Harriet Okech, a scientist at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), briefing visitors to CGIAR Science Week on the work of the IITA. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By Busani Bafana
NAIROBI, Jul 1 2025 (IPS)

Despite delivering life-saving medicines, more nutritious crops, and transformative technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), science remains widely misunderstood, polarizing, and underappreciated. Much of this, experts say, comes down to one persistent issue: poor communication.

Science doesn’t reach the people it’s meant to serve—not because it lacks value, but because it is locked behind technical jargon and inaccessible language. “Science is often misunderstood because it’s poorly communicated,” says Harriet Okech, a biotechnologist on a mission to demystify science and protect it from distortion in an era of rampant misinformation.

Okech, a scientist at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Kenya, believes that science must be made understandable and relatable—especially for farmers and policymakers, who are critical in translating research into real-world impact.

“Science should not stay in journals or labs. It must reach the people who need it most,” Okech told IPS.

Keen to improve the accessibility and relevance of its science research to decision-makers, the CGIAR published a report, Insight to Impact: A Decision-Maker’s Guide to Navigating Food System Science, which recognized that the CGIAR’s research was not consistently being used. The report designed for leaders, policymakers and researchers, focuses on translating science into action by simplifying scientific findings into practical, understandable and relevant information with links to tools and real-world applications.

“One of the main barriers is the gap in communication between the scientist and the private sector, including the farmer who is supposed to be the key beneficiary of the materials and innovations the scientists are coming up with,” said Grace Mijiga Mhango, President of the Grain Traders and Processors Association of Malawi, one of several stakeholders consulting in the development of the report.

Commenting on the report, Lindiwe Sibanda, Chair of the CGIAR Integrated Partnership Board, highlighted that policymakers need more support to navigate food systems science.

“The most powerful scaling of agricultural research that I have experienced is through policy, where a policy environment is created in a way that is conducive for CGIAR technologies to be taken up. Yet not all researchers, not all scientists, are comfortable in the science-policy interface. This report marks a step towards bridging this gap.”

Unjamming the Jargon, Plain Speak

To make science relatable, it must first be understandable.

“Scientists and journalists must work together to unpack complex research. Otherwise, the message gets lost—or worse, misinterpreted,” said Okech.

Often, journalists simply reproduce scientific jargon without fully understanding it, leading to confusion and public distrust. “Scientists need to own their narratives and communicate their work clearly—without causing panic or watering it down,” she explained.

Through science communication training programs for researchers and journalists, Okech is helping build this critical skill set.

The biotechnology sector, in particular, has been a frequent casualty of misinformation.

“There’s a lot of fear around biotech because people don’t understand what it is,” Okech noted.

She recalled explaining the basics of GM technology to an Uber driver following Kenya’s decision to lift its ban on genetically modified crops.

“He thought GMOs were just oversized vegetables injected with chemicals. That moment reminded me how important it is to engage beyond the lab.”

Today, Okech writes science-based opinion pieces for the media and creates video content on platforms like YouTube to explain innovations in biotechnology and genome editing in a simple, visual, and engaging way. Her work spans key crops like cassava and ensete—a vital food crop in Ethiopia related to bananas—where she focuses on improving traits for disease resistance and resilience through genetic transformation and gene editing.

As the world works to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), science information must be accessible and inclusive in helping tackle development challenges, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Through its Open Science initiative, UNESCO has championed the need to simplify science communication to promote public understanding and engagement.

Science in Her Cells

Having transitioned from the lab to the front line of science communication, Okech sees herself as a bridge between researchers and the public.

“When I worked in the lab, my dream was to help others understand science, especially those without a scientific background,” she said.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Leena Tripathi—Director of the Eastern Africa Hub and Head of the Biotechnology Program at IITA—Okech has led communications efforts for the institute’s biotechnology and cassava seed systems programs.

Science, for Okech, is more than a career. It is a calling.

“It’s in my DNA,” she chuckled. “But what good is science if no one understands it?”

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Fishermen gliding on a canoe off the coast of Dar es Salaam. Photo by Kizito Makoye

By Kizito Makoye
NICE, France, Jun 17 2025 (IPS)

With less than six harvest seasons left to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the urgency to find transformative solutions to end hunger, protect the oceans, and build climate resilience dominated the ninth panel session at the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France.

In a moment emblematic of growing African leadership in ocean sustainability, Tanzania took center stage during the panel titled “Promoting the Role of Sustainable Food from the Ocean for Poverty Eradication and Food Security.” The panel offered not only a scientific and policy-rich exchange of ideas but also a rare glimpse into how countries like Tanzania are positioning aquatic foods as engines of economic recovery, public health, and ecological sustainability.

A Defining Voice From the Swahili Coast

Co-chairing the session, Shaaban Ali Othman, Minister for Blue Economy and Fisheries of Zanzibar, part of the United Republic of Tanzania, laid out his country’s blueprint for harnessing ocean resources without compromising marine ecosystems.

“Our survival is intimately tied to the ocean. It feeds us, it employs our people, and it holds the promise to lift millions out of poverty,” Othman said, advocating for a redefinition of how the world views aquatic food systems. “But this can only happen if we manage them responsibly.”

He emphasized that for Tanzania, the blue economy is not a buzzword—it is a foundational strategy woven into national development planning. As climate change intensifies and traditional farming struggles under erratic rainfall, coastal and inland aquatic foods offer a viable, nutrient-dense alternative for the country’s growing population.

“Communities in Zanzibar and along the Tanzanian coastline have fished for generations, but now we must ensure those practices are not just traditional, but also sustainable and inclusive,” Othman said.

He pointed to Zanzibar’s push to increase seaweed farming, particularly among women, as a double dividend for nutrition and gender equity. He also highlighted new investments in cold storage and fish processing facilities aimed at reducing post-harvest losses—currently among the highest in the region.

The Global Science Backs Tanzania’s Approach

His remarks resonated with the scientific panelists, particularly Jörn Schmidt, Science Director for Sustainable Aquatic Food Systems at WorldFish, who urged countries to bring aquatic foods “from the margins to the mainstream.”

“Aquatic foods are one of the few tools that can simultaneously tackle poverty, hunger, and climate risk,” said Schmidt. “But they are often left off the table—both literally and figuratively.”

Schmidt called for urgent action on three fronts: nutrition, production, and equity. He cited research showing that even modest increases in aquatic food consumption in the first 1,000 days of life could significantly reduce stunting and improve cognitive development. For production, he recommended low-impact, high-return systems such as seaweed and bivalves. On equity, he urged secure tenure for small-scale fishers, gender inclusion, and expanded social protections.

Barange noted that in 2023 alone, global fish production hit 189 million tons, delivering about 21 kilograms of aquatic animal protein per capita. However, an alarming 23.8 million tons—almost 15 percent—was lost or wasted due to poor handling and inefficient distribution systems.

“These losses are not just about food—they are lost nutrition, lost income, and lost opportunity,” said Barange, adding that if properly managed, aquatic foods could be the backbone of a global “blue transformation.”

Tanzania’s Call for Equity and Innovation

Othman used the opportunity to underline that the success of aquatic food systems must also address inequality—particularly the role of women and youth in the sector.

“Across Tanzania, from Kigamboni to Kilwa, women are drying fish, farming seaweed, and selling aquatic produce in markets. But they need access to capital, to better technology, and most importantly, to decision-making spaces,” he said.

To that end, Tanzania has begun piloting aquatic food training centres aimed at equipping youth with climate-smart aquaculture skills, including sustainable pond farming and low-carbon feed techniques.

“This is how we move from potential to prosperity,” Othman said.

A Blueprint for Global Action

The panel also featured a range of high-level contributions aimed at linking aquatic foods to broader development frameworks. Rhea Moss-Christian, Executive Director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, underscored the economic lifeline that tuna fisheries represent for small island developing states. She emphasized that tuna is not just a food source, but a pillar of public finance, especially in the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.

“Let’s be clear,” she said. “In some Pacific nations, tuna revenue funds schools, hospitals and roads. A healthy tuna fishery is existential.”

Her message echoed Tanzania’s own struggle to balance economic imperatives with conservation, especially in the face of illegal fishing and weak monitoring infrastructure. Minister Othman called for stronger regional cooperation in fighting these threats, including shared surveillance and satellite-based monitoring systems.

CGIAR and the Seaweed Solution

Adding another layer of urgency, Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted of CGIAR warned that the world is “falling behind on SDG 2 and SDG 14.” She championed seaweed as a sustainable aquatic superfood with enormous potential, particularly for South Asia and Africa.

“Tanzania, with its long coastline and established seaweed culture, is ideally placed to lead in this domain,” she said.

She called for more public and private investment to scale innovations, support local entrepreneurs, and integrate aquatic foods into school feeding and public procurement programmes.

“Let us not miss this opportunity,” she added. “The sea can feed us—if we let it.”

Resilience in the Face of Crisis

Ciyong Zou, Deputy Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), highlighted the broader resilience benefits of aquatic food systems. He noted that aquatic foods support over 3 billion people globally, yet post-harvest losses—up to 30 percent in developing countries—undermine their potential.

He offered case studies from Cambodia and Sudan, where targeted investments in processing and training led to higher incomes and improved child nutrition. He announced UNIDO’s voluntary commitment to expand technical support to 10 additional coastal nations by 2030.

“For countries like Tanzania, this could mean new tools, cleaner production methods, and more resilient livelihoods,” Zou said.

Call to Action

As the panel drew to a close, one theme stood out: aquatic food systems are not merely about fish or seaweed—they are about dignity, sovereignty, and survival.

“We need to democratize access to data, empower communities, and ensure that small-scale fishers, especially women, are not left behind,” Othman insisted.

Back in Tanzania, the ripple effects of such commitments are already being felt. In Kisiwa Panza, a small island in Pemba, a women-led seaweed cooperative recently began exporting to Europe, thanks to technical support from local NGOs and government backing. “It’s a new life,” said Asha Mzee, one of the cooperative’s founders. “Before, we fished only what we needed. Now, we grow for the world.”

With nations like Tanzania stepping forward, the ocean—so long exploited—is being reimagined as a source of renewal. But the clock is ticking.

“In 2030, we’ll be asked what we did with these six remaining harvests,” Othman said in his final remarks. “Let’s ensure our answer is-we used them to feed people, protect our planet, and leave no one behind.”

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Dr. Nicholas Svitek, microbiologist and senior scientist at ILRI’s Health Program and Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health and Dr. Elise Schieck, a senior scientist at ILRI. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By Busani Bafana
NAIROBI, Apr 22 2025 (IPS)

Livestock are a lifeline for millions of farmers in Africa as a source of food and wealth. But devastating diseases are threatening the health and productivity of their animals.

Now scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) have unleashed a toolbox of science solutions by outsmarting the parasites and pathogens that cost millions of dollars in livestock losses across Africa. The toolbox includes everything from vaccines that protect livestock from ‘cattle malaria’ to genetics to breed animals tolerant to East Coast fever.

East Coast fever is wiping out cattle herds across Africa, triggering income losses and food insecurity. Transmitted by ticks, East Coast fever (ECF) kills over a million cattle each year, with young calves especially at risk, says Dr. Nicholas Svitek, a microbiologist and senior scientist at ILRI’s Health Program and Centre for Tropical Livestock Genetics and Health (CTLGH).

Caused by a parasite called Theileria parva, ECF can be likened to the cattle version of malaria. It is caused by a parasite closely related to the one that affects humans, Plasmodium sp.

“ECF claims the lives of more than one million cattle every year—about one head of cattle every thirty seconds,” said Svitek, adding that the disease causes more than US$500 million in economic losses annually.

Science to the Rescue
Through a strategic partnership between the Roslin Institute, Scotland Rural College, and ILRI, CTLGH is developing genetic solutions to improve livestock-based livelihoods by studying the resistance of African indigenous cattle to ECF.

Svitek said scientists have identified a genetic marker, that is, a specific mutation in a gene called FAF1B associated with resistance to the ECF-causing parasite.

