BY EUGENIO DÍAZ-BONILLA Food systems must function well in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The operation of food systems affects incomes and employment; poverty and food security; diets, health, and nutrition; energy sources and uses; climate change, environmental sustainability, biodiversity, and ecosystems; and even aspects of peace and governance. Yet progress toward SDG2 and its key component,
This spring, Dr. Devra Jarvis retired as a Principal Scientist and Team Leader for Agrobiodiversity in Production Systems at the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT. In this blog, she reflects on her quarter-century of research on crop genetic diversity and in situ conservation, sharing her thoughts on progress so far, highlights of her career and the work we still need
Like many issues besetting contemporary agri-food systems, the question of nitrogen use appears to yield contradictory problems and solutions depending on where you look. Many parts of the globe are experiencing the environmental consequences of excessive and inefficient use of nitrogen fertilizers. Elsewhere nitrogen-poor soils are a hindrance to agricultural productivity. Maize and wheat agri-food systems are at the heart
A new malt barley handbook published by ICARDA aims at solving challenges surrounding malt barley production in Ethiopia. It compiles key findings from 28 scientific papers authored by partners and stakeholders. Given barley’s resilience to weather extremes, and its ability to grow in poor, degraded soils, barley is cultivated across Ethiopia for its nutritious grain and straw. From the wet highlands
This op-ed was first published by Devex on May 26, 2021. Well-intended efforts are being made across the globe to reduce gender inequalities in agriculture, including by engaging women farmers in entrepreneurship or new jobs within the wider food system. But we still need to find out whether women are benefiting or becoming empowered by these initiatives. In some cases,
BY LAWRENCE HADDAD AND CARIN SMALLER The number of people who go to bed hungry was rising steadily prior to the COVID-19 pandemic due to stresses related to climate, inequality and conflict, and now stands at 690 million. The pandemic has supercharged these trends. The latest UN estimates are sobering, with an additional 130 million projected to be suffering from hunger, even
To transform food systems in support of safe, sustainable and nutritious diets for all, aquatic foods must be prioritized in the upcoming UN Food Systems Summit, said experts in a recent Food Systems Dialogue hosted by the Norwegian leadership of the Global Action Network and WorldFish. Food systems dialogues explore the potential for food systems transformation to fulfill multiple Sustainable
The goal of the out-of-stock study is to improve an understanding of how farmers make their maize seed choices, says Pieter Rutsaert, Markets and Value Chain Specialist at CIMMYT. “We do this by inviting farmers to a mock agrodealer store that we set up in their villages and give them a small budget to purchase a bag of seed. However,