Integrated pest and disease management (IPDM) represents a range of environmentally-sound approaches to crop protection and is increasingly recognized as an essential component of sustainable agricultural development. To promote the use of IPDM, it is necessary to validate and disseminate effective IPDM options to farming communities. To this end, the CGIAR Plant Health Initiative (PHI) has initiated nine Innovation platforms (IPs) in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, to develop and validate pest management solutions for major crops in real-life environments.

Rice yield forecasting is a crucial task for management and planning. A rice yield estimation system (RIICE) was developed based on the crop growth model ORYZA and SAR derived key information such as start of season (SOS) and leaf area growth rate. Results from study sites in Sikasso and Segou regions suggest that incorporating remote sensing data, specifically Synthetic aperture radar (SAR), into a process-based crop model improves the spatial distribution of yield estimates.

Digital innovation continues to offer opportunities for a transformative shift in the Global South's agrifood sector, but it also faces significant challenges. Known for its diverse agricultural practices and smallscale farming, the Global South requires customized solutions to enhance productivity and sustainability and ensure scaling. Obstacles like the increasing digital divide, weak information systems and infrastructure, and limited digital capabilities, particularly among marginalized rural populations, hinder progress.

Women are underrepresented in leadership and have more limited influence than men over decisions in climate change governance processes at multiple scales. The CGIAR Initiative on Gender Equality (HER+) has explored public and private sector approaches to increase women’s agency and leadership in agrifood system governance with the goal of increasing women’s climate resilience. However, further research is required to fully explore the mechanisms through which women’s leadership influences climate resilience.

The Ghana Cluster of the Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project, led by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and its partners are working on an Early Warning and Rapid Response System for Pests and Diseases (EWRRS-PD) to enhance communication, data sharing, and preparedness against new risks. Following several preparatory meetings, a workshop was held to validate a partnership agreement between eleven public and private sector institutions whose core mandate relates to the subject.

Accurate crop yield prediction is crucial for optimizing agricultural practices and ensuring food security. The NextGen advisory is a fertilizer recommendation system that can be customized for different farming systems, crop types, and locations. The system uses machine learning models to predict site-specific fertilizer rates using filed trial and covariates (soil, topography, and climate) data.

Over the last decades, the government of Ethiopia has taken several measures to achieve food security for its population. However, crop production is still below the optimal possible. Studies show that wheat, maize, and sorghum yields in Ethiopia are about 26.8, 19.7, and 29.3 % of their water-limited yield potentials. Some legumes such as common bean even experience higher yield gap of 35.5%. These indicate the potential for increasing productivity of crops in the country through addressing the key bottlenecks. Several factors play important role in determining crop yields in the country.

• Agriculture in Africa has untapped potential to meet regional and global food demands, but it faces
challenges like fragmentation, inefficient value chains, and climate shocks. Transforming food systems will
come at a cost.
• There is an opportunity to harness business acceleration as a catalyst for private sector financing food
systems transformation, and a powerful scaling mechanism for climate-smart agriculture (CSA).
• Science and research have a role to play in business acceleration to support the adoption and

In many countries in Southern and Eastern Africa, input subsidy programmes are common, often focussing on inorganic fertiliser. These programmes often do not achieve their food security objectives, partly because soil health is in decline as a result of years of application of inorganic fertilisers in the absence of other soil ameliorative measures.

The 4-Wheel Approach is built upon knowledge hubs and partnerships. These knowledge hubs encompass physical structures, such as formal and informal training centers. The purpose of these hubs is to disseminate knowledge, potentially through established partnerships with stakeholders.

As climate change intensifies, its negative impacts on agriculture and food systems are also accelerating, particularly affecting the smallholder vulnerable farmers, the majority of whom are women in developing countries. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is designed to contribute to productivity enhancement, and support adaptation and mitigation to build resilience of farmers. However, the evidence on the factors influencing adoption of CSA by women farmers, and the consequent impacts, is scarce.

Aquatic food systems make significant contributions to sustainable development through generating employment; providing community and household food and nutrition security; and strengthening family well-being, socioeconomic growth, poverty alleviation, climate resilience and environmental sustainability. SDG 5 makes an explicit commitment to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” in their own right. Yet gender inequalities and barriers remain prevalent in rural areas of lowincome countries, including where there is a high reliance on aquatic food systems.