“We are currently studying the mechanism to confirm what the role of this gene is in the resistance to the disease,” said Svitek. “This study is quite a breakthrough not only to understand the biology of the parasite but, most importantly, how we can use this information for breeding programs to select animals that have this genetic marker so we can breed them, so by selecting these animals we can improve the health and overall productivity of the animals.”

ILRI has created experimental vaccines using artificial intelligence and genetically modified viruses to help cattle build immunity against the Theileria parva parasite.

The Institute has also developed experimental vaccines against the bacterial pathogen causing Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP), Mycoplasma capricolum, a highly contagious respiratory disease in goats and the bacterial pathogen causing Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), Mycoplasma mycoides, which affects cattle.

Svitek and Dr. Hussein Abkallo, a molecular biology scientist, have been part of the groundbreaking use of the CRISPR-Cas technology to genetically engineer the African swine fever virus using weakened viruses as a vaccination strategy. CRISPR-Cas is the “genetic scissors” scientists use to edit DNA—the instruction manual inside every living cell—that causes disease.

Healthy Herds, Happy Farmers
ILRI’s science solutions will result in increased animal productivity due to better health and fewer deaths. Besides, scientists are now able to better screen cattle that are more resilient to common infections while reducing the reliance on costly antibiotics in treating sick animals.

Dr. Anna Lacasta, a senior scientist at ILRI focusing on animal health, said they are developing effective vaccines for developing countries. Dr. Svitek and his team have developed the first rapid test prototype using the CRISPR-Cas technology for diagnosing ECF in the field.

Livestock is a lifeline for farmers in Africa. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

“ECF causes malaria but for cattle so it is a tricky disease to develop a vaccine for, as it is for malaria in people,” said Lacasta, who has led the vaccine development research on East Coast fever and African swine fever (ASF)—two important livestock diseases currently endemic in low- and middle-income countries.

ASF is a devastating disease affecting pig production in developing countries; current control methods, such as culling affected animals and using biosecurity in containing the disease, are inadequate.

ILRI has developed live attenuated vaccines (LAV) for ASF genotypes circulating in East Africa with promising results.

Research is ongoing on the Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP), a severe, highly contagious mycoplasmal respiratory disease primarily affecting goats and sheep, as is the Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) in cattle.

“Diseases such as CCPP and CBPP are considered neglected because they affect animals in Africa. The diseases were eradicated in Europe, America, and Australia, but we still have the CCPP in Asia and CBPP in Africa,” said Dr. Elise Schieck, a senior scientist at ILRI, noting that the different vaccines were being evaluated for effectiveness.

Despite the development and use of various science solutions to tackling livestock diseases, there are limitations to their success. Access to vaccines and diagnostic tools is a challenge for farmers across Africa, especially where cold storage facilities are needed to keep the vaccines. Besides, limited extension and advisory services have also hindered farmers from taking up the innovations.

With the right partnerships and policies, science-led livestock health innovations can boost agricultural growth in Africa.

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Eluid Rugut, a youth agri-champion at the Ban Ki-Moon Centre. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By Naureen Hossain
NAIROBI, Apr 17 2025 (IPS)

Eliud Rugut comes from generations of farmers, yet his family expected him to move out of their home and pursue another career.

He studied economics and started working in business and marketing, though it would be short-lived as he lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic. When he moved back to his parents’ home, he wanted to turn around their farm’s productivity.

The farm’s production of millet, sorghum, and maize had been decreasing over the years—it had declined by 60 percent, a significant loss when the farm was the family’s main source of income. Part of the reason for this loss was attributed to the impact of climate change on soil degradation or pest infestations, and part of it was also because his parents were relying on the same seeds and farming techniques with little variation.

“My mother was open to new innovations,” Rugut said, explaining that she had asked him to bring forward new ideas to resolve the issues they faced. “She convinced my father to give me one acre to grow products in.”

At first, Rugut’s father was highly resistant to sharing his land because he would be losing part of his income. In a patriarchal society like that in Rugut’s community in Kenya, men hold greater rights when it comes to land inheritance and are the final authority on how the land is to be used. Eventually Rugut’s father agreed to lend out one acre of land.

It was with this single acre that Rugut built a greenhouse where he applied his farming techniques, technologies, and seeds. He planted crops such as bell peppers, indigenous vegetables, and several fruits, all of which grew during a different season from his family’s grains. Upon seeing the productivity from these crops—and the significant earnings they brought in—Rugut’s father was almost in disbelief that they could produce such results in a shorter timeframe than his maize crops. He took to walking around the greenhouse some nights, as though he needed to see the results and understand for himself, Rugut said. It was a step forward in changing his mind about adopting new approaches to farming.

Rugut would also download and play YouTube videos on agriculture for his father to watch at home. The exposure to different farming techniques through educational (and free) videos that were made by or were about farmers and their lived experience also went a long way in opening up Rugut’s father’s mind to the possibilities, especially when he saw how his son was applying those same techniques on their farm.

Rugut took action, bringing knowledge and innovation to his family and the wider community. Today, he is one of the founders of Silo Africa, which manufactures and sells silo systems for smallholder farmers, which are equipped with smart technology that allows farmers to track the stored grains’ conditions. This was also founded on his innovations with his family’s farm as a way to combat pests and weevils going through their grains. The company is looking to expand their business beyond Kenya and provide silos to farmers across the African continent.

Rugut’s journey in the agri-food industry was shaped when, in 2022, he joined the Ban Ki-Moon Centre for Global Citizens’ (BKMC) Youth Agri Champions Program. “It was one of the game changers of my life,” he said when describing his time in the program.

The opportunities to learn about scaling for impact and climate in agri-food systems had shaped his mindset around his work and the ideas he could take back to his community. With his fellow youth champions, they could commiserate about shared experiences and commonalities over land ownership and how these shaped their farming practices. These were opportunities to share best practices.

BKMC’s most significant impact was giving champions a platform to “elevate [their] voices.”

“That is one thing the youth have never had. Our voices were never heard,” Rugut said. “We never had platforms to voice our challenges, to voice what we are doing.”

Through the BKMC, Rugut could attend conferences like COP28 and share the stage with world leaders, doctors, academic researchers, and policymakers, which was “nerve-wracking” at first. Rugut’s time as a Youth AgriChampion showed him that it was possible for youth farmers, especially smallholder farmers, to “communicate [their] challenges.” More than that, their perspectives held weight.

Rugut has been pleased to dispel any misinformation around small farmers and prove that they are “open to learning” about new farming techniques, since they were already finding ways to adapt to the challenges brought on by climate change. What they need is for this information to be accessible, which is where he would “really challenge” conference attendees to “package” their research in a way that people like him could take the information back to the communities.

Each year, the Youth AgriChampions put out a ‘demand’ paper, which they present at the UN Climate Conference. Regular demands from these papers call for further investments in climate financing, capacity building, and access to climate-smart technology.

“We’ve gotten our voice through the Ban Ki-Moon [Centre] and through this demand paper—there is a document that can speak for us, and people who can speak for us.”

Although conferences like the UN Climate Conference and CGIAR Science Week bring stakeholders from all over the world and can serve as platforms for farmers from the Global South to participate in the conversations, there is still scope for further growth and inclusion.

Such conferences are largely for other stakeholder organizations that conduct research or run interventions in the agri-food systems, but it is still rare for farmers from marginalized communities—or “beneficiaries,” as they are known—to be present in these discussions. The research and solutions discussed in these conferences are often written and presented through a technical lens for a different audience.

“They talk a language that is only understandable by […] the researchers, the scientists, and the donors,” Rugut remarked. “But the very actors… they call it the ‘beneficiaries,’ the people who are at the forefront, who are supposed to have this technology, [who are] affected by the changes, they haven’t been at the table… It’s not enough, but it is a start for us.”

“As a youth and as a smallholder farmer, people view us as beneficiaries. But we are not just beneficiaries. We are co-creators of the change. We are very innovative. We want to be at the table to partner with various actors in the industry so we can improve it.”

Seeing them as “receivers” waiting for solutions is risky because it undermines those on the ground who are innovating and contributing. Even though they are deeply affected by food insecurity and the risks of farming across different environments, farmers are at the forefront of tackling the issue.

Rugut argues that young farmers are part of that charge in the strides and innovations they are making in increasing food security. They only need further support from larger actors such as the government, financiers, and non-governmental organizations in the agriculture industry. “The guys who are working in these big offices, they have three meals a day. We guarantee them three meals a day. So, are we the beneficiaries or are we the actors?”

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Nicoline de Haan during a parallel session on gender during the CGIAR Science Week. Credit: Naureen Hossain/IPS

By Naureen Hossain
NAIROBI, Apr 12 2025 (IPS)

To advance the participation of women, the youth, and minority communities in the agricultural sector, measures must be taken to recognize and break down the barriers that hold them back. Experts in the agricultural sector agree that even as they constitute a significant percentage of the agricultural workforce, women face persistent challenges. The picture that emerges is a lack of due recognition of their presence and their challenges, such as limited access to resources and knowledge.

In a parallel session convened during CGIAR Science Week, ‘Enabling global gains towards gender equality, youth, and social inclusion in agri-food systems,’ speakers convened to discuss how to bridge the gaps in gender equality and the inequities in food systems. The CGIAR Gender Impact Platform prioritizes effective, strategic research efforts that will go toward enhancing gender equality, social inclusion, and opportunities for youth.

In accompanying the CGIAR Gender Impact Platform, the CGIAR Gender Equality and Inclusion Accelerator — or GENDER Accelerator for short — serves as a “center for excellence,” according to CGIAR Gender Director Nicoline de Haan. The Accelerator is a platform for researchers and experts to serve as think tanks or build capacity among its stakeholders. Analyzing social and gender norms that influence the environments in which women and youth are shaped can help CGIAR and its partners identify trends and seek missing data. These findings will be relevant in areas where data is limited, such as with youth in the agricultural sector. The accelerator also compiles existing research to address the unique conditions in the food, water, and land systems (FLWS) that make it difficult to implement solutions.

“This is not about fixing women farmers. It is about changing the system around them,” said CGIAR Executive Managing Director Ismahane Elouafi in her opening remarks. She added that CGIAR would ensure that the platform would work to ensure that “all farmers can access the system fairly.”

In her remarks, De Haan broke down the steps that decision-makers could take to support women-led innovation at the individual and systemic levels. Formal measures to build up women’s participation can be solidified through inclusive policies and laws and through providing them with information, technology, and education. Women in this field should feel empowered to make informed decisions, which can also be achieved by recognizing that societal norms do not need to limit their capabilities.

The event also discussed the need for more opportunities for youth in the sector. Like women, they are excluded from decision-making processes. At least 1.2 million youth live in low-to-middle-income countries with few opportunities for gainful employment in this sector. Nana Yaa Boakyewaa Amoah, Director of Gender, Youth, and Inclusiveness for AGRA, remarked that identifying how the current landscape can be shaped to allow the youth to thrive in this sector should be a priority.

“Who should feed the future? It’s the youth,” said de Haan. “Let’s set them up for success right now, because I think we’re setting them up for failure.”

Research findings and the solutions borne from them should be made easily accessible to agricultural workers, which seems to be more of an issue for women and youth. Alessandra Galiè, Gender team leader at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), provided the example of chickens raised as livestock that contract the virulent Newcastle disease, which would jeopardize the livelihood of any farmer who raises them. While vaccines are available, there is a low adoption rate among women and youths, which she observed was due to a lack of awareness of the vaccine’s existence. When farmers are disempowered, they are unable to adopt innovations, she said.

Simply equipping agricultural workers with new farming techniques should not be enough. The empowerment that CGIAR and its partners work towards should also come from including them in the decision-making processes. Jackline Makokha, Director, Gender, State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action, Kenya, remarked that inclusivity in decision-making looks like “vulnerable groups included in the table…[who] make decisions that speak to their lived reality.” The unique perspective of minority groups should also be encouraged within academic spaces, allowing for more women scientists with a background in agricultural employment to lead research.

Even though there are gaps in gender and social science research in the agricultural sector, the research that does exist must be brought together, which the CGIAR Gender Accelerator has the potential to do. It is also publicly accessible, which would allow stakeholders across agri-food systems to make use of it to facilitate research or to help design solutions.

