Smallholder irrigation is emerging as a development priority in Sub-Saharan Africa. Based on a survey of 1554 smallholders from nine countries, this paper compares rainfed farming with gravity-flow, manual-lift and motor-pump irrigation. Motor-pump-irrigation farmers reported the highest net value added per acre and per family worker, with gravity-flow and manual-irrigation farmers earning marginally more than rainfed-only farmers.

The objective of this note is to map the global finance landscape that is relevant to the CGIAR Research Initiative on Low-Emission Food Systems (the Project). The note is part of the initial research phase of the project’s work stream on financial instruments as a tool for scaling of measures for achieving lower emissions in food systems (WP4). The objective of this research phase is to develop a typology of most adopted financial instruments for low-emission investments.

Food losses and waste (FLW) reduction and mitigating climate impact in food chains are priorities in achieving sustainable development goals. However, many FLW-reducing interventions induce additional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, for example, from energy, fuel, or packaging. The net effect of such interventions (expressed in GHG emissions per unit of food available for consumption) is not obvious, as is illustrated in a number of case studies.

International food prices have become increasingly volatile in recent decades, with “global food crises” in 2008, 2011 and most recently in 2022. The 2008 crisis prompted international agencies to ambitiously extend their monitoring of domestic food prices in developing countries to strengthen early warning systems and food and nutrition surveillance. However, food inflation by itself is not sufficient for measuring disposable income or food affordability; for that, one must measure either changes in income or changes in an income proxy.

The CGIAR Initiative on Low-Emission Food Systems focuses on reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while transforming food systems. It intends to work closely with key actors in the target countries, supporting them with new knowledge, information and tools to make robust evidence-based decisions as they confront challenges in food system transformation discourses, policy development and the reduction of GHG emissions. In Kenya, Nandi County has been selected as a site for a Living Lab for People (LL4P) on low-emission food system development.

Conflicts such as the Boko Haram insurgency, herder–farmer conflicts, and armed banditry attacks are major concerns affecting the livelihoods and food security of households in Nigeria. In this paper, firstly, we reviewed and synthesized the nature, spatial extent, and implications of conflicts on food security in Nigeria. Secondly, using survey data and econometric models, we examined the effects of conflict-induced shocks, such as forced migration and fatality on household food security indicators.

Bangladesh has made significant progress in social and economic development in recent years, but micronutrient deficiencies and poor dietary diversity remain a significant challenge. This paper developed five scenarios to explore futures of fish supply-demand in Bangladesh using the AsiaFish model, with special emphasis on the role of fish in macronutrient and micronutrient supply to address the nation's malnutrition and nutrition security challenges. A business-as-usual (BAU) scenario followed historical trends for exogenous variables used in the model.

This paper explains the need for digital tools and how they enable commercialization and scale, the impact on users, and the risks and benefits with examples of projects and partners along the value chain. This approach is being applied across all HarvestPlus activities and digital projects are researched and reported as part of the CGIAR Digital Innovation Initiative.

This presentation summarizes the Disruptive Seeds approach to transformative change and briefly explains how it is applied in the context of ClimBeR’s Policy Pathways research (Work Package 3) in Guatemala. It also describes the progress of the project thus far, the planning for 2023, and highlights a few promising seed initiatives (i.e., sustainable, bottom-up initiatives that can contribute to transformative change).