Wheat is a staple food in many areas around the World. In the 20th century, breeders and scientists were able to boost wheat yield considerably. However, a yield plateau has become a concern and is threatening food security. Investments in cutting-edge technologies, including genomics and precision phenology measurements, can provide valuable tools to drive crop improvement.

This report summarizes findings from the project “Agroecological transitions for building
resilient and inclusive agricultural and food systems (TRANSITIONS)” which is funded by the
European Commission through its Development of Smart Innovation through Research in
Agriculture (DeSIRA) initiative and managed by the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD). The Digital Tools regional work in Vietnam focused on research and
engagement with digital tools for technical advice and performance assessment in sustainable

Climate and weather shocks pose risks to livelihoods in Southern Africa. We assess the extent to which smallholders are exposed to climate shocks in Zambia and how behavioural choices influence the negative effects of these shocks on vulnerability and resilience. We use household data from the nationally representative Rural Agricultural Livelihoods Survey and employ an instrumental variable probit regression model to control for the endogeneity of key choice variables. There are four main findings.

While significant progress has been made by several international breeding institutions in improving maize nutritional quality, stacking of nutritional traits like zinc (Zn), quality protein, and provitamin A has not received much attention.

CONTEXT: Integration of farms into markets with adoption of maize as a cash crop can significantly increase income of farms of the developing world. However, in some cases, the income generated may still be very low and maize production may also have strong negative environmental and social impacts.

Accurate and regularly updated information regarding the cultivated area of rice, along with forecasts and harvested yields, is indispensable for governments in making informed decisions related to food security, natural resource management, agricultural productivity, and insurance. The RIICE technology approach, tailored for Mali's rice-based systems, has demonstrated its capability to intricately map rice areas and accurately determine the start of growing seasons.

The quality and origin of tree seeds and seedlings affect the survival, growth, productivity, ecosystem services and adaptive capacity of restored forests and landscapes. The availability of seeds and seedlings directly influences the delivery of benefits to land users from restoration efforts. Yet, despite more than a decade of global restoration commitments and programmes since 2011, substantial gaps remain worldwide in individual, organizational and sectoral capacities to source and deliver quality tree seeds and seedlings for restoration, especially of native species.

This training resource kit aims to support multi-stakeholder platforms and consortia at landscape level that aim to strengthen capacities for climate smart strategies and actions in food and agriculture. The training kit provides an introduction to a diversity of science-based tools and processes that can support climate smart approaches as well as practical support in how to collaboratively learn from each other in the process and co-create a roadmap for capacity strengthening in climate adaptation.

Reliable and seasonally updated information on the effective rice cultivated area, forecasted, harvested yield and climate change impacts are essential requirements for governments to support decision-making related to food security, management of natural resources, agricultural productivity, and insurance.

The uptake of conservation agriculture and farm mechanization in Southern Africa has been slow and low. As a result, most smallholder farmers continue to grow crops under degraded soils using conventional tools and human powered farm operations. This leads to low productivity. Therefore, spatially visualizing areas where conservation agriculture and farm mechanization can be targeted can be crucial to guide targeting and scaling.

The Enhancing the Science-Policy-Investment Linkages and Decision Support for Climate-Smart Agriculture Planning learning materials highlights and expands upon key methods, tools, and actions to actively strengthen decision contexts in scaling climate-smart agriculture in Africa. These learning materials and content are built to include both technical skill building resources as well as process and approach guidance to help uncover more equitable, holistic, and resilient pathways to increase climate-resilience in our food and agricultural systems.