Through the CGIAR platforms, the recognition they bring to women farmers and their work is a critical step toward gender equality and social inclusion. The international community and its leaders should follow suit. They will have that opportunity to demonstrate that recognition and make progress in 2026, which the United Nations declared as the International Year of the Woman Farmer.

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CGIAR Science Week closing plenary. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Apr 11 2025 (IPS)

More than 13,600 participants from around the world registered for the inaugural CGIAR Science Week at the UN Complex, Nairobi, April 7-12, 2025. Dr. Ismahane Elouafi, the organization’s Executive Managing Director, said, “This is a testament that people are thirsty for science and for good news.”

“They are thirsty for hope, and that’s what science brings. And that’s also what CGIAR brings. We bring solutions to the country level and the community where science could really thrive.”

Through a video message, Amina J. Mohammed, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, said the science conference has come just a few months ahead of the 2nd United Nations Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“We will have the chance to reflect on the progress we’ve made and, more importantly, chart the way forward. Progress on the SDGs requires accelerating the transition to sustainable food systems. Partnerships are essential in accelerating progress, bringing together diverse expertise to drive science-based solutions,” she observed.

Stressing that by aligning research with policy and action and working with partners like CGIAR and the high-level panel of experts on the Committee on the Role of Food Security, “We are building food systems that are resilient, sustainable, and inclusive, ensuring lasting impact in the face of climate change and global hunger.

“Yet we must also remain mindful of the challenges we face, such as geopolitical tensions, the impacts of climate change, economic uncertainty, and the urgent need for a reformed international financial architecture that supports these efforts.”

Reflecting on the past five days, Dr. Eliud Kiplimo Kireger, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), the conference co-host, said the past week provided a critical platform for dialogue, collaboration, and innovation, bringing together global leaders, researchers, and partners to address the pressing challenges of food security.

Observing that the discussions underscored the role of science, technology, and partnerships in transforming food systems for a more sustainable and equitable future. Stressing that the event has “uniquely convened agriculture, climate, and health stakeholders to address interconnected challenges threatening food security and sustainability. By integrating these domains, we have moved beyond cycle approaches to systemic solutions.”

Further emphasizing that the Science Week showcased transformative tools from AI-driven architectural decision-making to climate-smart groundbreaking technologies that are ready for scaling and that “these innovations provide actionable pathways to resilience… the next step is prioritization of localized adaptations of proven technologies, particularly for smallholder farmers.”

Juergen Voegele, Vice President, World Bank/Chair of the CGIAR System Council, told participants that as populations continue to grow, the need for CGIAR’s role is stronger than ever as increasingly severe weather events make food production more and more risky. And growing conflict around the world makes more and more people food insecure.

“And changing trade policies, as we see in the last few days, will affect hundreds of millions of people. At the same time, we see a decline in public spending for the needs of poor countries broadly. That also means competition for scarce research dollars is much fiercer now. For us as a CGIAR system, it becomes ever more critical to have a compelling narrative.”

Voegele said investing in agricultural research has the highest return on the dollar and is a key part of the solution to a changing climate, migration, and conflict and that “we do need to tell a story about how many lives drought-resistant wheat varieties save or flood-tolerant rice or nutrition-dense crops. It is impact and scale that matter and will be the most convincing in lower capitals.

“And we must ask ourselves some fundamental questions. For starters, is our new research portfolio still 100 percent relevant or do we need to prioritize even more for impact?”

Dr. Rachel Chikwamba, Group Executive for Advanced Chemistry and Life Sciences at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), affirmed that CGIAR is uniquely positioned to serve and complement ongoing initiatives through its extensive network of partnerships, and it remains a leader in fostering collaborative efforts to address these seemingly intractable global challenges.

“They have done it for the past 50 years in a shifting environment, and they continue to do this so very proudly, as we have witnessed this past week. For the youth that are in the room, I hope you have been inspired, and I do hope you take up careers in science and technology; in particular, I hope you take up careers in agriculture,” she said.

“You have seen what is possible, you have seen the role of technology therein, and you have seen its potential to transform not just our lives, but indeed how we engage the youth and how the youth can take charge of our common destiny.”

No matter how complex the issues in the agrifood systems, the world must listen to what the scientists are saying, and they are saying that the solutions are in science, innovation, inclusion, and partnerships and that no one should be left behind.

CGIAR works with more than 3000 partners in nearly 90 countries around the world to advance the transformation of food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. Regional director generals from these partners supported the urgent calls for innovation, collaboration, and partnership.

The organization’s research centers include the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), The International Potato Center (CIP), AfricaRice, and The International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

In his closing remarks, Kenya’s Principal secretary state department for Agriculture, Dr. Paul Kiprono Ronoh, made an impassioned plea for youth to make a case for themselves and their involvement in resolving challenges in the agrifood systems. Further emphasizing that the time when decisions were made on behalf of farmers is long gone and that farmers must be at the table and at the center of developing and implementing innovative solutions.

“A crisis like this is an opportunity to find better solutions,” he said. “together we can transform science systems through science. Let us leave here inspired but also resolute in our commitment to using science, thus creating a future that is sustainable for generations to come. Kenya remains committed to being a leader in agricultural transformation and looks forward to working with all of you.”

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Dr Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of CGIAR. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By Cecilia Russell and Busani Bafana
NAIROBI, Apr 11 2025 (IPS)

This week presented a beacon of hope for young people so that the “girl from the South and the boy, of course” could stay in the developing world, Dr Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of CGIAR, said during a press conference on the final day of the CGIAR Science Week.

Science and innovation could whet their appetites, especially as research and innovation can change the perception that it is a drudgery-filled occupation to one where there is room for ambition – and it made business sense.

“In the face of slow productivity and rising risks, the case is clear. Investing in agricultural research is one of the smartest and most future-proof decisions that anyone can make,” she said.

Elouafi, along with the other panellists Dr Eliud Kiplimo Kireger, the Director General of KALRO and Eluid Rugut, a youth agri-champion at the Ban Ki-moon Centre, alluded to the broad value chain of agriculture, which will make it attractive to young people.

Dr Eliud Kiplimo Kireger, the Director General of KALRO. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

Kireger commented that people say, “Agriculture is not sexy, and so we need to make it sexy,” and encourage young people into science. Apart from encouraging young kids into science, there was a space in it for young people who don’t want to see returns on their investments in years but in months.

Rugut’s personal experience backs the claim up; he told the press conference that he first had to convince his father to give him a little land – and this wasn’t an easy task. Rugut, who represents both the youth and a smallholder, said it was only once his father saw the benefits of the new technologies that he was prepared to give his son the benefit of the doubt.

“It was very hard to convince my dad to give us land, but over time, these technologies that I was trying to bring to the farm – like drip irrigation, water pumps and drought-tolerant seeds,” Rugut said, but in the end, “I was able to convince him. Also, my mom was able to convince him.”

Kireger said the week-long conference had shown the power of collaboration, especially because research was expensive and the need was great. However, digitisation had meant that a lot of the research was no longer stuck in the labs and was now in the hands of farmers.

Eluid Rugut, a youth agri-champion at the Ban Ki-Moon Centre. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

He encouraged farmers (and the journalists at the conference) to take a look at the Google Play store, where there are KALRO apps.

“So, if you go to Google Play Store, you will find many KALRO apps which you can download onto your phone. So, if you’re a coffee farmer, for example, you can download a guide on your phone.”

This digitisation is key to scaling research and making it accessible.

Elouafi, too, said investment in agribusiness was crucial to transforming the sector There was a need for public-private partnerships so farmers were no longer only involved in production but down the value chain too.

“So strategic investment in agricultural research isn’t just necessary; it is economically smart. We have seen a USD 10 return on every dollar spent on research and development in the agriculture sector.”

She provided several examples. Participating in the value chain could transform USD 300 of wheat into USD 3000 through pasta production. Likewise with quinoa, millet and sorghum, which cost USD 4 in the market, with production, can fetch USD 50 to USD 100 per kilogram in the market.

This opportunity is where policies and subsidies come in, to put this potential into the hands of the farmers. “This is a gap we need to bridge,” Elouafi said.

Elouafi reported significant progress this week, particularly in addressing food insecurity. The achievements included the launch of the CGIAR research portfolio, the International Potato Centre (CIP) and KALRO biotech agreement, the IWMI water security strategy for East Africa, and the publication of CGIAR’s flagship report, Insight to Impact: A decision-maker’s guide to navigating food system science.

“Science week  has demonstrated the strength of partnerships. How together we can generate powerful tools, innovation, technologies, knowledge, institutions, policies – all of it – to deliver real-world impact for the communities that we serve.

“In the era of fake news and misinformation, our work, our impact, our partnership, and our commitment to the communities we serve are real, and our impact is real, and we need to have a much louder voice. We cannot let it up because the gap will be filled by misinformation.”

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Dr. Ismahane Elouafi at the launch of CGIAR's flagship report, 'Insight to Impact: A decision-maker’s guide to navigating food system science.'

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Apr 10 2025 (IPS)

“To have impact, it was crucial to understand what impact was wanted,” CGIAR’s Executive Managing Director Dr. Ismahane Elouafi said at the launch of the organization’s flagship report, Insight to Impact: A decision-maker’s guide to navigating food system science.

“The report is called Insight to Impact because the key message is that impact starts with insight. So, it is very important that we invest in science if we are to have an impact,” Elouafi said.  “But what is very important as well is to really have a proper engagement of policymakers… This report gives real examples and insights into what works and what does not work as well.”

To give a perspective on the importance of policy in relation to nutritious foods, she said that in many ways, the farmers will produce what they produce because there is a market for it and that to produce more healthy foods requires creating a market for it through policy. Policies can subsidize or incentivize farmers to produce more nutritious foods.

“And for me, this is what we have not been doing. We have not been pushing enough for policies that are pro-climate, that are pro-nutrition, and that are pro-poor as well. So, all of this is doable. And what we need to do is make sure we provide the genetic breed that we know is nutritious, but also go and talk to policymakers to get the policies to make sure it makes it to the market.”

In a world confronted by serious interconnected challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, persistent poverty, and food and nutrition insecurity, there is an urgent need for evidence-based decision-making to resolve complex issues that now transcend boundaries, demanding cohesive and science-driven solutions – and that is where the guide comes in.

“The reality is that today we are facing challenges, particularly in the last few years, that were unimaginable even five or ten years ago. The speed at which climate change is coming at us and farmers around the world, is not what anyone expected… The rate of return of investing in agricultural research is increasing by the minute, while the costs of not doing it are phenomenal,” by Jüergen Vöegele, Vice President, World Bank/Chair of the CGIAR System Council.

A Decision-Maker’s Guide To Navigating Food System Science was launched at CGIAR Science Week. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

While decision-makers at global, national, and local levels recognize the urgency of taking decisive action and also understand that safeguarding the resilience, health, and livelihoods of vulnerable communities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, requires sound, science-backed policies, many also struggle to access the right information in the right format, slowing the translation of research into action.

As the world’s largest agricultural research partnership, CGIAR developed the report as part of a wider bundle of decision-making resources to meet these challenges head-on, recognizing that, although agricultural research cannot solve every problem, food system transformation must be part of the solution.

CGIAR’s global partnership of 13 world-leading research centers provides solutions to transform food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis to ensure food security in low- and middle-income countries. For over 50 years, the organization has supported decision-makers at global, regional, national, and local levels by providing timely, policy-relevant, impactful innovations, data, and expertise to ensure food security in target countries.

In this regard, the report provides science-based insights and practical recommendations to help decision-makers navigate the pressing challenges of agriculture, food security, and sustainable development while preparing for future risks. Importantly, it is a way to continually improve the accessibility and relevance of our research to decision-makers.

Grace Mijiga Mhango, president of the Grain Traders and Processors Association of Malawi, stated that one of the main barriers to using science as a transformative tool is the “gap in communication between the scientist and the private sector, including the farmer who is supposed to be the key beneficiary of the materials and innovations the scientists are coming up with.”

