Agricultural intensification and forest conservation are often seen as incompatible. Agricultural interventions can help boost food security for poor rural communities but in certain cases can exacerbate deforestation, known as the rebound effect. We tested whether coupling agricultural interventions with participatory forest zoning could improve food security and promote forest conservation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The dry lowlands of Ethiopia are seasonally affected by long periods of low rainfall and, coinciding with rainfall in the Amhara highlands, flood waters which flow onto the lowlands resulting in damage to landscapes and settlements. In an attempt to convert water from storm generated floods into productive use, this study proposes a methodology using remote sensing data and geographical information system tools to identify potential sites where flood spreading weirs may be installed and farming systems developed which produce food and fodder for poor rural communities.

This paper provides an inventory of novel approaches to and mechanisms for quality assurance of the seeds of vegetatively produced crops (VPCs). It explores to what extent seven African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) are decentralising and integrating VPC seed systems, in terms of regulations governing the sector, methods of seed production, and methods of seed inspection and certification. It consolidates existing data and presents new data on decentralised seed quality assurance (SQA) approaches for VPCs in these seven selected countries.

This project aims at contributing to the UN resolution 2/24 on combating desertification, land degradation and drought and promoting sustainable pastoralism and rangelands; and UN resolution 4/15 on innovations in sustainable rangelands and pastoralism, as well as the UNEP-led gap analysis on rangelands and the resulting report: Rangelands: A case of benign neglect.

Digital tools and technologies are transforming the way we monitor and manage food systems and natural resources, but to date there is scant credible collection and analysis of evidence of their impacts on well-being, environmental sustainability, and broader goods and services. The development of information communication technology (ICT) has a crucial role to play in the timely provision of information to guide management and investment decisions by small-scale fisheries (SSF) stakeholders, from coastal fishers to government officials.

This training manual supported participants in learning the pre-processing tool to provide the user with enhanced time-series processing capabilities and access to various open-source satellite data, learning basic scripts in Google Earth Engine for activities related to floods and drought in showcasing the application of water resource management. Specifically, the experts will give more focus to Google’s Earth Engine platform to showcase large- and small-scale scientific analysis and visualization of geospatial datasets. The codes and step by step procedure are given in the manual.

This learning module focuses on how to integrate gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) considerations in WEFE approaches to contribute to more effective and equitable WEFE initiatives for current and future generations. Intentionally focusing on GESI in the design, implementation, and monitoring of WEFE initiatives is critical to ensure that these initiatives do not harm – and, rather, benefit – women and vulnerable groups and communities. At the end of this lesson, learners will be able to:

In Africa, many actors, programmes, projects, or initiatives are implemented by international organizations or continental institutions, or sub-regional and national entities to improve the development, provision, uptake and use of weather and climate services1 .For instance, the Regional Climate Centers (RCCs) have been engaged in developing models and methodologies based on ground and satellite observations to forecast/monitor rainfall, cropwater requirements, drought, early warning

In this methodological note, we propose a quantitative framework to develop a Climate and Security Index (CSI), for measuring and monitoring climate security vulnerability. Primarily meant for long-term planning and decision making for resilience building, it incorporates a broad range of drivers of the climate-security nexus, including those from climatic, conflict, socioeconomic, agricultural, and contextual (i.e., mitigating factors, adaptive capacity) dimensions, to indicate climate-security risks at subnational level.

Managing agricultural landscapes to support biodiversity conservation requires profound structural changes worldwide. Often, discussions are centered on management at the field level. However, a wide and growing body of evidence calls for zooming out and targeting agricultural policies, research, and interventions at the landscape level to halt and reverse the decline in biodiversity, increase biodiversity-mediated ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes, and improve the resilience and adaptability of these ecosystems.

Grassland pastures are crucial for the global food supply through their milk and meat production; hence, forage species monitoring is essential for cattle feed. Therefore, knowledge of pasture above-ground canopy features help understand the crop status. This paper finds how to construct machine learning models to predict above-ground canopy features in Brachiaria pasture from ground truth data (GTD) and remote sensing at larger (satellite data on the cloud) and smaller (unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)) scales.

Crop fungal diseases constitute a major cause of yield loss. The development of crop disease monitoring and forecasting tools is an important effort to aid farmers in adapting to climate variability and change. Recognizing weather as a main driver of fungal disease outbreaks, this work assesses the climate suitability for wheat blast (Magnaporthe oryzae pathotype Triticum, MoT) development in Asian wheat-producing countries.