
Scaling for Impact
We will tackle global poverty, food insecurity, and climate risks by applying transdisciplinary science, fostering partnerships, generating evidence, and delivering integrated solutions to maximize impact and minimize duplication.
As the pioneering program fully dedicated to scaling land, food, and water systems innovations, we will ambitiously address critical challenges to meet pressing global needs. We will further establish CGIAR as a leader in agrifood systems innovation scaling – effectively fostering partnership synergies to deliver scalable, inclusive, and responsible innovation benefits.
Our work aims to help with
- supporting 62+ million people through systems and financing
- applying biodiversity-friendly and climate-smart innovations to 10 million hectares of land
- raising US$45 million to catalyze enduring impact
Where we will work in
Bangladesh, Benin, Cambodia, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Challenges we’ll address
- Difficulty in achieving widespread, inclusive, and lasting change in farming practices, policies, and technologies
- Climate change, environmental degradation, geopolitical instability, population growth, rising inequality, and unsustainable diets create barriers to sustainable scaling
- A need for science to rapidly evolve to generate scalable innovations resilient to today’s challenges and tomorrow’s climate, ensuring transformative impact
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Areas of Work
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Engage and EmpowerWe will embed research and scaling activities within regional, national, and local innovation systems that foster transformative collaborations. We aim to close gaps between research, successful adaptation and adoption, and sustained use of innovations by aligning with stakeholder needs and priorities.
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Pathways to Scale in Agrifood SystemsWe will support CGIAR and our partners by diagnosing and identifying key levers for scaling within complex innovation systems and bundling and packaging innovations to position them along scaling pathways that address agrifood system challenges from production to consumption while mitigating environmental and climate risks.
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Enabling Environment LabWe will address barriers to scaling innovations by tackling policy, market, and societal constraints at different levels in agrifood systems. We will enhance the productivity, sustainability, inclusivity, and cost-effectiveness of scaling processes, equipping stakeholders in the regional innovation and scaling hubs with essential tools and insights to implement more effective scaling.
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Achieving Impact by Unlocking Finance and PartnershipsWe will strengthen and create collaborations with governments, international financial institutions, and value chain actors across agrifood systems to better support development programming. We will also leverage finance and scaling opportunities through private-sector investors and partnerships with large international NGOs and humanitarian organizations to channel scaling opportunities into impact.
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Learning for ImpactWe will foster systems-thinking and a culture of diverse and continuous learning on scaling agrifood innovations by advancing scaling science, conducting holistic impact assessments, enhancing innovation portfolio coordination, and institutionalizing experiential learning through capacity building, South-South exchanges, and documenting lessons to refine practices and inform agricultural training across regions.
Gender & Social Inclusion
We will prioritize gender equality and social inclusion through a transformative agenda and targeted interventions,integrating these priorities into its research and co-develop responsible scaling strategies with partners to ensure equitable access to resources and opportunities for marginalized groups.
Our Approach
Interlinked support across CGIAR’s portfolio
We will work closely with the Better Diets and Nutrition, Breeding for Tomorrow, Climate Action, Food Frontiers and Security, Multifunctional Landscapes, Policy Innovations, Sustainable Animal and Aquatic Foods, and Sustainable Farming programs, and the Digital Transformation, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, and Shared Capacity accelerators.
Working to share our capacity with
- governments and international financial institutions
- agribusinesses and agrifood system players
- scientists and students
Built on CGIAR’s proven expertise
- Robust relationships with regional and national stakeholders
- A mandate and experience in scaling science, combined with access to multistakeholder networks and scaling hubs
- Global and local transdisciplinary expertise with decades of in-country policy presence and a track record in enabling scaling research
- A mastery in mobilizing transformative finance and forming impactful collaborations with governments, private-sector actors, and international organizations
News
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Sharing Insights on Nutrition: Opportunities and Challenges from a Food Systems Perspective in the Vietnam Mekong Delta at National Institute of Nutrition’s September Scientific Seminar
Scaling for Impact Program24.09.25By Thanh Duong, food environment and consumer behavior team from Alliance of Bioversity-CIAT As Viet…
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Strengthening Inclusive Scaling in Eastern and Southern Africa: Insights from a Regional Workshop in Uganda
Scaling for Impact Program24.09.25By Moureen Awori, Communication and Visibility Expert (IITA), with contributions from Ngowenani Noha…
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District Technical Working Groups (DTWGs) Strengthening Cambodia’s Wetland Resilience through Community Action
Scaling for Impact Program24.09.25By Sok Sao, Research Fellow, WorldFish Highlights: Boeng Ream Fish Refuge and Boeng Sneh Lake illus…
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The Missing Link in Development: Scaling Science for Sustainable Development in the Global South
Scaling for Impact Program18.09.25By Ravi Nandi, Innovation Systems Scientist and project lead at CIMMYT, Bangladesh; Nora Hanke-Louw,…
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Youth Power in Action: ScaleUp Africa Youth Innovation Challenge at the Africa Food Systems Forum
Scaling for Impact Program17.09.25By Abena Ofosu, Senior Research Officer - Innovation Scaling, International Water Management Institu…
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Scaling to Transform: The Collective Power of the Region for a Sustainable Future
Scaling for Impact Program11.09.25By Daniela Arce Gómez, Communications Coordinator, Climate Action Latin America and the Caribbean (…
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Publications
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Responsible scaling for transformative impact: Lessons from the science and practice of responsible scaling for agri-food system transformation
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)02.09.25-
Climate adaptation & mitigation
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Tackling irrigation development and water management crises in Africa
International Water Management Institute (IWMI)28.08.25-
Climate adaptation & mitigation
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Mitigation
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