In the right hands, food system science and innovation can transform food systems to deliver across the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. It is the foundation that decision-makers at local, national, regional, and global levels can use to make informed decisions.

Decisions that result in food systems supporting regeneration rather than driving environmental degradation and becoming a net sink rather than a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, protecting biodiversity rather than depleting it, and providing culturally appropriate, affordable, available, diverse, and safe diets that ensure nutrition, health, and food security.

Solutions steeped in science and innovation can contribute to producer stability and resilience, supporting livelihoods and reducing poverty for smallholders and benefiting over 500 million women while also creating new opportunities for 267 million young people.

Overall, the report is designed for leaders, policymakers, and researchers; it focuses on translating science into action. The report simplifies scientific findings into practical, understandable, and relevant information with links to tools and real-world applications.

CGIAR research shows a good return on investment. For every dollar invested in CGIAR agricultural research and development, investors see USD 10 worth of benefits. With CGIAR’s annual research portfolio of just over USD 900 million and more than 9,000 staff working in over 85 countries Insight to Impact is the first in a series that will deliver plain-language roadmaps to help decision-makers tackle complex food and nutrition security and sustainability challenges.

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Panelists during a side event on the One Health approach and enhancing global food security. Credit: Naureen Hossain/IPS

By Naureen Hossain
NAIROBI, Apr 10 2025 (IPS)

Increasingly, experts in the global health and agricultural sectors are finding the One Health approach effective for identifying and addressing health concerns that can influence facets of health. Implementing this approach worldwide will require partnerships across different sectors.

On the sidelines of CGIAR Science Week, the “One Health Horizons: Catalyzing Collaborations, Innovations, and Policies for Improving Global Health and Food Security” side event brought together researchers and scientists to discuss how the One Health approach can benefit research in the agricultural sector.

According to the World Health Organization, One Health is an “integrated, unifying approach” that aims to optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems because they are interdependent. Researchers in the health sectors were finding that investing in capacity building and collaboration through the One Health approach could strengthen treatment responses for these three groups. The idea emerged in the wake of disruptions to the global supply chains brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The One Health approach also emphasized sustainable recovery, as countries faced several development challenges that would shape their relationship to the environment, such as demographic shifts, climate change, and natural resource degradation. In adopting the One Health approach to the wider agricultural sector, the impacts of one area of health on another can be assessed with a focus on environmental integration.

“When we want to transform the food land systems, we have to consider the global challenges,” said Hung Nguyen-Viet, Program Leader, Health, at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

As part of CGIAR’s Agenda for 2030, the One Health initiative was first built on protecting human health from zoonoses—diseases from wild animals or livestock—food-borne diseases, and antimicrobial resistance. The focus on animal diseases served as an entry point for the One Health approach, according to Jordon Chamberlin, principal scientist for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Nairobi. Through their research projects, they could advance their understanding of the risks for infectious diseases and antibiotic resistance in livestock.

Following the projects’ conclusions, CGIAR’s team found that there were opportunities for cross-sectoral collaborations to incorporate the One Health approach. The team also recommended there needed to be greater engagement with policymakers to translate research findings into tangible strategies and the development of adaptable, context-specific interventions.

The open, analytical nature of the One Health model can go beyond health and agriculture. The impact of the global and local economies should also be taken into consideration, Chamberlin argued, such as in how global trends or supply shocks play out in local markets and how this influences farm management. This raises the possibility for new One Health research opportunities, such as the economics of organic production in smallholder systems and the new market opportunities or the impact of soil health across the food value systems.

The need for cross-sectoral partnerships and data was addressed during a panel discussion.
“We need partnerships; we need an enabling environment through enabling policies and legislative framework,” said Lillian Wambua, Regional Programme Officer, One Health for Africa, World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). “We need data and evidence that is going to help us… navigate the environments and barriers.”

Esther Mugi, a scientist for the African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI), recommended that professionals from different sectors could convene in joint training programs or public dialogues to address the One Health principles. This would also ensure that there were domestic, homegrown approaches to addressing the challenges in the One Health approach, she said.

These partnerships across different sectors – the public and private sectors, academia, research groups like CGIAR, and government partners — should also be rooted in the involvement of the agricultural communities. As Wambua pointed out, “Most of these issues start and end with the community.”

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Dr. Himanshu Pathak (center) is the director general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, a global research institute focused on dryland agriculture (ICRISAT). Credit: ICRISAT

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Apr 10 2025 (IPS)

As agrifood systems in the Global South buckle under the weight of climate change, biodiversity, and even pollution, experts such as Dr. Himanshu Pathak call for urgent innovative solutions, as, at the current pace, the problems of the Global South are going to intensify with escalating climate change.

Pathak is the director general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), a global research institute focused on dryland agriculture. He has over 32 years of experience in climate resilience, soil and crop management, and sustainable agricultural systems.

Speaking to IPS at the CGIAR Science Week, he shared his insights into the deepening rural poverty and hunger across the Global South and what it would take to build agricultural resilience and sustainability.

“Changing climate, increasing temperature, and increasing pollution are going to intensify the problem of degradation of its land, water, and air. To solve these problems, we strongly believe that new science and new technology will be very useful to address those challenges. New science means developing new varieties that are resistant or tolerant to climatic changes,” he said.

“Varieties that are high yielding and at the same time better in nutrient content, which will help in promoting soil fertility, will not degrade the soil. Once we develop these varieties and new technologies, we have to reach these technologies to the farmers through a conducive policy environment.”

ICRISAT is on the frontlines of developing much-needed solutions through its regional stations in eight different countries in Africa and, in all, working with about 80 countries on different aspects of their research activities, such as on amended crops like millets, sorghum, pulses, pigeon peas, chickpeas, and oilseed-rich groundnuts.

“We do crop improvement, how to increase yield by developing new varieties, and how to improve nutrient content by developing bio-fortified varieties. We also work on how to manage soil, water, nutrients, fertilizer, and, of course, climate action, and we are actively engaged in social sciences, capacity building, education, training, and teaching.”

On why farmers do not always adopt new science and technologies, Pathak said they find it difficult to do so “without good policy and support and without good incentives. And there is also a great need for capacity building and skill development of  farmers, as today’s technologies are quite knowledge intensive.”

Emphasizing that farmers need to improve their skills and knowledge to “understand and adopt these new technologies, new varieties, new water management, and so on. And to achieve all of these things, there is a need for partnership. Partnership among research organizations, partnership among farmers, donors, and policymakers.”

For sustainable changes, he spoke of an urgent need to involve women farmers, as gender equality is a central part of the solution, as is youth involvement. Stressing that this is a different generation of youth and that to attract and retain them in agriculture will take embracing new technologies such as digital agriculture, artificial intelligence, and precision agriculture, and equally important, agriculture has to be market-oriented.

Reiterating the critical role that science and technology play, David Guerena, a research scientist at the Alliance Biodiversity International–CIAT, spoke to IPS about the need to listen to what farmers are saying to understand their more preferred varieties and even what draws them to these varieties. This understanding can help breeders make more informed decisions towards more effective solutions that are better adapted to local settings. Stressing that AI and machine learning solutions for agriculture, specifically around breeding and breeding services, are also timely and critical and that, rather than leaving farmers behind, technology can connect farmers to research.

“It is important that we speak to farmers directly to help customize agricultural advisory services and linkages to markets. AI is also successfully interfacing with breeding teams. We have also seen how mobile money transfer models such as MPESA have done in rural ecosystems in supporting smallholder farmers to transact with ease,” he said.

Dr. Stephen Mutuvi from the Alliance Biodiversity International–CIAT and based in Arusha, Tanzania, specializes in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning. He leads the machine learning operations in the organization’s different projects, focusing on artificial intelligence.

He told IPS that AI is part of the solution, as “you can just record farmers as they speak, for instance, and people without literacy levels can convey their messages by just having their voices and conversations recorded.”

“And then using AI to transcribe their words automatically and applying advanced models like those similar to ChatGPT to analyze the data. So, we are at a very interesting space where the advanced technologies in AI are also getting to be useful and to be of impact to the direct users, who are the farmers in this case.”

Guerena stressed the need to find harmony between indigenous knowledge, which has sustained agriculture for thousands of years, and advanced scientific knowledge. Saying that indigenous knowledge gives a historical understanding and science is more modern and more advanced and that the two are central to developing lasting solutions.

But a lack of access to post-production remains a pain point for smallholder farmers in the Global South. Pathak says supporting farmers to access good prices for their produce is critical: “Market-friendliness, gender-friendliness, and of course nature-friendliness of agriculture will be extremely important in building agricultural resilience and sustainability.”

As is so often the case, he affirms that innovation and science are more invested in increasing yields as aspects of post-harvest, post-production, and access to markets are left unattended. He asserts that although increasing production is crucial, it is not sufficient.

“And therefore, we are working for the full agri-food system, starting from seed to produce, and then all kinds of value addition and connecting farmers with markets. So, value addition, agri-food processing, and post-harvest management of the commodities are extremely important,” Pathak said. “Onwards, along with increasing productivity by developing new varieties and new soil and water management technologies, we also have to give equal, if not more, importance to post-harvest management for agri-value addition.”

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Professor Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, CGIAR partnerships chair. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By Busani Bafana
NAIROBI, Apr 10 2025 (IPS)

Animal scientist Lindiwe Majele Sibanda became what her grandmother earnestly prayed for when she was growing up on a farm in southern Zimbabwe.

Majele Sibanda, an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria  and chair of CGIAR’s Integrated Partnership Board, is a practicing livestock farmer and a successful one at that. She is raising pedigree and indigenous cattle as well as hardy Matabele goats.

“Livestock is livelihood,” Majele Sibanda says, speaking to IPS at CGIAR Science Week, responding to the growing concerns about livestock farming as an environmental threat.

Livestock production supports more than 1.3 billion people globally in terms of food and nutrition security. Africa has an estimated 800 million livestock keepers in a sector that contributes up to 50 percent of agricultural GDP and supports the livelihoods of about 350 million people.

There is a flipside, though. The livestock sector is currently responsible for up to 20 percent of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, underlying the need for more efficient and sustainable livestock production systems.

Aspire to a ‘Protein Revolution’

“The biggest revolution we have to aspire to is the protein revolution, and the revolution will not be achieved without animal-source foods like milk, blood, and meat,” says Majele Sibanda. “We cannot achieve it with plant-based nutrition alone. I believe in livestock — but livestock that is produced sustainably.”

Livestock are both a solution and a challenge but will remain an essential part of the food system. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

Livestock has economic and social attributes that act as a store of value for farmers. Livestock farmers in Africa produce half of the continent’s meat and milk. Milk secures the nutritional needs of children, aiding in their development, while assorted livestock products contribute to income generation as they are traded, with meat, milk, and eggs being prominent commodities. Besides food, livestock provides non-food products like leather, wool, and pharmaceuticals.

Majele Sibanda is a champion for the International Livestock Research Institute Strategy, which is looking at sustainable livestock production systems.

In 2024, ILRI launched a new strategy, ‘Unlocking sustainable livestock’s potential through research for better lives and a better planet,’ to guide its programs in the next five years to 2030.

The strategy addresses global challenges such as climate change, food insecurity, and sustainable development. It aims to improve livestock systems in Africa and Asia through the implementation of large-scale, science-based sustainable livestock solutions that influence policy decisions and investments.

Science Drives Development

A distinguished leader and policy advocate on food systems, Majele Sibanda is convinced scientific research can enhance agriculture as a driver of development.

“With science, we can feed the world of 9.7 billion by 2050,” said Majele Sibanda, who has the privilege of being a farmer, a businessperson, and a jury member  for the Food Planet Prize, the world’s biggest prize in the sector.

“Technology on the shelf is not good enough,” she emphasized. “Technology on the ground takes drivers—it has to be conveyed. Scaling up requires policies. We talk about it as a science but let us talk about it as a multi-stakeholder agenda of moving science to the people who need it most. There can be no better base than doing it on-site together—from agenda setting to the users.”

Farmers Are Scientists, Custodians of Knowledge

But is it possible for farmers to adopt scientific innovations without abandoning the indigenous know-how of farming, which has supported them for generations?

