News Overview

The project Building Economically Sustainable Seed Systems for Cassava, Phase 2 (BASICS-II) organized a day-long National Cassava Business Summit towards developing a cassava seed system in the country. The summit was held on 17 February in Dodoma, Tanzania. The meeting aimed to catalyze public-private partnership sector-led investment in the cassava seed value chain, bringing together about 100 participants from the public and

Delegates from the Government of Madagascar, headed by Mrs Fanjaniaina Raharinomena, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture, representing His Excellency, Xarifiid Ramilison, the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, visited IITA from 23 to 28 February. Mrs Raharinomena was accompanied by the National Deputy Coordinator of Enable Youth, the Coordinator of DEFIS, the Director of the Organization of Farmers, and the

The Ukrainian flag famously represents the country’s golden wheat fields under a clear blue sky. That pastoral symbolism is taking on a much darker tone with Russia’s invasion, given the importance of both countries to global food security. Even if food is not a direct target, Russia’s devastating attacks on Ukraine will probably affect the availability of food in

The new Ukama Ustawi Initiative will help millions of vulnerable smallholders in 12 countries transition from maize-mixed systems to sustainably intensified, diversified, and de-risked agrifood systems. Partners of CGIAR’s new Regional Integrated Initiative in East and Southern Africa (ESA) held a kick-off meeting in Nairobi from March 2 to 3, 2022. Eighty-five participants attended, including national agricultural research extension programs,

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is having big, and potentially long-lasting impacts on the global supplies of food and energy. On this episode of Radio Davos, Saad Rahim, Chief Economist at trading firm Trafigura, explains what makes oil and gas prices fluctuate so wildly, and considers the short and long-term impacts of the war on those vital commodities. He also

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to the disruption, by sanctions or war, of two of the world’s largest grain exporters. This means 2022 is shaping up to be a very difficult year for the global food system. Yet there were concerns that this system was creaking at the seams as far back as 2007. At that time there were

Achieving impact at scale is one of the greatest challenges facing the research and development community, and the term ‘scaling of innovation’ is increasingly popular in the world of public research and development.   Pilots never fail, Pilots never scale… if this sounds like what is happening in your organization, then this course provides a starting point for improved innovation and

BY JOHANN SWINNEN AND MARTIEN VAN NIEUWKOOP Totaling more than $639 billion per year, public policies and support to agriculture create powerful incentives influencing which crops we grow, the diets we consume, and the impact these decisions have on the environment. Currently, however, the structure of this support contributes to many of the hidden costs our food systems generate. Agriculture,