Focusing on gender, this study describes mixed farming systems using data collected for monitoring, evaluation, learning, and impact assessment (MELIA) from 1268 household heads, 838 spouses, and 2731 plots in Malawi; and 1317 household heads, 1302 spouses, and 4017 plots in Ghana. The study also includes the perception of selected gender norms among household heads and spouses in Ghana.

This learning module shows how gender equity and social inclusion (GESI) considerations can be identified and integrated in programmes and initiatives in the Water-Energy-Food Environment (WEFE) Nexus. Intentionally focusing on gender and social inclusion in designing, implementing and monitoring Water-Energy-Food Environment initiatives is critical to ensure that these initiatives benefit and do not harm women and other marginalised groups and communities.

Over the past decades, Vietnam has significantly progressed and has transformed from being a food-insecure nation to one of the world’s leading exporters in food commodities, and from one of the world’s poorest countries to a low-middle-income country. The agriculture sector is dominated by rice and plays a vital role in food security, employment, and foreign exchange. Vietnam submitted its updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) in 2022 based on the NDC 2020.

Credit allows borrowers to access funds required to make an investment before returns materialize. For smallholder farmers, who must invest in agricultural inputs (i.e., seeds, chemicals, equipment, land, and labor) during the planting season before earning income from the sale of agricultural produce after harvest, credit helps alleviate liquidity constraints and promotes the ability of local agricultural production to support nutrition and food security. In rural Nigeria, access to credit—especially formal credit from financial institutions—is limited.

This brief addresses two dimensions of women and seed systems development ̶ what women do for seed systems development, and what seed systems interventions could do for women ̶ in the context of South Sudan. In South Sudan, women play key roles in seed systems, as custodians and managers of seeds and seed related information, but these roles are not always recognized, respected, supported and rewarded. The brief proposes a number of seed interventions to empower farmers, with special attention paid to women.

A national flour blending policy is about to be implemented in Kenya. This requires maize flour (the country’s main staple) to be blended with at least 10 percent of either one or a composite of traditional crops, such as sorghum and millet.1 The blending ratio is expected to increase gradually, with the goal of ultimately reaching 30 percent. The policy envisages achieving several goals. The first is to improve the nutritional quality of maize flour: sorghum and millet (and other candidate blending crops) have micronutrient characteristics that are absent in maize.

Evidence shows social protection can improve diets, but little is understood about how effects vary within a household or what factors determine how food is allocated across different household members. We use individual food intake data from two randomized control trials to estimate intrahousehold dietary impacts of cash or food transfers, with or without nutrition behavior change communication (BCC), in two regions of Bangladesh.

Maize is a staple food, but productivity has stagnated due to limited access to advanced farming methods and knowledge. To promote sustainable agriculture, understanding the factors affecting maize yield at the farm level is crucial. This study used panel data on maize yield and agronomic practices in Northern Ghana and Malawi from 2014 to 2020. Satellite-based environmental variables were extracted at household locations, and Random Forest modeling was used to identify factors influencing maize yield variability.

Throughout Africa, climate change is posing severe challenges to agricultural production and food security. Agricultural risks—particularly those associated with drought—are a major cause of low agricultural productivity in most African countries, including Kenya. According to the Government of Kenya, four consecutive years (2008–2011) of drought caused US$12.1 billion in losses, accounting for about 8 percent of GDP, including losses in assets and disruptions to the economy across sectors (Kenya, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries 2014).

Low- and middle-income countries worldwide share the common challenge of achieving sustainable economic development while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This challenge is complex due to the interconnectedness of economic activities, where policies targeting one industry can have ripple effects on others. Therefore, it is crucial to understand integrated GHG emissions and their relationships across industries within an economy to inform effective policy formulation.

This study focuses on the valuation of ecosystem services in Kenya and Vietnam, two countries that have received much attention from the international development community for their biodiversity significance, opportunities for scaling, climate and poverty challenges, and political will. Using The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) framework and the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), this study estimates per hectare values of ecosystem services in Kenya and Vietnam based on a systematic literature review of studies on the values of ecosystem services in both countries.