Majele Sibanda believes so.

“Farmers are not stupid,” she retorts. “Farmers are scientists. You cannot farm without knowledge. They are custodians of knowledge and are continuously learning, whether they have gone to school for it or suckled it from their grandmother, like me and my father, who is still an active farmer or from their neighbors.”

She said farmers are continuously on a quest for new ways to improve both their land and animals.

“The beauty of science is that you have a dedicated group of persons whose core business is to generate their knowledge. That knowledge is for improving productivity in a sustainable way,” Majele Sibanda said, adding, “This rift between a farmer and a scientist does not and should not exist provided there is humility to accept that as a scientist you are learning and as a farmer you are learning. We have a common goal of sustainable production and sustainable food systems—feeding the soil, feeding the family, and feeding the pocket. We have a common goal of sustainable production and sustainable food systems.”

“If researchers understand the aspirations of farmers, they will be able to meet them halfway with the right technologies. The challenge we have had is that researchers want an easy way out at times and want to put all technologies on the shelf and do not want to invest in a local system that helps farmers adapt.”

Majele Sibanda highlights the importance of partnerships between the CGIAR and the national research systems in the provision and sharing of innovative technologies that enable farmers to adapt as well as mitigate the impacts of climate change.

“Unless we walk hand in hand, research technologies and innovations will sit on the shelf,” she said.

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Director of the CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform, Nicoline de Haan at the "Enabling global gains towards gender equality" Strategy Dialogue during CGIAR Science Week 2025. Credit: CGIAR

By Naureen Hossain
NAIROBI, Apr 10 2025 (IPS)

Women farmers face structural issues that prevent them from realizing their full potential, from societal perceptions that dictate their limitations to poor land.

However, CGIAR’s Gender Impact Platform Director, Nicoline de Haan, argues that leaning into a “victim” narrative does not serve them, especially when women are demonstrably more involved in agriculture.

De Haan says researchers need to be bolder in examining the gender impact in the agricultural sector to assess the key concerns that women farmers face in the field. The limited tools and resources in developing countries challenge both men and women farmers.

“We have made a lot of gains on gender, and if we fall back now, it’ll take another 30 years before we get back to where we were,” De Haan told IPS. “So we also need to be bold, and we need to be proud of what we have done.”

Even though women make up 62 percent of working farmers, they face more challenges than men. Among these are the major issues: access to knowledge, farming techniques, and quality equipment. Structural barriers also need overcoming.

Among rural communities across Africa, women and girls are raised with a particular perception of what their role and responsibility is in the household, such as being delegated as the primary child caregiver. However, the Gender Impact Platform has found in their research that women are far more involved in farming duties — and they shouldn’t be blamed for taking on what is considered a traditionally male occupation.

Land ownership is vital for farmers, especially women who work on but often don’t own the land. Certain perceptions of women’s roles in farming even influence the kind of livestock that women can have, De Haan explained. Goats, sheep, and especially chickens are seen as ‘socially acceptable’ livestock, as they can be raised in the homestead, traditionally considered the ‘woman’s place.’ With cattle, even if women are more involved in their care, men are more likely to own them, given that they are considered a huge investment.

Women that are able to use farmland for themselves find the quality of the land to be much poorer, according to CGIAR. Even seeds and manure may be degraded when passed down to women. Women also cannot own property in parts of Africa and Asia, and while their farms and livestock may be their only sources of income, their access to the land could be complicated.

However, to simply challenge the norms or declare them wrong would do little to make progress, so De Haan calls for nuance when considering the best course of action. When dialogue between men and women farmers is held over a technical issue first, such as animal disease, it encourages men to recognize and respect how active women are outside the household and therefore consider the gender issue. “We are trying to change society and systems, but we’re trying to make it better for everyone. We’re not out there to burn down the patriarchy. But we are there to make sure that women can actually function better.”

She also says that more research and effort should be made to ask women farmers what they want and where they need help, whether that be financial support or equipment. More can be done to ask them directly and demand their needs. Further research into women’s participation in the sector revealed that women were far more involved in farming and perfectly capable of self-sufficiency.

“We ask the wrong questions sometimes. We ask by default that they’re victims; we ask by default that they have no agency. We don’t look past the defaults of what agency they do have and how amazing they get things done in a patriarchal society,” said De Haan. “But they have their way. I’m a sociologist; I always say people do things for a reason. We might not understand it, we might not agree, but they do it for a reason and we need to understand that reason.”

Women’s participation in agriculture is only part of a wider problem of poverty and rural areas not getting enough investment. In Kenya, men are not getting enough opportunities for stable employment, especially in agriculture. Agriculture jobs do not pay enough to make a living wage, which for young people seeking jobs, is a key factor in deciding their lives. There is not enough of a livelihood to be made in farm work at present.

“We’ve talked to a lot to youth and basically they said, ‘we’ll stay in agriculture, but make it pay,’” said De Haan.

While urbanization has drawn millions of youth to big cities to seek work opportunities, many young people are finding that jobs in urban areas require different skill sets than labor-intensive field jobs.

CGIAR’s focus is on finding technical solutions and impactful change through data-driven evidence that illustrates women’s lived experience in rural communities and in agricultural spaces. The research makes sure that people “have the mental support and frameworks” that help them.

CGIAR Gender recognizes that technology should be part of those technical solutions rather than another problem for women farmers to overcome. Time and resources need to be invested into equipping women with the technology itself, along with teaching them how to apply it to their work. Rather than the end, technology is the means to economic empowerment, De Haan said.

However, a potential pitfall of rapid digitalization is that structural barriers are reinforced even within digital technology, especially when the digital gap between men and women in East Africa is so stark. Owning a smartphone is not as ubiquitous for rural communities, especially for women. In a 2018 survey, it was shown that only 10 percent of Kenyan women used a mobile phone for information compared to 22 percent of men.

With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), CGIAR Gender is also looking into its presence in the sector, especially given the limitations. The group has been working with large language models and training them to consider gender in their responses. “If we don’t do it now, we will continue putting in those structural barriers, those inequities… If [ChatGPT] gets the wrong answer, we need to train it to get the right answer,” De Haan said. De Haan believes that research must address the issue of gender-blind training in AI.

CGIAR Gender is pushing for wider research that aims to inform the decision-makers and policymakers on the best course of action to serve the farmers who will be impacted by those decisions, de Haan said. “We might not be able to directly influence that one little farmer in the field, but we can influence the model that is deciding what policies are coming to her table.”

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Dr. Eliud Kiplimo Kireger, the Director General and CEO of KALRO, is speaking at the CGIAR Science Week in Nairobi. Credit: CGIAR

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Apr 9 2025 (IPS)

The state of food and nutrition security in the Global South masks the great strides and investments made to increase agricultural yields to feed a rapidly growing population. As discussions deepen at the ongoing CGIAR Science Week, plenary discussions on Wednesday (April 9) explored transformative strategies and innovations driving agricultural resilience across Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America.

UN statistics show one in five people in Africa sleep hungry. To halt and reverse the pace of rising hunger on the continent, the African Union (AU) has adopted a new agricultural development strategy that will see the continent increase its agrifood output by 45 percent by 2035 and transform its agri-food systems as part of its new plan to become food secure in a decade.

The AU earlier this year adopted the 10-year Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Strategy and Action Plan and the Kampala CAADP Declaration on Building Resilient and Sustainable Agrifood Systems in Africa, which will be implemented from 2026 to 2035.

“On aligning Kenya’s agricultural agenda with the AU’s strategy and action plan, as the national agricultural research organization that supports farmers in this part of the world, we are aligned by developing technologies, innovations, and marginal practices that support our farmers to increase productivity and improve their resilience,” said Dr. Eliud Kiplimo Kireger, the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO). “Due to the effects of climate change, in the last few years, our focus has been to develop drought-resilient crops.”

“Also, with climate change, we have new emerging pests and diseases,” Kireger explained, adding that a lot of work done had become obsolete because of climatic changes. “Areas that were dry are (now) drier and areas that were of high potential are flooded.”

Putting Technology into Farmers’ Hands

In addition to these challenges, farmers also face difficulties accessing technology—although developed, the technologies are still in the hands of scientists and institutions and haven’t been shared with the farmers.

“So, how do we get these technologies to the farmers to increase their productivity? Kireger asked, adding that where the technology exists, it has been built with the challenges of providing digital services to a remote rural community in mind.

“We have digitized most of our technologies and made them available on a mobile platform to support e-extension services, which are the weakest link between research and farmers. This is because the researchers are unable to physically reach all farmers.”

Climate, AgriFood Complexities in Latin America and the Caribbean 

Further afield, participants heard about how the Latin American and Caribbean countries are coping with the complex, multiple challenges confronting their agrifood systems. For the region, it is a unique setting of scarcity and surplus.

Nearly 74 percent of Latin American and Caribbean countries are highly exposed to extreme weather events—affecting food security. In Latin America and the Caribbean, one in 10 children under the age of five lives with stunting.

Latin America and the Caribbean region is the world’s leading net food exporter. Yet, a few countries are doing better than most. For instance, as the largest nation in the region, Brazil generates almost half of all Latin American exports, hence the substantial disparities and inequalities in agriculture, food, and nutrition security. It is these pockets of inequalities, hunger, and malnutrition that experts are finding innovative solutions for.

Potatoes, Genebanks and New Markets

Regional experts spoke about ongoing collaboration and the potential to scale solutions. In this regard, there was an extensive discussion on genebanks and the potato, a staple food in approximately 160 countries, where they are consumed by more than two-thirds of the world’s population.

“We have the world’s largest gene bank on potatoes that serves over 100 countries in the world. The International Potato Center (CIP) base in Peru is called the Center of Origin of Potato, and the communities in the Andes Mountains are the guardians of that diversity and of that global resource,” said Dr. Simon Heck, Director General and Senior Director of the Center of Origin of Potato/CGIAR.

CIP’s potato and sweet potato collections are the world’s largest, and they contain nearly all of the potatoes’ wild relatives. The in vitro genebank is the largest and one of the first to get ISO 17025 certification for safe germplasm transport.

Genebanks conserve living plant samples of the world’s important crops and their wild relatives. They ensure that the genetic resources that underpin the world’s food supply are both secure in the long term for future generations and available in the short term for use by farmers, plant breeders, and researchers.

In light of climate change and emerging pests and diseases, these collections are important to ensure that crop plants that may contain genes to resist disease, provide enhanced nutrition, or survive in changing or harsh environments do not become endangered or extinct over time.

“One question we have is how do we mobilize their capacity to help solve problems within the Latin American and Caribbean regions, but also elsewhere? And how do they receive benefits from that?” Heck posed the question, citing an example of expanding the Agri-LAC (Latin America and the Caribbean) model to Asia. “We have been working in Vietnam to develop a tropically adapted potato. Potato production globally is now moving into Asia.”

Heck told participants that more than half of the world’s potatoes are grown and consumed in Asia. Within Asia, the potato is moving into subtropical and tropical environments like India and Vietnam, and the question is about determining what kind of potato is needed to make this movement successful.

“And so, the answer to that question takes us back to Peru. It takes us back not just to the CIP genebank, which is one of the largest in vitro genebanks in the world and contains the global collection of potatoes, but into the mountains of Peru. We have struck a partnership with Vietnam, with Peru, and with one of the world’s largest potato breeding companies based in the Netherlands,” Heck explained. “And together, we have developed new types of potato, tropical potato, and the first varieties have now been released in Asia. This strain is really a physical combination of genetic material from the highlands of Peru and commercial germplasm from European potato companies.”

What’s more, they demonstrated that it can work technically.

“We have excellent potato varieties now in the lowlands of Asia. (These varieties) can work in terms of market segmentation.”

The inaugural CGIAR Science Week coincides with the first G20 meeting to be hosted in Africa later this year, providing a particularly unique opportunity to leverage CGIAR commitments from the Science Week and to provide input to the G20 agenda of transforming agri-food systems for greater climate resilience, increased productivity, and addressing the drivers of food insecurity at the global level.

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Crucial partnerships agreed to during CGIAR Science Week.

