Although seed is an integral part of the agri-food system, it is often unavailable and unaffordable to smallholder farmers in rural areas, especially women and vulnerable groups. In addition, the poor extension system of getting seeds and information to farmers remains a drawback to adoption and increased productivity. Further, increased climate variability exposes these vulnerable groups to risks like pests and diseases. This calls for more concerted and focused strategies by researchers and development actors to mitigate these challenges through robust partnerships and training.

The report summarizes the discussions and interviews with provincial fisheries officers (PFOs) at the annual PFO conference in Honiara, November 23, 2022.The report also identifies the next steps needed to build a program on fish handling based on input from participants at the Fish Innovation project reflection workshop in Nusatupe, May 16–19, 2023.

Ecological intensification has been embraced with great interest by the academic sector but is still rarely taken up by farmers because monitoring the state of different ecological functions is not straightforward. Modelling tools can represent a more accessible alternative of measuring ecological functions, which could help promote their use amongst farmers and other decision-makers. In the case of crop pollination, modelling has traditionally followed either a mechanistic or a data-driven approach.

Dietary diversity is an established public health principle, and its measurement is essential for studies of diet quality and food security. However, conventional between food group scores fail to capture the nutritional variability and ecosystem services delivered by dietary richness and dissimilarity within food groups, or the relative distribution (i.e., evenness or moderation) of e.g., species or varieties across whole diets. Summarizing food biodiversity in an all-encompassing index is problematic.

Presentation at the Adaptation Futures Conference (Montreal, 2-10 October 2023), Session "What do we know about effectiveness of adaptation in reducing climate risks? A review of methodologies and evidence on adaptations in the agri-food systems"

The National ICT4Ag+ Event in Indonesia is a complementary activity to the global ICTforAg 2023 scheduled on November 7-9, 2023. It provided an inclusive opportunity for local participants to engage with their peers in the vibrant local digital ecosystem and connect with the global community. The CGIAR Research Initiative on Digital Innovation, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Badan Standardisasi Instrumen Pertanian (BSIP) of Indonesia co-organized the National ICT4Ag Event on 9 October 2023 at the BSIP Headquaters in Jakarta.

In Laos, farmers are using the validated agro-climatic advisories from the Alliance-supported Strengthening Agro-climatic Monitoring and Information System to improve their farming practices, such as crop variety, planting dates, and water and fertilizer applications. These advisories were integrated into the Laos Climate Services for Agriculture (LaCSA) system which disseminates information to over 100,000 farmers through farmer field schools, loudspeaker broadcasts, Whatsapp and Facebook. It is currently at the operational stage.

In Colombia, the Alliance led a technical process to formulate the Inter-ministerial Resolution 249 of 2022. This is a public policy document of great importance for guiding the response to agricultural activities prohibited by the Law 1930 of 2018 but continue to be carried out in delimited moorlands, generating significant negative impacts on those ecosystems. This document requires public institutions working in these ecosystems to adjust their programs, projects and actions to comply with these new regulations.

The international research conference “From research to impact: Towards just
and resilient agri-food systems” will address the gender and social inequalities
that lie at the heart of food systems. The conference aims to promote the sharing
of cutting-edge knowledge on gender and inclusion in agri-food systems to
help bridge the gap between research and practice and foster gender-equal and
socially inclusive, resilient food systems.
This conference will catalyze scientific exchanges and dialogues among

Human Zn and Fe deficiencies can be reduced through agronomic biofortification, but information on factors influencing maize grain-Zn and -Fe levels remains scant.