There is a push toward natural, chemical-free farming in India, reflected in the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF). Working to promote on-farm bio-input preparations and agro-ecological practices, the NMNF notably prioritizes working among “traditionally low or no fertilizer input users… generally confined to hilly, tribal, high forestland districts,” ostensibly viewing these areas as more amenable to chemical-free farming.

In the face of transforming agri-food systems (AFS) and climate change, it is critical to uncover potential pathways through which gender equality and resilience of AFS can be simultaneously addressed. In this quasi-experimental impact study, we assess the effects of two interventions in Kishoreganj district in Bangladesh—a climate hotspot—on women’s empowerment, intrahousehold gender equality of climate resilient capacities and AFS outcomes.

Njuki et al., (2021) find that women’s leadership and decision-making at all levels constitute a particularly underresearched pathway to gender equality and justice in agri-food systems. To respond to this knowledge gap, this study investigates if and how voluntary sustainability systems (VSS) contribute to women’s meaningful participation, representation and leadership in agri-food systems.

Prominent climate change events such as heavy rainfall, windstorms, heatwaves, and drought pose detrimental effects on the livelihoods and resilience of women and men actors in agri-food systems (AFS). This study explored the difference in coping mechanisms employed by women and men cassava smallholder farmers in the face of such climate change adversities.

Inadequate and poor-quality feed resources constrain livestock production that compromises the livelihoods dependent on livestock in low- and middle-income countries. Several forage varieties have been developed, targeting smallholder farmers in developing countries, yet the level of adoption remains low, particularly among women farmers. Adoption of varieties could enhance livelihoods by increasing livestock productivity and by providing income from the sale of surplus forage. Evidence on gendered barriers to, and incentives for, adoption of forage varieties is scarce.

Research on gender inequality in seed systems has underscored the need to build more inclusive interventions. For gender-transformative (GT) interventions in seed systems to succeed, there is urgent need to test new models which should be guided by empirical evidence. We present findings from research that unraveled the underlying causes that prevent women and youth from actively participating and benefiting as cassava seed entrepreneurs (CSEs). This study underpins the designing and testing of GT interventions as part of the Muhogo Bora cassava seed systems project in Tanzania.

Women play an important role in agriculture and account for around 50% of the agricultural labor force in Asia. Strong evidence exists to prove that women farmers have less access to land, inputs, labor and information compared to men, which, in turn, can influence technical efficiency in farms, that is the effectiveness with which a given set of inputs is used to produce output. Strong reasons indicate that women’s empowerment may contribute to enhancing technical efficiency, most notably through improvements in women’s access to human, physical, and social capital.

Enhancing the productivity of crops through the adoption and uptake of technologies improves farmers' socio-economic status through increased market participation. However, smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) face a myriad of challenges that make it difficult for them to access and participate in the output markets. Like most SSA countries, the uptake of improved technologies is still low in Malawi. This paper examines the relationship between uptake of improved potato seed and donor-funded training on market participation.

Cassava's storage roots represent one of the most important sources of nutritional carbohydrates worldwide. Particularly, smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa depend on this crop plant, where resilient and yield-improved varieties are of vital importance to support steadily increasing populations. Aided by a growing understanding of the plant's metabolism and physiology, targeted improvement concepts already led to visible gains in recent years.

In the framework of the EU-RBA Joint Programme on Gender Transformative Approaches for Food Security and Nutrition (JP GTA), FAO, IFAD, WFP and the CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform developed “Guidelines for measuring gender transformative change in the context of food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture” aimed at enhancing the capacity of research and development partners to design, implement, monitor and evaluate gender transformative interventions.

Food system transformation requires efforts from diverse stakeholders. It involves clarifying roles and relationships, as well as mobilizing and connecting them.
On 20 February 2023, farmers, community leaders and representatives from the government, civil society and the private sector met in Kapsabet, a town in Nandi county, Kenya, to jointly develop a vision for the county’s food systems and share perspectives on entry points for initiating system change.