By Busani Bafana
NAIROBI, Apr 9 2025 (IPS)

Two crucial partnerships were signed at the CGIAR Science Week in Nairobi today (April 9, 2025), aimed at delivering research for development at scale across Africa.

The CGIAR and the African Agricultural Research, Innovation, and Education Institutions (AARIEIs) signed a Joint Statement in support of the Kampala CAADP Declaration and the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan (2026-2035). In January 2025, the African Union (AU) adopted a new agricultural development strategy that will see the continent increase its agrifood output by 45 percent by 2035 and transform its agrifood systems as part of its new plan to become food secure in a decade. During the signing ceremony, the organizations pledged to forge a partnership that would harness the power of collaboration to deliver research at scale.
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King of the crops, Simeon Ehui, IITA Director General, holding a cassava tuber, a key crop developed by the IITA. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By Busani Bafana
NAIROBI, Apr 9 2025 (IPS)

Climate change is outpacing science and farmers are paying the price. Agricultural research innovations need to reach farmers before it is too late.

Partnership, collaborations, and the right dose of political will are the fuel to put innovations into the farmer’s hands, says Simeon Ehui, Director General of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and CGIAR Regional Director, Continental Africa. The IITA has delivered solutions to low crop yields, poor quality, and unhealthy diet to boost food security, nutrition, and livelihoods for smallholder farmers who keep the world fed.

“We have developed a number of technologies; unfortunately, many of these technologies are not always going to farmers, the final users,” said Ehui, adding that with political will, innovation can be rolled out faster and wider.

“Policy makers understand the importance of science but face competing needs and sometimes need to make decisions that will not always go in the interest of farmers. We need to continue lobbying them to convince them of the importance of science.”

Ehui told IPS that the IITA has tackled food insecurity, poverty, and environmental degradation through cutting-edge research on key crops  like maize, banana, cowpea, soybean, cassava, and yam. With global hunger rising despite scientific advances, the question is, why are innovations not reaching farmers fast enough?

“While scientific breakthroughs are abundant, the real gap lies in delivery—getting these innovations into the hands of farmers at scale,” Ehui noted, citing that many countries still face weak extension systems, fragmented value chains, and limited private sector engagement.

IITA has bridged this gap through initiatives like the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) program, in partnership with the African Development Bank. TAAT has helped move proven technologies across priority value chains from research to farmers via CGIAR centers, governments, private sector actors, and financial institutions.

“It’s not just about deploying technologies; it’s about building systems for scale—streamlining release processes, aligning with policy, and expanding access to inputs and markets, especially for women and youth,” said Ehui.

Ehui quipped he had three messages for policymakers. “You need science to develop your agricultural productivity. You need investments in rural infrastructure, and you also need partnerships. Without partnerships, nothing can be done.”

Seeds for food security. Seed varieties from the IITA Gene bank. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

Revolutionary breakthroughs

The science research institute has put out more nutritious, climate-resistant crops, which have helped fight hunger and boost the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Africa. It developed and released stress-resilient maize varieties that are both drought and Striga resistant and more nutritious. More than 170 maize varieties have been released between 2007 and 2024 in collaboration with IITA and national partners in Benin, Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria.

As a result of the research innovation, more than  480,000 metric tons of certified seed have been produced, which have been planted on an estimated 18 million hectares by 45 million households. Well over 500 million people have benefited from the improved maize crop.

Banana breeding programs have developed hybrids with enhanced resistance to the fungal diseases Fusarium wilt and Black Sigatoka, which can wipe out banana crops.

Ehui said IITA has also developed early-maturing, disease-resistant yam and cassava varieties, alongside digital tools like AKILIMO, which support farmers in optimizing agronomic practices and fertilizer use.

“We have also developed an economically sustainable seed system for root and tuber crops, powered by innovative rapid multiplication techniques,” he said, pointing out that the rapid stem multiplication approach has enabled the fast and efficient scaling of improved varieties to growers and the processing industry.

The science is progression; now it’s crucial farmers benefit, Ehui says.

“The IITA and CGIAR centers have to work with governments to ensure that technologies are taken up and we modernize the agriculture sector. This is the challenge we face because having research products in our labs does not help if they are never taken up by end users. The agricultural revolution is not in the lab but outside (in the real world). The lab is needed—the lab is not the end point.”

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Panelists at the Scaling Impact plenary during CGIAR Science Week 2025. Credit: CGIAR

By Naureen Hossain
NAIROBI, Apr 9 2025 (IPS)

The ASEAN-CGIAR program “unlocks opportunities to look at commodities in the region, interest, markets, and capacity building, Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Dr. Yvonne Pinto said during a plenary that focused on fostering regional integration, scaling innovation, and amplifying the impact of CGIAR’s research in addressing agricultural challenges.

The ASEAN-CGIAR Innovate for Food and Nutrition Security Regional Program was established to help ASEAN member states address complex, interrelated issues in their agricultural sectors, including climate change, food safety and nutrition, resource scarcity, and poverty. The program includes eight intervention packages (IPs), or activities relating to bolstering agricultural sustainability and food security across the region. Since the program’s launch in 2023, the interventions have been implemented in ten countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Myanmar.

As CGIAR Science Week proceeded onto its second day, part of the focus of the day’s plenary session was on ‘Building Bridges,’ as was illustrated in the joint program between CGIAR and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The ASEAN region is home to multiple climates and commodities, which are distributed through a single-market production base through its integration with the global economy.

Pinto points out that this was the entry point for the ASEAN-CGIAR program, for CGIAR has a “tremendous opportunity to play a significant role that is about delivering against the needs.”

“It unlocks opportunities to look at commodities in the region, interest, markets, and capacity building, and it is really built and co-created by the countries in question. So it is central to the CGIAR regional plan,” said Pinto.

While the program has the backing of global research alliances like CGIAR and its partners and funders, including Australia, the Netherlands, and Japan, it has been built and co-created by the countries where the programs were implemented. This would indicate an emphasis on relying on expert local knowledge on the issues and on empowering local agricultural communities to have a hand in the solution.

As an ASEAN member state and one of the countries where the ASEAN-CGIAR regional program has been implemented, Vietnam, through To Viet Chau, the Deputy Director General, International Cooperation Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, shared that the Vietnamese government recognizes the impact of climate on their agricultural sector. He proposed that adopting integrative strategies that link local stakeholders with the private sector would help to increase access to sustainable farming technologies and build the capacity for farmers.

The panel discussion highlighted the significance of South-South collaboration and the need for countries in the Global South to actively share resources and knowledge to address their issues. In the agricultural sector, ASEAN’s model for development follows a bottom-up approach that takes initiative at the community level and centers their needs when formulating policies and programs.

For the African continent, there is an opportunity to learn from the ASEAN-CGIAR program, observed Bongiwe Njobe, Board Chairperson, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). The regions face similar challenges, including human capital constraints, rapid urbanization, climate change, production system challenges, and nutritional issues.

Recently, increasing political will towards sustainable development has opened up the countries towards joint cooperation. “Working through the African Union, I think the continent is increasingly finding a structure that is multilayered that allows for continental conversations and initiatives, regional—we call them subregional organizations and linkages—and country participation through the AU. And then an organization like FARA, which is positioned as a technical arm recognized by the AU as a technical arm, coordinates the scientific arms across the same structures in the regions,” said Niobe.

While the tenets for programs similar to ASEAN-CGIAR are present in the African continent, Niobe remarked that challenges remain, such as strengthening the effectiveness of the systems, the strength of relational capital between countries, and ensuring that the goals set out can be achieved.

The need for collaboration is evident through the multiple stakeholders in this sector. Government support is critical in facilitating agricultural and food production projects and in identifying areas that would benefit from the intervention. The private sector can also play its part through financial backing. It was even said that civil society has a part to play in advancing development in agriculture and food production at the local level.

Groups such as the Philippine Rice Research Institute are in a position to connect organizations and people together. “We broker, and we see that the work becomes faster and we don’t have to be the center of everything,” said Executive Director John de Leon.

“I think the time is now for the South to exert its leadership in how it wishes to address its own problems, and I say that from the perspective of another girl from the South.”

In a video message, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Economic Community, Satvinder Singh, shared that collaboration was at the root of the success for the region. For ASEAN, it was important for all stakeholders in this sector, including government, public, and private partners, to come together and have a stake in “shaping a more sustainable future.”

“We recognize that no single country can address these challenges alone,” said Singh. “We know that by leveraging regional cooperation, we can definitely accelerate and adopt climate-smart agricultural technologies, we can come together to explore strengthening our value chains, and also we can come together to build a much more resilient and sustainable food system. This is why the ASEAN-CGIAR regional program is very significant for us. It serves as a platform to unite global experience and cutting-edge research and the practical solutions tailored to our region’s needs.”

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Panellists from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) at the launch of the IWMI Strategy 2024–2030 in East Africa. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By Busani Bafana
NAIROBI, Apr 9 2025 (IPS)

In East Africa, climate change has made water a lifeline and threat.

In a region highly dependent on rainfall for growing crops, climate change is threatening water security but science-backed solutions are helping turn the tide.

Global leaders, scientists, policymakers, and development partners meeting in Nairobi during the inaugural CGIAR Science Week  made a tight case for water security and productivity in East Africa, a region vulnerable to the increased impacts of climate change such as droughts and floods.

The use, conservation and management of water underpins sustainable development of the East Africa region, which covers Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.

“Water security means considering how much water you have, water of sufficient quality and being  able to manage risks – drought, floods, extreme events – in ways that livelihoods and lives, the economy and ecosystems can all thrive together,” said Mark Smith, Director General of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), at the launch of the IWMI Strategy 2024–2030 in East Africa.

Smith noted that the new strategy was a significant leap forward in the institute’s mission to harness science research in enhancing water security, supporting climate adaptation and driving sustainable agriculture across East Africa.

“Water security  is necessarily systemic and our strategy reflects that,” he said. “There is a  flipside to that aspect of water in which it intersects with different types of uses. If you can get water security right, then you can  trigger transformation across those systems as you open access to water and enable more  sustainable and fairer sharing of water across different uses.”

Mark Smith, Director General of the International Water Management Institute. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

By harnessing  cutting-edge research and fostering regional partnerships, IWMI aims to deliver solutions that improve livelihoods across East Africa.

“Water security is important for the transformation of agriculture and for sustainable development,” he said, adding that, “Water is at the heart of climate resilience, food security and economic development.”

Sara Mbago-Bhunu,  Director of the East and Southern Africa Division of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), highlighting the importance of collaboration in enhancing water security,  called for continued public and private financing for the water sector, particularly to benefit small-scale farmers through irrigation facilities.

IFAD has invested USD 2 billion in irrigation and water management in 100 projects worldwide, while in East Africa it has supported 14 projects in 12 countries. Mbago-Bhunu said it was critical to invest in water accounting.

“We tend to underestimate what water accounting is  and irrigation performance assessment translated into how we source water, how we manage it but also how we account for it because accounting  will give us further breakthroughs to where we should change in the way we invest in water technologies,” she said.

Ephantus Kimoto, Principal Secretary in the Department for Irrigation in the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation of Kenya. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

Ephantus Kimoto, Principal Secretary in the Department for Irrigation in the Ministry of Water, sanitation and Irrigation of Kenya,  said the government was working to boost irrigation capacity in the country. Currently only four percent of Kenya’s arable land was under irrigation under the National Irrigation Sector Investment Master Plan (NISIP); there is irrigation potential of 3.5  million acres in the country.

Kimoto noted that Kenya had enough water resources but lacked the economic means to scale up irrigation projects. Under the national plan, Kenya seeks to increase the land under irrigation up to 1 million acres and boost food productivity and job creation, especially among the youth.

A panel discussion hosted alongside the launch of the IWMI strategy noted the importance of collaboration in the management of water resources in East Africa while at the same time scaling up innovation and research.

For farmers, saving water is everything.

“Water is a scarce resource and we need to  guard it well, “ said Elizabeth Nsimadala, President, Eastern Africa Farmers Federation.

