Intercropping is a common practice among smallholder farmers cultivating common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and maize (Zea mays L.). It affects agronomic performance, dry matter partition- ing, and grain yield. Simultaneous intercropping of common bean with maize can influence growth, development, and dry matter partitioning of grain of common bean.

Maize cropping systems in Kenya, as is true in many other places in Africa, face multiple biotic and abiotic stressors not least climatic ones. Guided by farmers' priorities, maize breeding programs can contribute to the needed resilience against these changes by developing and mainstreaming new generations of maize varieties adapted to these challenges. Using data from 1,400 farmers and applying a multi-criteria choice analysis, this study reports on smallholder farmers' relative valuation of stress tolerance traits.

germplasm for the benefit of farmers and consumers of the Global South during and after the Green Revolution. Understanding farmers’ heterogeneous preferences for varietal traits in different market segments and incorporating the prominent ones in crop breeding programs are expected to facilitate a faster diffusion of these new varieties. Albeit knowing little about farmers’ trait preferences in South Asia, public-sector breeding programs prioritize yield enhancement and risk reduction over other varietal traits.

Taro is an ancient nutritional and medicinal crop woven into the fabric of the socio-economic life of those living in the tropics and sub-tropics. However, West Africa (WA), which has been a major producer of the crop for several decades, is experiencing a significant decline in production as a result of taro leaf blight (TLB), a disease caused by Phytophthora colocasiae Raciborski. A lack of research on taro in WA means that available innovative technologies have not been fully utilized to provide solutions to inherent challenges and enhance the status of the crop.

Poultry has gained renewed attention as a promising value chain for women because it is an asset that is widely accessible to women, has low start-up costs, and provides a good source of nutritious animal-sourced foods for children in chicken meat and, especially, eggs. The current study presents evidence from an experimental intervention that randomly provided women either a poultry package transfer of vaccinated, improved-breed chickens and related inputs, or a cash grant of equivalent value within a sample of households participating in a social safety net program.

Breeding for nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is important to deal with food insecurity and its effect on grain quality, particularly protein. A total of 1679 hybrids were evaluated in 16 different trials for grain yield (GY), grain quality traits (protein, starch and oil content) and kernel weight (KW) under optimum and managed low soil nitrogen fields in Kiboko, Kenya, from 2011 to 2014.

Smallholder farmers who grow maize landraces face important challenges to preserve their seed biodiversity from one season to another. This study was carried out in the central highlands of Mexico to compare the effectiveness of two seed storage practices—specifically, polypropylene woven bags (farmers’ conventional practice) vs. hermetic containers—for minimizing seed losses and maintaining germination. Four Mexican landraces were stored for three and six months. Data on moisture content and kernel damage were collected at the beginning and the end of the storage period.

Wheat production is under continuous threat by various fungal pathogens. Identification of multiple-disease resistance genes may lead to effective disease control via the development of cultivars with broad-spectrum resistance. Plant Lysin-motif (LysM)-type pattern-recognition receptors, which elicit innate immunity by recognizing fungal pathogen associated molecular patterns such as chitin, are potential candidates for such resistance. In this study, we cloned a LysM receptor-like kinase gene, CERK1-V, from the diploid wheat relative Haynaldia villosa.

The Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project is administered by the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). AICCRA is a project that helps deliver a climate-smart African future driven by science and innovation in agriculture. AICCRA builds on 50 years of CGIAR innovation, AICCRA works to
scale climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and climate information services (CIS) that reach millions of smallholder farmers in Africa.

Wheat is the most widely grown food crop, with 761 Mt produced globally in 2020. To meet the expected grain demand by mid-century, wheat breeding strategies must continue to improve upon yield-advancing physiological traits, regardless of climate change impacts. Here, the best performing doubled haploid (DH) crosses with an increased canopy photosynthesis from wheat field experiments in the literature were extrapolated to the global scale with a multi-model ensemble of process-based wheat crop models to estimate global wheat production.

This study tested the efficacy of a pond polyculture intervention with farming households in northern Zambia. Longitudinal data on fish consumption and the associated nutrient intake of households (N = 57) were collected over a six-month period (September 2019–March 2020). One group of people tested the intervention while another group that practiced monoculture tilapia farming, and a third group that did not practice aquaculture, acted as control groups.

Children heading households (CHH) in urban informal settlements face specific vulnerabilities shaped by limitations on their opportunities and capabilities within the context of urban inequities, which affect their wellbeing. We implemented photovoice research with CHHs to explore the intersections between their vulnerabilities and the social and environmental context of Nairobi’s informal settlements.