Sustainable Farming

Through integrated farm management solutions, we contribute to global food security by delivering 15-30% higher productivity, 10-15% increased profitability, 15% Green House Gas (GHG) emissions reductions, and 20% more efficient water and fertilizer use, while protecting natural resources and supporting sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers.

Our work integrates agronomic practices, plant health innovations, and farming-system approaches. It is co-developed and co-delivered with National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES), governments, private sector, advanced research institutions (ARIs), non-government organizations (NGOs), farmers, and civil society, prioritizing women and youth in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).

We are scaling equitable public goods to build resilient farming systems, equipping stakeholders to overcome shocks, constraints, and risks for transformative impact.

The countries and locations listed below reflect where CGIAR and its partners reasonably expect their work to generate benefits: 

• Global
• Regions:  Eastern Africa, Southern Asia; Southern Africa, South East Asia. Central and Western Europe and North Africa, and Western Africa
• Countries:  Bangladesh; Cambodia; Colombia; Côte d'Ivoire; Egypt; Ethiopia; Ghana; India, Kenya; Lebanon; Malawi; Mexico; Morocco; Nigeria; Peru; Philippines; Rwanda; Senegal; Tanzania, United Republic; The Democratic Republic of the Congo; The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam; Uganda 
   

Challenges we’ll address:

• Need to increase nutritious food production by 60% to meet expanding population demands
• 20-40% reduced agricultural productivity growth because of climate change
• An agricultural environmental footprint equivalent to 1/3 of annual greenhouse emissions
• Persistent social inequities and an aging agricultural labor force
• Exclusion of youth, women, and marginalized communities in agricultural production

We address gender and social inequalities in agri-food systems through an inclusive, gender-responsive approach integrated across all areas of work. This ensures equitable interventions that close knowledge gaps, bundle innovations effectively, and drive sustainable, farmer-responsive impact.

Interlinked support across CGIAR’s portfolio
We will work closely with the Better Diets & Nutrition, Breeding for Tomorrow, Climate Action, Genebanks, Multifunctional Landscapes, Policy Innovations, Scaling for Impact, Sustainable Animal and Aquatic Foods programs, and the Capacity Sharing, Digital Transformation, and Gender Equality and Inclusion accelerators.

Working to share our capacity with

• Governments and Policymakers
• Private sector
• Scientists and research institutions

• A strong capacity and experience in organizing and coordinating an international program around the future sustainability of agricultural systems
• A diverse and global expert pool of agronomists, soil scientists, plant health specialists, desert farming specialists, crop modelers, data scientists, policy scientists, and co-creation and gender experts
• Extensive, locally embedded physical resources within our centers, including research stations, field sites, laboratories, germplasm health units, manufacturing facilities, and long-term experiments
• Solutions and innovations tailored to local contexts while considering broader agricultural development goals