Societal Impact Statement:

Agriculture in general and ranches contribute significantly to the sustainability of poor and marginalized farmers. To meet the future requirements of an increasing population, animal productivity must be significantly increased. Animal production is increasingly influenced by a variety of external factors.

Over the past 20 years, recurrent and violent conflicts between farmers and Fulani pastoralists have persisted in Northern Ghana. These conflicts mainly revolve around access to and utilisation of natural resources such as land and water. Conflicts of interest have led to the social marginalisation of the Fulani community, leading to their exclusion from formal landscape governance processes.

CONTEXT: Global and national agricultural development policies normally tend to focus more on enhancing farm productivity through technological changes than on better use of existing technologies. The role of improving technical efficiency in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction from crop production is the least explored area in the agricultural sector.

Agriculture in India contributes close to 20% of GDP and employs 44% of the workforce. Of these agricultural workers, 55% are women, and this percentage is likely to increase as women have fewer opportunities than men to find non-farm jobs.

Assam has rich soil and good natural resources for implementing climate-resilient agricultural practices to enhance potato production. Potato cultivation in the district occupies 1,03,812 hectares of land which, in 2015-2016, produced about 6,94,002 metric tons of potatoes as recorded by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Assam1.

Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) is a social enterprise with a mission to work with communities to secure a better life and become good stewards of their natural resources. COMACO finances enhanced climate-smart agricultural practises through the adoption of a legume-based farming system and agroforestry that increase crop yields.

Establishing protected areas creates an opportunity to reduce deforestation. This study aims to inform the Congolese government’s efforts to promote forest and biodiversity conservation by assessing the effectiveness of the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve (YBR) in reducing deforestation.

Throughout history, the practices of livestock husbandry have been evolving with the aim of improving animal production to meet the changing needs and preferences of consumers. Among these practices, breeding has played a significant role in achieving the above-mentioned objectives.

International standards and policies are clear about women’s right to equality in the enjoyment of all their rights, including rights to access, use, inherit, control and own land. Sustainable Development Goal Target 5.a specifically calls for reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to, ownership and control over land and natural resources.

Kenya grapples with climate change challenges, experiencing erratic weather patterns, prolonged droughts, and floods that significantly limit agricultural productivity and natural resources availability. This not only exacerbates food insecurity but also heightens the potential for conflicts.

This report is based on 10 research projects carried out in 18 sites in seven countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Viet Nam. The studies formed the basis of ten informational briefs from the research sites published together with the report (available here: https://www.recoftc.org/publications/0000432).