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Far from being inert ground, soil is a biologically active ecosystem critical to agricultural sustainability. A 2024 baseline study in Kenya’s Kisumu and Vihiga counties, conducted by scientists from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, IITA, and KALRO, demonstrates that soil microbial diversity is a key driver of resilient and productive smallholder farming systems. Located in western Kenya, Kisumu

By Alan de Brauw and Johann Swinnen July 14, 2025 Agrifood value chains (AVCs) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have been expanding due to a range of factors, including income growth, urbanization, more market-oriented policies, globalization, and technological changes. Integrating smallholder farmers into those growing value chains, particularly for higher-value commodities, is an important path towards reducing poverty and generating employment

By David Stevenson, Abdul Kamara, Yero Baldeh, Martin Fregene, and Steven Were Omamo July 11, 2025 Humanitarian agencies around the world face a never-ending race against time to save lives in places where conflicts, extreme weather, and other shocks lead to collapsing economies, leaving populations facing hunger and other forms of food insecurity. Nigeria is a prime example. Across the

By Will Martin July 11, 2025 Latest in a series of posts focusing on potential impacts of U.S. tariff proposals. Read the others here, here, and here. The “Liberation Day” tariffs proposed by the United States on April 2 included a blanket 10% increase for countries with which the U.S. runs bilateral trade surpluses or small deficits, and a range of higher tariffs

Seed supply planning in Bangladesh has faced several challenges over the years, including reliance on manual processes, fragmented data, and a tendency for reactive decision-making. These factors can often lead to mismatches between the availability of seeds and the actual demand from farmers, resulting in shortages of quality seeds or the distribution of varieties that may not be ideal for

Sharif Ahmed, Manik Debnath, and Humnath Bhandari Did you know that over 40 million people in coastal Bangladesh, particularly those residing in the lower Ganges Delta, face difficult farming conditions? Many of their lands suffer from soil salinity, which makes crop cultivation challenging. Farmers primarily grow rice during the rainy season and often leave their fields vacant during the

Bushra Humaira Dhaka, Bangladesh – In collaboration with CGIAR’s Scaling for Impact (S4I) Program, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is dedicated to fostering strong partnerships that promote the widespread adoption of rice-based innovations in Bangladesh. This includes initiatives such as the Cluster-based Farmer Field School model, Wife Husband Model, Dry-direct Seeded Rice, Nature-based soil fertility management, and Improved

Central America, particularly the dry corridor, is facing various threats from climate change. Water scarcity and unpredictable rainfall patterns are jeopardizing agriculture, rural livelihoods, and the sustainability of  food systems. In response, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has been working for over a decade through its Water and Soil for Agriculture (ASA) program, in collaboration with local and national partners, to