Like other land-locked countries in Africa’s Sahel region, Mali is experiencing population pressures, more intense and variable drought cycles, and rising insecurity. Extreme temperatures and episodic rainfall are not unfamiliar to Mali but are going to become even more variable and intense as climates shift. These changes in climate are likely to severely impact the Malian economy and society which is extremely dependent on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, livestock, fisheries and forestry.

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.

The adoption and use of climate-smart agricultural practices are critical for improving the productivity and sustainability of smallholder farming systems. However, the gendered dimensions of access to and use of climate-smart agriculture in common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production remain unexplored among smallholder farmers in Burundi. A mixed methods research design was employed to investigate gender dynamics in common bean production among smallholder common bean farmers in the communes of Kirundo, Bwambarangwe, and Muyinga in Burundi.

Food is a vital component of Colombia's economy. The impact of climate change on agriculture and food security in the country is severe. The effects have resulted in decreased production and in the productivity of agricultural soil. Desertification processes are accelerating and intensifying. Colombia's government formally submitted its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) on December 29, 2020. This paper examines Colombia's NDC from the standpoint of the food system.

The purpose of this report is to describe work presented and discussions resulting from an event jointly convened by the CGIAR Research Initiative on Fragility, Conflict, and Migration (FCM) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in Abuja, Nigeria on May 11, 2023. The event, titled “Rethinking food Crisis Responses,” drew many participants from Nigerian civil society, government, and the private sector, in addition to representatives of international organizations, local and international NGOs, and the donor community.

Generative large language models (LLMs), while widely accessible and capable of simulating policy recommendations, pose challenges in the assessment of their accuracy. Users, including policy analysts and decision-makers, bear the responsibility of evaluating the outcomes from these models. A significant limitation of LLMs is their potential to overlook critical, context-specific factors. For example, in formulating food policies, it is vital to consider regional climate and environmental variables that influence water and resource availability.

Nearly 90% of farming households in Senegal rely on rainfed agriculture; in recent years, climate change-induced disruptions to rainfall patterns and the ensuing depletion of water resources have had adverse effects on agricultural production, livelihoods, and food security. Recent studies recommend further assessment of the viability of and potential for Flood Residual Water Cultivation (FRWC) as an alternative growing strategy (i.e., to supplement or extend natural growing seasons).

Maize is the major food crop in eastern and southern Africa, including Kenya. Maize-based farming systems make up the largest proportion of agricultural land, and maize is central to the food system, in both rural and urban areas. Because of its importance, maize has received wide attention from the government, including in policy and research. As a result, Kenya has been at the forefront of the “maize green revolution” in Africa (Hassan and Karanja 1997; Hassan, Njoroge et al. 1998c).

This brief identifies important constructs for assessing drivers of food choice behaviors and describes progress on the development of a repository of instruments and measures for assessing these constructs.
OBJECTIVES

List constructs that can be assessed to understand drivers of household and individual food choice behaviors.
Identify instruments and measures to assess each food choice construct and organize these into a searchable repository.
Illustrate the use of the Food Choice Repository.