The report documents the institutional meetings and discussions taking place between 26-30 November 2023 when a delegation from Lao PDR visited Vietnan. Overall aim of the visit was to enhance institutional cooperation between policy researchers and policy makers for more effective policy formulation. The Lao team learnt about options to strengthen policy implementation, like through formulating specific strategies, supporting farmers to adopt suitable technologies/innovations, and bringing research evidence into the policy formulation process.

A new review report concludes that seed (related) policies and laws in 14 African countries acknowledge to some degree that farmer-managed seed systems exist, but most of them do not provide concrete support for farmer-managed seed systems.

The adoption and use of climate-smart agricultural practices are critical for improving the productivity and sustainability of smallholder farming systems. However, the gendered dimensions of access to and use of climate-smart agriculture in common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production remain unexplored among smallholder farmers in Burundi. A mixed methods research design was employed to investigate gender dynamics in common bean production among smallholder common bean farmers in the communes of Kirundo, Bwambarangwe, and Muyinga in Burundi.

Despite being an increasingly important source of genes for crop breeding aimed at improv-
ing food security and climate change adaptation, crop wild relatives (CWRs) are globally threatened.
A root cause of CWR conservation challenges is a lack of institutions and payment mechanisms by
which the beneficiaries of CWR conservation services (such as breeders) could compensate those
who can supply them. Given that CWR conservation generates important public good values, for the

Building on the Reclaim Sustainability! (RS!) programme’s baseline studies and the Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) Reports, and in partnership with CGIAR Initiative on Diversification in East and Southern Africa (Ukama Ustawi) through International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Solidaridad facilitated commodity specific voice amplification dialogues in Zambia focused on cotton and fruits and vegetables farmers.

This study sought to understand the extent of digital technology usage across Zambezi riparian countries and analyze whether there is a conducive enabling environment for digital technology upscaling for climate adaptation. The study thus, examined the relationship between having a better enabling environment and the use of digital technologies in agriculture.

This report presents field activities carried out in the period 2019-2022 in support of farmer-managed seed systems in South Africa, in particular the conservation efforts and participatory variety selection (PVS) carried out by the community seed banks of Gumbu, Jericho and Sterkspruit.

Five to seven in every 10 people in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are youths. They have significantly low employment rates but are unattracted to agriculture. Recently, the sector has witnessed considerable efforts by African governments to promote youth participation. While these efforts have started to bear fruits, salient gender issues remain hard to address and solve promptly.

An enabling environment with clear, inclusive, and transparent seed laws, policies, regulations, and guidelines is the foundation for an efficient and effective seed sector. If well designed and implemented, the legal and regulatory framework can facilitate market diversification, supervision and quality control of seed and other forms of planting material, promotion of private sector participation, farmer access to improved seed varieties, reduced barriers for the movement of seeds across borders, and food security.

Drought has become one of the most devastating natural risks of agricultural production and the environment in almost all climate regions. Thus, understanding the spatiotemporal characteristics of drought and its associated impacts is crucial in drought early warning management and adaptation efforts. In this study, we used the 3-month Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI-3) obtained from Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS) to investigate the space–time characteristics of drought conditions.