stages of food value chains, including the on-farm production, the off-farm postharvest, processing, and distribution, and the household consumption stages. We employ general equilibrium models for Bangladesh, Kenya, and Nigeria to assess the economywide implications of reducing FLW at different stages of value chains. Halving FLW results in GDP increases of between 1.1 and 2 percent, with up to 13 million people lifted out of poverty across the three countries.

Malawi has suffered from weak economic growth since its independence in 1964. Over 50 percentof the population live below the poverty line, unable to produce enough or to otherwise obtain suffi cient income to meet all of their basic needs. Poverty is concentrated in rural areas. Smallholder agriculture dominates employment in rural Malawi. However, with continuing population growth, the average landholding size for smallholder farming households is declining, resulting in many being unable to produce sufficient food to meet their own needs.

This brief presents the results of a modelling analysis of goat farming systems from three study sites in Nepal, shedding light on the potential greenhouse gas mitigation potential of improved goat production systems as promoted by Heifer Nepal.

Agriculture in India contributes close to 20% of GDP and employs 44% of the workforce. Of these agricultural workers, 55% are women, and this percentage is likely to increase as women have fewer opportunities than men to find non-farm jobs. On top of that, women face significantly more barriers and constraints in accessing natural resources such as water and land because – despite significant legal and social efforts – the land rights of women are not widely acknowledged.

Kenya therefore is of the view that the implementation of agriculture and food security issues in the Sharm -El Sheikh Joint Work on Implementation of climate action on agriculture and food security requires: enhance support of the means of implementation through coordinated actions, and partnerships that will support context-specific policies and measures, driven by science, and local and Indigenous knowledge.