Climate Information Services have an opportunity to increase smallholder farmers' resilience against climate change and climate variability whilst enhancing their livelihoods. The AICCRA Zambia project through the agricultural data hub, training and drought and flood indicators provide solid evidence for enhancing smallholder farmer households. For the CIS to be gender inclusive and promote resilience for male and female farmers, development practitioners must ask questions at different stages to ensure that gender considerations and barriers are removed.

This report forms part of an AICCRA knowledge series on Food Systems.
This report builds upon the presentation on Climate Change and Agricultural Productivity in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region which was delivered at the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) Agricultural Symposium held on 10 June 2021.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench) production has considerable socio-economic values in sub-Saharan Africa for food security and to serve the increased industrial demands due to high population pressure and climate change. However, the production and productivity of the crop are yet to be expounded in Nigeria for economic gains. Therefore, the objective of this study was to present the current opportunities and constraints to sorghum production in Nigeria.

CGIAR centers invest in technological and institutional innovations, partnerships, capacity development, and policy engagement to contribute to Rwanda’s agricultural transformation. This brief is a contribution of various One CGIAR centres in Rwanda. The centres are International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) , International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) through Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance, International Potato Center (CIP), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS)

Agricultural support policies cost more than US$800 billion per year in transfers to the farm sector worldwide. Support policies based on subsidies and trade barriers are highly distortive to markets and are also regressive as most support is provided to larger farmers. On balance, the incentives this support creates appear to increase greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. In addition, some subsidies undermine the production of more nutrient-dense commodities that are otherwise critical for the improvement of dietary outcomes.

Adaptation to climate change is happening on several fronts. The study was commissioned to capture gender dynamics in climate information services, climate smart agriculture technologies, and climate-smart one–health interventions for promoting social inclusion and informing policy in Ghana’s food systems. The study regions were selected based on previous evidence of impacts of climate change generated by Climate Change and Food Security (CCAFS) project.

La culture d’igname, très exigeante en fertilité du sol, est de plus en plus confronté à la raréfaction des terres fertiles au Bénin. La présente étude analyse l’influence des politiques et pratiques foncières sur l’engagement des jeunes dans la production de l’igname en République du Bénin. Les données sont collectées à l’aide de questionnaires administrés à 383 producteurs d’igname du Département des Collines identifiés selon un échantillonnage à choix raisonné.

The index-based livestock insurance (IBLI), since the time it was launched in 2010 in the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya and Ethiopia, has evolved into drought risk financing solutions (DRFS). This evolution is characterized by development from a micro product implemented, as potential social protection tools, to a regional level de-risking instrument for pastoralists in the Horn of Africa. There have also been demands for DRFS to rise to several other challenges such as conflict, access to health and market services (feed, fodder) that are being faced in the drylands of Africa.

The Michigan State University Alliance for African Partnership (AAP) launched a multi-country study to contribute to upgrading and tailoring the agricultural extension curricula at participating institutions. The first phase of primary data collection consisted of focus group discussions. The focus groups were structured around a specific objective: gathering information around specific questions. Focus group discussions were followed by an online survey of Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services (AEAS) role players, of which the results will be discussed separately.