Report

This report focuses on how African small-holder farmers respond to an uncertain climate future and how they can be agents of change. In addition, it focuses on what financial options are available and how funding could be improved for this. Impacts of climate change are already felt in Africa. Mean temperatures in Africa will rise faster than the global average, and agricultural losses in the region will amount to 2% to 7% of GDP by 2100. »

This report (PDF) by Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) highlights the role of small-scale farmers as innovators and custodians of food system diversity, a critical resource in ensuring the realization of the right to food in an era of climate change. Taking an innovation systems perspective, it proposes a new framework for the design of collaborative agricultural research projects and agendas, and notes the need for pro-active policy measures in creating an enabling environment for such partnerships. »

This report highlights five major constraints that can limit women’s productivity and inclusion into the agricultural economy in Africa: lack of access to assets, lack of access to financing, limited training, gender-neutral government policy, and time constraints due to heavy domestic responsibilities. Women make up almost 50% of the agricultural labour force in Sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 62% of economically active women in Africa work in agriculture, making it the largest employer of women. »

This report by the African Development Bank, ECOWAS and the Food and Agriculture Organization highlights opportunities for West African Agricultural growth. The authors states that the combination of strong demand growth, sustained economic growth, higher global agricultural prices, and an improved policy environment has generated the most conducive conditions for agricultural growth in West Africa in over 30 years. »

This report by ILRI reflects on the potential role of innovation platforms as spaces to identify and spread useful innovations associated with dairy production and feeding. It draws examples from MilkIT, a project to promote milk production in India and Tanzania. The idea of innovation platforms is introduced and it is shown how they can »

This review consists of two parts. Part one takes a closer look at implementation strategies and models of community seed production practices, while part two focuses on lessons learned and future perspectives. The study covers five case studies in Africa and is based on an analysis of different published and unpublished sources on seed production and seed delivery with a focus on farmer seed management and commercial seed. The review was also informed by interviews with seed system practitioners. »