Agricultural training programs remain one of the primary mechanisms for disseminating modern and climate-smart technologies with the aim to improve the welfare outcomes of smallholder farmers. With persistent low agricultural productivity in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), the content, effectiveness, and mode of delivery of training programs remain a debate.

This work explains the reasons why a bean collection was established in 1973 at the International Center of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) near Palmira in Colombia. It shows the impact of the collection on plant breeding and in agricultural development through the distribution of germplasm to the center’s bean breeding program, to successively find resistances to pests and diseases, adaptation to low phosphorus and drought, and more recently higher content of iron and zinc in seeds. The collection was also used to progress knowledge in biological sciences, as shown by a dozen of examples.

This document is a supplement to the UNFCCC NAP technical guidelines. It aims to raise awareness amongst national policymakers on the potential importance of digital agriculture (DA) in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), provide tangible information on how it can be incorporated into NAP formulation and propose ways forward to implementing DA at scale.
The research for this supplement included reviewing the existing literature on digital agriculture and its role in supporting climate adaptation, alongside consultations with experts from the research community and UNFCCC.

Climate change and variability is affecting all aspects of the development process. Agriculture and food systems are key vulnerable sectors to climate change impacts especially in the sub-Saharan Africa where Ghana is placed. In 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) introduced the concept of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) as an integrated approach to managing landscapes that address the interlinked challenges of food security and accelerating climate change.

The CacaoNet Technical Guidelines for the Safe Movement of Cacao Germplasm provide updated information on the precautions and quarantine measures that can be taken to minimise the risk of spread of pests and diseases when cacao genetic resources are being moved for research, crop improvement, plant breeding, exploration or conservation.

Knowledge of genetic diversity in plant germplasm and the relationship between genetic factors and phenotypic expression is vital for crop improvement. This study’s objectives were to understand the extent of genetic diversity and population structure in 60 common bean genotypes from East and Southern Africa. The common bean genotypes exhibited significant (p<0.05) levels of variability for traits such as days to flowering (DTF), days to maturity (DTM), number of pods per plant (NPP), number of seeds per pod (NSP), and grain yield per hectare in kilograms (GYD).

In this article we present a first attempt to understand the immediate impact of COVID-19 and the sanitary measures taken by governments on farming systems in Central America and Mexico (CAM). Through a review of information generated in these initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic (webinars, blogs, electronic publications, media) and 44 interviews with key informants across the region, we have identified the main impacts felt by different types of farming systems in the region.

Context Climate change is projected to negatively impact food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. The magnitude of these impacts is expected to be amplified by the extensive reliance on rainfed agriculture and the prevalence of subsistence farming. In the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa, smallholder farming households are largely dependent on root, tuber and banana crops. However, the potential impacts of various climate change scenarios on these crops are not well reported.

The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), through its Flagship on Low-Emissions Development—otherwise known as Flagship 3 (FP3)— seeks to address the increasing challenge that global warming is placing on agricultural practices, policies and measures and the overall challenge of declining food security. CCAFS was established in 2010 as a cross-cutting program of the 15 CGIAR Research Centers and strategic partnerships.