News Overview

Thirty years after the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action — what many hailed as a landmark global framework for gender equality—progress remains uneven and inequalities still exist in many spheres. The Declaration, adopted by 189 nations, made one thing clear: development will not be advanced unless we also advance women’s empowerment. However, progress has been slow and at the current pace, it could take decades to close global gender gaps. Women and girls continue to face systemic barriers to rights, resources, decision-making and opportunities. Nowhere is this more evident than in food, land and water systems.

Latin America feeds the world, yet healthy diets are out of reach for most in the region, and the region also has the widest gender gap in food insecurity, with women facing much higher food insecurity than men as compared to other regions of the world. At the same time, the region produces significantly more sugar than needed as compared to the recommended dietary guidelines. What is the state of diets in LAC and what are we doing about it?

In Ethiopia, researchers and partners tested a new way to scale agricultural innovation. By bundling technology, skills, and social change, they show how farming systems can work better for women and build resilience.

At the Duduville Campus in Nairobi, a remarkable convergence of science, partnership, and entrepreneurship unfolded as Hon Randeep Sarai, Canada’s Secretary of State for International Development visited alongside H.E. Joshua Tabah, Canadian High Commissioner to Kenya, and Sophie Price, Head of Cooperation.

ICRISAT in partnership with the Fortified Whole Grain Alliance (FWGA), convened the Project Inception for ‘Advancing whole grain processing technologies and improving consumer acceptability of whole grain foods’ at its Hyderabad headquarters on 28 April 2026.

In Djimassar, in Senegal’s Sédhiou region, Fatou Diatta’s story begins in a micro-garden, between rows of carrots and peppers watered by hand. At twenty-eight, a mother of two, she belongs to a generation of rural youth searching for their place between tradition and modernity. Agriculture, long seen as exhausting and unrewarding, has become for her a space of empowerment and leadership. Through the AVENIR project, implemented by MEDA with scientific support from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and funded by Global Affairs Canada, Fatou discovered new farming practices, strengthened her skills, and transformed her plot into a local model. Her journey tells more than an individual success story. It reflects a changing perspective on youth, land, and the future of food systems in Senegal.

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), in partnership with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), launched the CGIAR India Policy Innovation Hub, a co-creation platform designed to strengthen evidence-led policymaking for transforming India’s food systems.

Ibadan, Nigeria | April 2026: Nigeria has approved the release of SAMNUT 30 (ICGV 206228), a high-performing groundnut variety developed by ICRISAT, marking an important step toward enhancing productivity and resilience and food and nutrition security among smallholder farmers.