Purpose: This study examines the adoption drivers of scale-appropriate mechanization in Nepal's maize-based farming systems. The authors also assess the contribution of scale-appropriate mechanization to the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of zero hunger (SDG2) and no poverty (SDG1). Design/methodology/approach: Propensity score matching (PSM) and doubly robust inverse probability-weighted regression adjusted (IPWRA) methods were applied to estimate the effects of mini-tiller adoption.

Specialization and intensification of agricultural systems and the search for profit have guided the evolution of agriculture to new farming models emerging to respond to a growing demand for food, despite the complementary relationships between crops and livestock farming activities which have been documented in many studies. This trend has increased the vulnerability of farms to shocks, decrease land productivity and impair water use efficiency.

This report provides an overview of the CGIAR Food Systems Accelerator (CFSA) program’s Kick-off workshop held at Norrsken House in Rwanda. The Kick-off workshop serves as a key milestone for the program because it is the official commencement of the technical assistance of the first cohort of 10 selected agribusinesses.

Application of biocontrol products containing atoxigenic isolates of Aspergillus flavus to reduce aflatoxin content in crops is an effective strategy for managing aflatoxin in several regions throughout the world. We report the development and validation of two aflatoxin biocontrol products, Aflasafe TZ01 and Aflasafe TZ02, for use in maize and groundnut in Tanzania, a country frequently affected by aflatoxin contamination. Each product contains four atoxigenic A. flavus genotypes native and widely distributed in Tanzania.

In December 2022, over 190 nations gathered in Montreal, Canada to finalize the Global Biodiversity Framework, an ambitious plan to save the Earth’s biodiversity. The United Nations Global Biodiversity Conference, or COP15, concluded with 23 ambitious targets ranging from land restoration and conservation to promoting sustainable consumption.

The primary aim of this study is to explore what the local water sources are, how they are
prioritized, how communities are coping with water scarcity, how water is locally governed
and controlled, and how decision-making dynamics at the household as well as community
levels impact the choice and use of improved and unimproved water sources, as well as the
differentiated impacts these choices have on women and men. Rural households in Kenya
must make a complex set of decisions around water source choices as they lack secure water

Increasing selection differential and decreasing cycle time, the rate of genetic improvement can be accelerated. Creating and capturing higher genetic with higher accuracy within the shortest possible time is the prerequisite for enhancing genetic gain for any trait. Comprehensive yield testing at multi-locations at early generations together with the shortest line fixation time can expedite the rapid recycling of parents in the breeding program through recurrent selection.

In this Occasional Paper, we compare a national approach designed to address restoration (the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, CFLRP, of the United States Department of Agriculture/United States Forest Service) with CIFOR’s Adaptive Collaborative Management (ACM) approach, which was originally designed to encourage sustainable forest management (SFM). CIFOR’s version of SFM included equal parts forestry, ecology and human well-being, and in this case focused on the community level.

The workshop was organized by the CGIAR Research Initiative on Low-Emission Food Systems (MITIGATE+), which is implemented by a large consortium of partners. The Initiative aims to reduce annual global food systems emissions by working closely with key actors in target countries to co-create knowledge that enables them to make evidence-based decisions and address challenges in food systems discourse, policy development, and implementation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The micropropagation is currently adopted as a reliable process for mass vegetative multiplication of plants. However, several plants still face various challenges in this method, such as enzymatic browning, as well as fungal and bacterial contaminations. To overcome these challenges, the incorporation of natural organic additives into the culture medium is considered of great interest by some researchers for the success of in vitro multiplication protocols due to their antioxidant, antifungal, and/or nutritional properties.