The integration of gender concerns in crop breeding programs aims to improve the suitability and appeal of new varieties to both women and men, in response to concerns about unequal adoption of improved seed. However, few conventional breeding programs have sought to center social inclusion concerns. This community case study documents efforts to integrate gender into the maize-focused Seed Production Technology for Africa (SPTA) project using innovation history analysis drawing on project documents and the authors’ experiences.

The CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence aims at rendering CGIAR and partners’ crop breeding pipelines
(BPs) more gender-intentional, impactful, and market-driven by supporting breeding decision making
through market intelligence derived from the 5 CGIAR Impact Areas: (1) Nutrition, Health & Food Security;
(2) Poverty Reduction, Livelihoods & Jobs; (3) Gender Equality, Youth & Inclusion; (4) Climate Adaptation &
Mitigation; and (5) Environmental Health & Biodiversity. There are two types of market intelligence: (1)

The Agroecology Initiative (AEI) aims to contribute to achieving Agroecological Transitions (AET) through developing and scaling a range of innovations (technical, social, economic, and political) in 8 countries across three continents. It proposes to do so by using a participatory action-research approach involving the key stakeholders of the Agroecological Living Landscapes (ALLs), multi-stakeholder territorial spaces in each country on which the Initiative targets its transformation and innovation efforts.

The report highlights challenges faced by the agricultural sector in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Zambia, including productivity issues and food security concerns due to factors such as limited inputs, market access, and climate-related vulnerabilities. Post-harvest losses (PHL) are identified as a major obstacle for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) processors, stemming from inadequate infrastructure and poor handling methods.

Sub-Saharan Africa has the least mechanized agriculture in the world due to various reasons including low effective demand at farm level, low policy attention, and ineffective mechanization strategies. However, the situation has changed since recently in favor of mechanization while limited empirical evidence is available on how mechanization can be enhanced among smallholder farmers.

Smallholder farmers in low- and medium-income countries lack sufficient access to agricultural production credit that can help them adopt new technologies and improve their farm production. Compared to men, women smallholder farmers face additional social, and economic barriers that further limit their credit access. Bundling agricultural credit with insurance, or risk contingent credit (RCC), provides a mechanism for addressing some of the credit access constraints and reducing credit rationing among smallholder farmers.

This document presents the results of the market study conducted to identify relevant information, characteristics, and/or determining factors of an enabling environment for climate resilience financial services in the livestock sector in the departments of Izabal, Jutiapa, and Santa Rosa of Guatemala. This was done by dividing stakeholders into three groups, according to their level of interaction with the livestock production chain. For each group of actors, a series of instruments were developed and applied virtually and in person.

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture collaborated with The Rallying Cry to understand the challenges faced by women- and youth-led agribusinesses in Zambia. As such, two workshops were previously held in September and December 2022 with the target group to obtain an understanding of their challenges and identify possible solutions. These challenges were categorised into themes: (a) Environmental constraints; (b) Network; (c) Climate change response; (d) Capacity Building; and (e) Social and cultural norms.

As a central component of the 2022-2026 UNHCR Strategic Directions, UNHCR has globally identified eight focus areas that require renewed attention and accelerated effort. One of these is climate action. In 2021, UNHCR published its Strategic Framework for Climate Action and, in 2022, its Operational Strategy for Climate Resilience and Environmental Sustainability
(2022-2025).