“We are seeing a lot of water wasted and what is missing is the science bit. When you look at wasted water when it comes to irrigation, there is a lot and this directly affects the output. What is also a missing from our end as farmers is how much quantity does this crop require, as different crops require different quantities of water.”

Nsimadala – a coffee farmer – said policy, infrastructure, sustainability, access and management were priority issues for farmers in terms of water use. She called for the provision of water-saving technologies for farmers because of the competing water uses that have been worsened by the impact of climate change.

While Yelvin Denje, a research fellow with the African Group of Negotiators Experts Support

(AGNES) said the interface between science and policy has led to improvements in equitable access and unlocked the potential for water and development on the continent but it was hard to measure the effectiveness of policies.

“There are now in many African countries water regulations, acts and water laws,” he said, citing the Africa Water Vision for 2025.

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As the Global South reaches concerning food and nutrition security levels, experts say science will turn around the trajectory of extreme poverty and hunger. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Apr 8 2025 (IPS)

Global food and nutrition insecurity levels are hurtling towards a catastrophe. To counter these problems, leading world experts say science is the ‘silver bullet.’ That science will build climate-resilient agri-food systems, improve livelihoods across the value chain, and ensure more affordable, nutritious food while safeguarding the environment.

“We want a positive impact on global food security. Science is about bringing us insights into issues so that we can then have an impact. Food security cannot happen without science, without research, without data, without analysis, without information, without intelligence, and without thought,” said CGIAR Executive Managing Director Ismahane Elouafi.

“CGIAR scientists will present to you our new research portfolio for 2025-2030, which we believe will really tackle the challenges that we are talking about in the Science Week. We have an incredible team of scientists who really envisioned what the organization can achieve in the coming years. We grow our robust research in high-risk systems and context-specific settings to achieve effective solutions.”

“The most important aspect is the ongoing work on the ground and in the industries, in the field and laboratories, and it is why we need our scientists and partners to come together. Our science research program can provide solutions but those solutions have to be made by people. For this reason, we need to meet in person and virtually and engage so that we live up to set goals.”

CGIAR Executive Managing Director Ismahane Elouafi on the first day of Science Week. Credit: CGIAR

During the second day’s plenary session, there was a special focus on the CGIAR’s new research portfolio and on exploring strategies for effectively scaling innovations to ensure they reach farmers and consumers worldwide. With a focus on addressing the major challenges to food, land, and water systems sustainability, participants were given insights into how CGIAR’s work aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals and contributes to global efforts for agricultural transformation.

Dr. Sandra Milach, CGIAR’s Chief Scientist, told participants where the organization’s scientific revolution all started. Nearly 50 years ago, CGIAR turned to science for solutions by building centers to address segregation in countries still dealing with the effects of centuries of colonization. The organization built farms and lifted millions from hunger in Africa, Asia, and many parts of Latin America.

“However, the world today is different, very different. Yes, we still have global food and water emergencies that we need to address, but we are also facing climate change, biodiversity loss, and new conflicts. Very difficult indeed. Once again, we need and must build capabilities to address these new problems. We have done it before. I’m very confident we will do it again. In 2021, we refocused our strategy to rebuild and do so around five important impact areas, including nutrition, livelihoods, gender, climate, and biodiversity,” Milach said.

Over the years, CGIAR’s mandate has been shaped by an evolving global crisis and they have developed their capabilities to match contemporary problems. She talked about CGIAR’s cutting-edge research and initiatives designed to tackle these pressing issues and discuss the pathways for translating scientific discoveries into tangible benefits for communities on the ground.

Dr. Sandra Milach speaks at the CGIAR science week. Credit: CGIAR

By highlighting the intersections between CGIAR’s research and broader international development agenda, she said the organization aims to underscore the importance of collaborative efforts in driving progress towards a sustainable and food-secure future. Emphasizing that the new research portfolio 2025-2030 is big and ambitious, as it for instance, seeks to reduce the number of people affected by extreme hunger by 26 percent and that is 1.82 million people, by 2030. Saying that this is nearly the size of her native country, Brazil.

“Our scientists know how to produce more crops and even more new crops. Our green fields are large and well-established, but we will need to look critically at all the staple crops, bio-fortified crops, and forgotten crops to understand what needs to be done tomorrow. Our scientists also have the knowledge and innovations to empower livestock keepers and fishermen and make sustainable animal and animal food production a core offering. But we will make sure not to design our research programs solely to produce more food. Equally important, better diets and nutrition are central to our work,” Milach.

“By 2030, it is our mission to lift 31 million people from extreme poverty and it will be the foundation of what we do. We hope also to create 92 million jobs, a number equal to the workforce of any nation, just to give you a perspective. Indeed, by improving farms and helping farmers, we will also benefit the environment so that jobs are created around the environment. And we will do it while increasing the average income by 87 percent. This is our pledge.”

Another priority goal will be to prevent 500 million tons of emissions by 2030. Milach said the innovations are just as important as the knowledge and that CGIAR will also build on indigenous and traditional food practices and that knowledge created through these systems will travel across borders. The issue of gender and social inclusion will feature prominently in the new portfolio and specifically towards increasing women and youth employment in the agri-food system and sector.

“Importantly, technologies can be adapted and developed beyond the communities they were designed for. In a more fragile world that we live in today, we have a duty to the smallholder farmers. But not only that, to the communities that they serve. We will need our science to adapt to new food frontiers and security contexts. Especially food producers in urban areas, in islands, and in conflict zones that exist across the world,” she reiterated.

“Our reform was designed to tackle the biodiversity crisis. One million species are at risk of extinction. By 2030, we want to deliver an innovation that will protect 20 billion hectares of land for expansion. This represents 25 percent of the size of the Amazon forest.  But we cannot focus on one parcel of land, one waterway, one specific crop, or one biome. We need to use less land and we need to build a bigger land and this can be achieved through environmentally sound solutions.”

Panel discussions in plenary buttressed her remarks by emphasizing the critical role of science in promoting climate-smart agriculture and in proper diversification, soil health, better conservation and conservation practices, and in addressing water scarcity. Overall, CGIAR is designed to prioritize the organization’s impact within their global mission. While also setting the tone for the global science community so that science can serve people and communities.
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Ismahane Elouafi Executive Managing Director, CGIAR and Nairobi Chef Kiran Jethwa in discussion during the Good Food for All lunch at CGIAR Science Week 2025. Credit: CGIAR

By Cecilia Russell
NAIROBI, Apr 8 2025 (IPS)

Good Food for All is the motto of The Chef’s Manifesto, a project that brings together more than 1,500 chefs from around the world to explore how to ensure the food they prepare is planet-friendly and sustainable.

It was Nairobi Chef Kiran Jethwa who prepared a menu filled with locally sourced food for the thousands of  delegates on the first day at the GCIAR Science Week in Nairobi.

The menu included High Iron Red Kidney Bean and Biofortified Sweet Potato,  Swahili Curry with Toasted Ginger and Dhania, Tilapia Pilau with Omena (Native Small Fish), Slow Braised Kenyan Kinyeji Chicken Stew with Cassava, Arrow Root with Seared Terere (Amaranth and Millet and Jaegerry Halwa with Raisins and Roasted Cashews.

Delegates snaked towards the tent under beautiful trees on this most exotic United Nations campus situated near Kienyeji forest in Nairobi.

At the Chef’s Manifesto lunch on the first day of CGIAR science week. Credit: IPS

Food is central to the debates here, where delegates debate how science can make a difference in the world where hunger is rampant (according to the United Nations, 3.1 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet) and climate change and conflict, among other issues, complicate food production.

As Prof. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, who chaired the Council of the Wise session in the opening plenary, told the audience, the crisis we are in calls for bold action.

“We’re in a crisis because of climate change. We’re in a crisis because of environmental and health degradation… We are in crisis because of gender inequality, no jobs for our youth, and nutrition insecurity,” she said, and during this week “we are looking for solutions” to this in science.

Summing up the argument of former Prime Minister Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki as AU Special Envoy for Food Systems, Sibanda coined a quote for social media.

“We are in a crisis and Dr. Mayaki says… We need more leaders who are scientists, because scientists solve problems.”

To applause, he agreed.

A healthy plate of sustainably sourced food. Credit: IPS

Former President of Mauritius, Dr. Ameenah Firdaus Gurib-Fakim, asked where the empowerment of women in agriculture was. “Food is produced mostly by women.”

And, she asked, how is it possible to get youth into agriculture?

Agriculture needs to break the stereotype of agriculture as a woman with a hoe breaking hard earth.

“We need the youth to realize that agriculture is a 1 trillion dollar business,” Gurib-Fakim said, emphasizing that it was time to change the narrative.

Sibanda agreed. “Can we have an education that is fit for purpose? Can we have women empowerment and youth as drivers of the food systems, research, and innovation?”

Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Guinea and expert in agricultural finance, Mohamed Beavogui, said it was time for “bold, practical, and inclusive solutions” for ensuring that what was produced on the land ended up on the plate.

Looking for a quotable quote, Sibanda summed it up as “LLP from the lab to the land to the plate, that’s a systems approach,” elaborating that CGIAR aims to reform the food, land, and water systems for food security globally.

“Please Tweet that,” she asked the audience, referring to X by its pre-Elon Musk name.

Finally, Sibanda asked former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan why we are still hungry, poor, and not preserving our biodiversity.

He didn’t believe that it was necessary to elect presidents that are scientists; he commented that in Africa leaders probably spend more time thinking about how to “hold onto leadership than thinking about their people.”

But getting the right mix into the cabinet was crucial—it was more about finding the right people and putting them in roles where they can make a difference.

Sibanda sums it up: “The president has to surround himself with the right people… to be game changers in the country.

Sibanda noted the session produced lots of “tweetable tweets.”

Summing up the panel’s view on policymaking, she said it was as messy and inexact—like “sausage making”—but needed to be “contextualized, evidence-based,” and those affected need to be consulted.

The “billboard” message, however, was that youth are the future and science should be at the forefront of agriculture.

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CGIAR and the Kenyan Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) have convened the very first CGIAR Science Week, April 7 to 12, 2025. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

By Joyce Chimbi
NAIROBI, Apr 7 2025 (IPS)

The world’s leading scientists and decision-makers in agriculture, climate, and health are meeting in Nairobi this week to promote innovation and partnerships towards a food, nutrition, and climate-secure future. As current agrifood systems buckle under multiple challenges, nearly one in 11 people globally and one in five people in Africa go hungry every day.

Recognizing the urgency of these challenges, CGIAR and the Kenyan Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) have convened the very first CGIAR Science Week, April 7 to 12, 2025, at the UN Complex. In this regard, a high-level opening plenary session today underscored an unwavering commitment to international agricultural research.

During the opening plenary, CGIAR’s Executive Managing Director Ismahane Elouafi told the audience that the food crisis was depressing. “We are faced with one of the food shortage crises in history… We have seen emerging conflicts in so many parts of the world. We have also seen climate change that is accelerating and showing us how bad it is in different parts of the world.

“And this is bad for all of us, but imagine how bad it is for a woman that doesn’t have food for her kids.”

However, this is where science comes to the fore.

“This week marks a pivotal moment in our shared journey towards transforming global agriculture and food systems. CGIAR is unwavering in our commitment to advancing groundbreaking agricultural science that is sustainable, inclusive, and rooted in the belief that research, innovation, and collaboration are the keys to overcoming the complex challenges facing agri-food systems today,” Elouafi said.

There was a lot of emphasis on the role of youth and ensuring they were part of the solution, especially in the global South.

Elouafi welcomed students to the Science Week and said she hoped they would remain committed to the South.

“Go to agriculture, because we all need food, and you could be the solution in the future,” she said.

“And in all honesty, I used to introduce myself as a girl from the South that made it to the North… and it was a success… I want, really,  the kids in the south to go out saying, ‘I’m a girl from the South and I am staying in the South.'”

While officially opening the science conference, Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said it was a privilege to represent the President, who is “himself a scientist. In fact, the first scientist president that Kenya has had. The theme of this year’s assembly is timely, considering the unprecedented environmental and food security challenges that the world faces today.”

