News Overview

Insights from a Special Session at the 6th International Agronomy Congress during 24–26 November 2025 in New Delhi, India. The country, India has successfully moved to the status of a surplus food-producing nation, ensuring overall food availability and stability. However, agriculture now faces multiple and interconnected challenges, including climate change, water scarcity, soil degradation, pest pressure, and low farm incomes. To discuss integrated pathways, a Special Session on “Multifunctional Landscapes” was organized during the 6th International Agronomy Congress, focusing on how agriculture can simultaneously support food production, climate resilience, water security, biodiversity, and livelihoods.

Across Nepal’s diverse landscapes, farmers and partners are testing maize innovations that improve yields, resilience, and livelihoods—but the biggest challenge is moving from local wins to sustainable scale. CGIAR’s Scaling for Impact (S4I) Program is helping do exactly that by building structured pathways that connect proven research with markets, investment, and policy. In Nepal, S4I is supporting maize-based “innovation packages” (seed, agronomy, mechanization, irrigation and market linkages) through strong partnerships with government, research institutions, the private sector, and farmer organizations. In 2025, this approach helped expand access to improved seed, mainstream best management practices and digital advisories, increase mechanization through custom hiring centers, strengthen direct sales to feed mills, and boost private investment across the maize value chain. By embedding scaling strategies within national plans and strengthening local institutions, S4I is catalyzing systemic change—turning research into lasting transformation for a more productive, inclusive, and climate-resilient maize food system in Nepal.

Partnership will focus on agricultural innovation and sustainable practices to boost food security.

On 18 December 2025, an inter-provincial workshop in Prey Veng, Cambodia brought together 83 stakeholders from government, research, communities, and development partners to share lessons from district-led food systems governance. Co-organized by CARD, WorldFish Cambodia, and IWMI with support from CGIAR’s Scaling for Impact (S4I), SAAF, and MFL, the dialogue highlighted how District Working Groups on Food Security and Nutrition (DWG-FSN)—including ecosystem-based sub-working groups around lakes and community fish refuges—are helping translate national strategies into local action. Participants reviewed evidence and field experience on water management, integrated rice–fish systems, wetland planning, and coordination mechanisms, and identified priorities for scaling: stronger links between district and provincial platforms, inclusive and regular convening, capacity support, and sustainable financing to advance Cambodia’s Food Systems Roadmap to 2030.

At COP30, CGIAR scientists contributed directly to the development of the Belém Adaptation Indicators under the Global Goal on Adaptation. This piece examines what the adopted indicators mean for food, land, and water systems, the role of scientific expertise in global adaptation policy, and where CGIAR’s research can support implementation beyond negotiation.

Thirteen CGIAR scientists have been selected as authors for the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report, marking the largest CGIAR contribution to an IPCC cycle to date. This blog examines the significance of this representation and its implications for global climate policy.

Addressing the intersecting challenges of climate change, conflict and inequality in the MENA region requires more than isolated interventions—it demands coordinated, evidence-driven action. A gender-responsive learning agenda offers a critical opportunity to align research, policy, and practice, amplify women’s voices and invest in solutions that work at scale.