By Deborah Mongína The Alliance Bioversity & CIAT hosted an Innovation Expo at its campus in Cali, Colombia, offering a window into the transformative research and innovation activities taking place on-site. The event, held on 26 October 2024, showcased interactive booths highlighting key research areas such as rice varieties, gene editing, food systems, diverse fruit varieties, cassava, beans, and the
By Kristen Tam Natural resource extraction has been a historical point of conflict and wars, but can we use the environment to bring about peace instead? In Colombia, there are armed groups across the country that accumulate land designated for biodiversity preservation which leads to preventing environmental officials and programs from entering areas under their control, and displaces communities. Juan
“We don’t usually think of pastoralists as allies in the biodiversity sphere, but we need to build these unconventional coalitions and partnerships,” said Harko Koster, Global Lead Climate & Food Systems, SNV at a livestock roundtable at COP16. At this year’s COP16, there has been more talk than ever in the Kunming-Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) about the intersection between agriculture
Climate change and variability are intensifying the vulnerabilities of smallholder farmers, putting their agricultural livelihoods at risk. The 2023/2024 El Niño – regarded as one of the strongest on record by the WMO – brought widespread drought to Zambia, causing water scarcity, crop failures and significant agricultural losses. During this season, much of the southern region of the country received
Participatory video is a technique that puts cameras in the hands of farmers. Researchers Melissa Bonilla, Maria Delfine, Charles Mwizerwa, Rhys Manners and Anna Muller share how this approach can provide insights for more inclusive agriculture. What do Rwanda’s picturesque landscapes look like to the farmers who grow maize, beans and potatoes there? What do they focus on when deciding
As part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a partnership between the Ethiopian Government, CGIAR centers and national and international universities bore fruit, leading to the creation of a digital platform to address the challenges faced by Ethiopia’s seed system. The Ethio-Seed Hub Platform aims to improve the exchange of seed-related information, connecting seed producers with seed consumers in
Strengthening livestock production in the tropics and subtropics involves much more than just technical improvements and environmental considerations. Our recently published paper on “Leveraging Gender, Youth, and Social Networks for Inclusive and Transformative Livestock Production” delves into the social dynamics that shape these systems, underscoring how addressing gender roles, youth participation, and social networks can lead to livestock production systems
Climate resilience is a vital pillar of sustainable development, especially in regions where communities rely on rainfed agriculture and pastoralism, such as the Turkana and West Pokot counties of Kenya. Resilience includes the capacity of communities, ecosystems, and economies to recover from the adverse effects of climate-related shocks in a timely and effective manner. By strengthening climate resilience, we not