Climate change and year-to-year climate variability have resulted in widespread, pervasive impacts to ecosystems and people in Africa, including increases in the intensity of weather extremes such as droughts and floods. While these shifting and varying temperature and precipitation patterns have affected the productivity of many climate-sensitive sectors, the agricultural sector has been the most impacted, resulting in reduced food availability and increased food prices, ultimately jeopardising food security, nutrition, and livelihoods of millions of people.

The Enviro-Champs initiative was developed as a community driven, citizen science initiative in Mpophomeni township in Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN), South Africa. Over time, the scope of work done and data collected by the Enviro-Champs has expanded. There is now recognition both locally and globally that the Enviro-Champs initiative shows great promise for national and global upscaling. However, several areas within the initiative remain where it could be improved, especially technologically.

Abstract This commentary discusses new advances in the predictability of east African rains and highlights the potential for improved early warning systems (EWS), humanitarian relief efforts, and agricultural decision‐making. Following an unprecedented sequence of five droughts, 23 million east Africans faced starvation in 2022, requiring >$2 billion in aid. Here, we update climate attribution studies showing that these droughts resulted from an interaction of climate change and La Niña.

This article examined the driving forces behind young agripreneurs’ participation in agripreneurship empowerment programmes and estimates the causal impact of programme participation
on agripreneurship skills using data from a random cross-section sample of 1435 young agripreneurs in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda. Specifically, the study took evidence from the youth
component of the African Development Bank Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) programme, Empowering Novel Agribusiness-Led Employment (ENABLE). An

Determining the stability and consistency of grain yield performance requires accurate evaluation of genotypes in different environments. In Mexico, annual national spring wheat irrigated trials are conducted to assess elite bread and durum wheat performance in different testing environments (TEs) in the main wheat-growing areas. These trials provide data supporting release of new cultivars and aim to also address Mexican wheat value chain grain needs.

We study the impact of one-season transfers framed for agricultural investment combined with agricultural support services on decision making among smallholder households in Senegal and Malawi using data from randomized control trials. In Senegal, we find evidence that the program increased the decision power of male household heads at the expense of other males in the household after two years. We cannot disentangle the impacts of the farm planning program and the lump sum transfer that comprised that program.

A key factor hindering the advancement of agricultural productivity among smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa is inadequate agricultural technologies that address specific local problems. The modalities employed for technology transfer often overlook the unique local contexts and the specific needs of the intended recipients. This study investigates various approaches that can be used to effectively disseminate livestock production technologies through radio received by smallholder farmers.

Field trials of rice and bean dynamic mixtures were carried out in low input and hill farming systems of Nepal from 2019 to 2021 to improve productivity and resilience. The rice trials were conducted in two locations (Jumla and Lamjung) and those on bean in Jumla, using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Dynamic mixtures were constructed from landraces, improved varieties and breeding lines for both crops.

The role of market concentration and potential market power exertion in the agri-food industry is a topic of longstanding interest and concern to policymakers, stakeholders, and researchers. This study provides a comprehensive overview of recent trends in market concentration upstream, midstream, and downstream the agri-food industry at the global, regional, and country level, and assesses how and to what extent concentration could be affecting market conduct and performance of food systems in developed and developing countries.

The Guide includes detailed protocols and procedures for evaluating cacao in various forms, such as unroasted cacao bean coarse powder, cacao mass, and chocolate. These methodologies have been developed over several years by a diverse group of experts, enabling objective assessments of cacao quality and flavour. It provides a universal language for describing cacao attributes, for a shared understanding among cacao professionals worldwide.

Cookies are a popular snack worldwide, but the presence of gluten in most wheat-based cookies poses problems for people with gluten intolerance. Furthermore, gluten-free products are often deficient in nutraceuticals. This study investigated the potential of two traditional Indian rice landraces, Kalanamak and Chak-hao, as alternative cereals for producing whole grain gluten-free cookies with enriched bioactive compounds. The study also evaluated the influence of whole grain rice flours (WGRFs) and different sweeteners on the physical and biochemical properties of the cookies.

Malnutrition results in enormous socio-economic costs to the individual, their community, and the nation’s economy. The evidence suggests an overall negative impact of climate change on the agricultural productivity and nutritional quality of food crops. Producing more food with better nutritional quality, which is feasible, should be prioritized in crop improvement programs. Biofortification refers to developing micronutrient -dense cultivars through crossbreeding or genetic engineering.