1. Seeds of Change Climate shifts, soil degradation and conflicts threaten food security in many countries worldwide. Every day, thousands of people struggle to find ways to ensure a stable food supply amid an uncertain future. For agricultural scientists, the pressing question is how their work can help minimise the impacts of these risks. Plant breeding, through improving the genetic
Each year, nearly one-third of the food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally. In the poorest regions, food loss and waste severely reduce food availability, driving up prices and limiting access to food for low-income households. The livelihoods of farmers and producers are also at risk when food must be sold at lower prices or discarded because
Liberian rice farmer participating in a Seeds4Liberia project survey.(Photo courtesy of AfricaRice) by Edgar Twine In a recent Brookings “Viewpoint” article (Getting rice right in Liberia | Brookings), former Liberian Minister of Agriculture J. M. Cooper observed that Liberians “hold one truth to be self-evident: If one has not eaten rice on any given day, then one has not eaten.”
(photo) PDT members during field evaluation in Katumani, Kenya by Pieter Rutsaert, Agnes Gitonga, Mark Nas Tamerlane, Ganga Rao Nadigatla, Rachael Kisilu, Biswanath Das, Harish Gandhi Across crop breeding programs, considerable effort has been invested in setting up product design teams (PDTs) per crop per country. These are multidisciplinary teams made up of representatives from across the commodity value chain
by Susan Kairu, Agnes Gitonga, Ganga Rao Nadigatla, Rael Karimi, Harish Gandhi Pigeon pea is one of Kenya’s key grain legume crops for food security, particularly in arid and semi-arid areas due to its drought tolerance. Kenya currently produces about 107,117 t of pigeon pea, based on the mean of the past three years (FAOSTAT 2024), against a much higher
Using GloMIP in proposal writing is crucial for identifying the geographies and even the populations who would benefit most from technologies and innovations. GloMIP allows us to align our efforts with donor priorities, ensuring that we target the groups that both need our support the most and meet the strategic goals of our donors. (Jamaica Deriquito, Portfolio Development and Management
(Photo)A session during International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE)- New Delhi, India. by Matty Demont, Ruvicyn Bayot, Mary Joy Grefaldo The CGIAR Initiative on Market Intelligence (MI) teamed up with global problem solvers to address pressing agricultural challenges and present key MI findings at the triennial International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE), held on 2–7 August, 2024, in New Delhi,
(Photo) Sorghum PDT meeting in Morogoro, June, 2023. by Mercy Mbugua, Pieter Rutsaert, Harish Gandi, Tamerlane Mark Nas Tanzania is one of the largest sorghum producers in Eastern and Southern Africa and the seventh largest producer globally. In the past decade, sorghum production in Tanzania has been expanding due to a growing export market. To better serve the requirements of