“The only way forward is through scientific research and on the stakeholders of our country. I am proud to be a member of the National Coalition of Colonists, providing employment for over 60 percent of our population, significantly contributing to national armament and ensuring food security for millions of people.”

“The sector faces immense challenges, from climate change and extreme weather conditions, land deprivation, soil infertility, food insecurity and malnutrition, post-harvest losses, unlimited access to technology, financing, and investments, and of course, confidence. This Science Week is a defining moment. It gives us an opportunity to engage in how to mitigate these challenges.”

As major and connected global challenges threaten the sustainability of food, land, and water systems, global and regional leaders in research, policy, and development say tackling these disruptions requires continued strengthening of collaborative efforts and strategic partnerships towards agri-food systems that are sustainable, resilient, inclusive, and can nourish both people and planet.

A Council of the Wise, a panel session graced by distinguished personalities in Africa, spoke about issues such as politics, policy, and science, and the place of women and youth in transforming agrifood systems. Ameenah Gurib–Fakim, Former President of Mauritius, asked, “Where are the women in Africa in agriculture? What I’m going to say next is not a political statement; it is a fact. Women feed Africa. Where is the technology? Where is the empowerment for our African girls and women?”

“How do we empower them with the technologies? How do we empower them with the capacity to go and open their bank account? How do we empower them to access land? These are issues we have to tackle. Because after all, African food is produced mostly by smallholder farmers, and many of them are women. So, looking at the challenges across Africa, we really have to look at it through the gender lens.”

Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Former Prime Minister of Nigeria and African Union Special Envoy for Food Systems, spoke about population growth and the challenges facing agrifood systems. “In the 60s, the total population of the African continent was about 300 million and we had relative subsistence. Today, we are 1.5 billion people. And in between, between the 60s and today, a lot of things have happened. Progresses and improvements have been made. We have seen food and agriculture strategically implemented, continentally, regionally, and nationally.”

“We have seen our networks of research, science, and innovation really get a significant momentum. But the demographics have beaten the games that we are playing. So, the conclusion that needs to be drawn from that picture is that we need to accelerate. And… we need to do more with less. We know the challenges in terms of productivity, production, land, immigration, and climate. We have the technical answers. The question now is how do we add political solutions to these technical solutions, the scientific solutions, and the innovative solutions? We need political solutions.”

Towards this end, experts and participants from around the globe will explore transformative solutions to the complex challenges facing agri-food systems, such as water scarcity, biodiversity loss, and extreme weather events. Recognizing their intersection while also reflecting on past successes and lessons learned in embracing solutions centered on inclusivity, partnership, and innovation.

There is an emphasis on sustained global investment in innovation, technology, and science as the most effective tools to deliver food, nutrition, and climate security for all, and more so, the most vulnerable people and communities who are increasingly burdened by heightened food insecurity, poverty, and social inequality as unprecedented multiple, complex challenges converge.

Mohamed Beavogui, former Prime Minister, the Republic of Guinea, said that responses to the food and nutrition challenges have not been adequate. Lands are degrading fast. “To date, we are still using about 20 kilograms of fertilizer per hectare while others are using more than 137 kilograms per hectare. Yet, climate change is giving us chaotic rains, droughts, and floods.”

“We do not have, on the ground at least, the right resources. And then, our farmers lack finance, access to technology, etc. And moreover, those who are living between agriculture and the ground, women, are excluded. But there is good news, and a lot of good news; there is a lot of innovation everywhere you look and we need to move it from the lab to the land to the plate.”

Importantly, agricultural research and science is a means to economic stability and gender equality. Given the enormity of the task at hand, the CGIAR is positioning the week as a platform to enhance regional and global partnerships with an aim to scale scientific innovations and solutions but also to reinforce local community-bred practices that work.

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, Former President of Nigeria who holds a doctorate degree in hydrobiology, spoke of the critical need to have leaders who are aware of the usefulness of science. Stressing that science is a mindset that focuses on problem-solving and that this mindset is a key issue towards solving the challenges facing humanity today.

“In Africa, our leaders spend more time thinking about how to get to leadership and hold on to leadership than thinking about the people. We have to spend more time thinking about the people. Even when the President is not a scientist, they can put the right people, experts and competent people, in the right places. It is about the President having the political will and commitment to move the country forward and adopt science and technology to solve agricultural problems.”

Overall, the Science Week is an opportunity to use the best science, innovation, research, and existing knowledge within communities to draw the most effective roadmap into a future where agrifood systems and interconnected issues of climate change, environment, biodiversity, and water can harmoniously converge to produce the best possible outcomes for both planet and humanity.
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Sweetpotato crossing block, Uganda. Reuben Ssali, a plant breeder Associate with the International Potato Center. Credit: CGIAR

By IPS Correspondent
NAIROBI, Apr 7 2025 (IPS)

CGIAR and the Kenyan Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) are bringing together the world’s leading scientists and decision-makers in agriculture, climate, and health for the first CGIAR Science Week. This gathering will be a key moment to advance research and innovation, inspire action, and establish critical partnerships that can secure investment in sustainable food systems for people and the planet.

IPS’ team of journalists, Busani Bafana, Joyce Chimbi, and Naureen Hossain, will bring you news and interviews throughout the week as the conference unfolds. This will include the launch of the CGIAR Research Portfolio 2025-2030 today (April 7, 2025).

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Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR). Credit: CGIAR

By Umar Manzoor Shah
BAKU, Nov 16 2024 (IPS)

As COP29 negotiations continue in Baku, agricultural leaders are pitching the need for climate-resilient and data-driven solutions to support marginalized farmers and low-income communities.

In an exclusive interview with Inter Press Service (IPS), Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Managing Director of the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers (CGIAR), discusses the impact of digital tools, precision agriculture, and low-emission food systems on achieving a sustainable and equitable food future. 

Inter Press Service: How helpful are digital tools in supporting marginalized farmers?

Ismahane Elouafi: Digital tools offer immense potential, especially in bridging the knowledge gap between agricultural experts and rural farmers who often lack access to information. Over the past few decades, funding for traditional extension services has dwindled, so digital solutions in local languages can fill this void. Imagine a farmer receiving real-time advice on managing water, soil fertility, or disease in a language they understand—this could revolutionize small-scale farming. Additionally, precision agriculture, which tailors input needs to specific locations and soil compositions, allows for highly customized farming strategies that optimize both resources and yields.

IPS: Can you explain how precision agriculture works in practical terms?

Elouafi: Precision agriculture allows us to deliver exact inputs—water, nutrients, or fertilizers—needed for a specific plot. This approach minimizes waste and environmental impact, and it’s especially useful in regions where resources are scarce. For instance, if a plant needs 20 milliliters of water in one square meter but only 10 milliliters a few kilometers away, precision agriculture ensures we don’t overuse resources. Ultimately, the goal is to increase productivity sustainably, producing more output per hectare with fewer inputs, especially in a time where climate pressures demand we be mindful of environmental impacts.

IPS: How essential is biodiversity to resilient farming systems?

Elouafi: Resilience means that after a shock—a drought, flood, or even conflict—farmers can bounce back and continue production. CGIAR’s focus is to provide tools, technology, and genetic resources that make this possible. We’ve developed rice varieties that survive flooding and maize that tolerates drought, helping farmers maintain productivity despite climatic stressors. Another key factor is small-scale irrigation, which allows farmers to respond to drought by providing supplemental water, ensuring resilience and food security.

IPS: You mentioned low-emission food systems. How can agriculture contribute to climate goals?

Elouafi: Agriculture is responsible for about 33 percent of global greenhouse gases. By shifting to low-emission practices, we can greatly reduce methane and other emissions. For example, traditional rice paddies release large amounts of methane. However, alternative wetting and drying practices can cut methane emissions by 30 percent while boosting productivity by 33 percent. In livestock, using specific forages and studying animal gut microbiomes can reduce methane emissions by up to 60 percent. Agriculture is uniquely positioned to sequester carbon through practices like cover cropping and biodiversity, which is crucial in mitigating climate change.

IPS: Could internet and data use enhance climate security?

Elouafi: Absolutely. Digital access and internet coverage in rural areas can provide timely climate information, like rainfall predictions, which empowers farmers to make better planting decisions. With projects like Elon Musk’s nanosatellite network expanding internet access, marginalized farmers can increasingly leverage climate data. CGIAR also focuses on producing accurate data for the Global South, as existing climate models often rely on data from the Global North, which doesn’t reflect realities in places like Sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia. Our data can inform region-specific, actionable climate strategies.

IPS: How does CGIAR support innovations and resilience in vulnerable regions?

Elouafi: CGIAR operates the largest publicly funded international agricultural research network, with a strong focus on least-income countries. Our goal is to close the yield gap between high- and low-income nations by providing bundles of innovations: drought-resistant varieties, small-scale irrigation, processing improvements, and access to markets. By helping farmers integrate these innovations, we ensure they’re more resilient and have a steady income. Additionally, our research helps policymakers design better frameworks to support smallholders and incentivize sustainable agri-food systems.

IPS: What do you hope COP29 will achieve in advancing agricultural and climate agendas?

Elouafi: COP29 must carry forward the momentum from COP28, where the UAE’s Declaration on Sustainable Agri-Food Systems was endorsed by 160 countries. Agriculture, food, and water systems need to be central to climate discussions. As we look to COP30 in Brazil, with its expertise in regenerative and climate-smart agriculture, I hope we continue viewing agriculture not as part of the climate problem but as an essential solution to it. Climate adaptation in agriculture is non-negotiable—lives and livelihoods depend on it.

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Yvonne Pinto, the incoming Director General of the International Rice Research Institute, at the 5th All Africa Horticulture Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, February 26 to March 1, 2024. Credit: Supplied by Yvonne Pinto

By Neena Bhandari
SYDNEY, Feb 28 2024 (IPS)

Growing up on a small farming station in Holetta (Ethiopia), Yvonne Pinto would accompany her agriculturist father to the farm, where she would spend her time cross-fertilizing plants. Her tiny fingers making the task easier, as she would marvel at the end product of a prospective new and higher yielding variety. These formative years laid the foundation for her career in agricultural science.

Ethiopia in the late 1970s and 1980s was ravaged by a terrible famine, drought, civil war, and international conflict. It became clear to Pinto from the outset that such exigencies could rapidly deteriorate everyday life and the absence of food could decimate a population. These events instilled in her a deep appreciation for the role agriculture and food systems play in human survival.

“I haven’t forgotten where I came from,” says Pinto, the incoming Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). A second-generation Kenyan by birth, she feels privileged to have been brought up in Ethiopia, a country that was never colonized and where she felt fortunate to grow up as an equal, a rare experience then.

The small farming station in Holetta, about an hour’s drive from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, is now the National Agricultural Biotechnology Research Centre. She says, “My father was its first director. From the mid-1960s, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research and the creation of the Ethiopian Seed Corporation in 1978. I’m undoubtedly a product of those institutions and influences. My father has been my champion.”

She has continued to work with people from those institutions, and while it’s important for her to add value and make a contribution where she can, Pinto affirms, “It is also very important to enhance the contribution of others because having bright and capable people contribute to ideas, approaches, and solutions is often the difference between success and failure.”

On April 22, 2024, she will take over as the Director General of IRRI, where she started her working life as a visiting research scholar in 1985, when eminent agricultural scientist and geneticist Dr M S Swaminathan was the institute’s director general.

“My time at IRRI, which is referred to as the jewel in the crown of the CGIAR system, and encouragement from my supervisors clearly influenced my decision later in life to do a PhD in rice,” adds Pinto, who will be the first woman to lead the institute, which is dedicated to abolishing poverty and hunger among people and populations that depend on rice-based agri-food systems.

She says, “There are opportunities now for girls and women that weren’t present in the past. There’s an interesting societal transition happening in the world, gaining momentum through the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement to the growing focus on equity, inclusion, and diversity. I’m actually a product of that change and thinking.”

Out of the hundreds of congratulatory messages she received on her appointment, “One-third of them were girls and women. All I can say to them is that if I can do it, you can do it,” says Pinto, who also drew inspiration from her mother, a medical surgeon.

In Africa, where rice cultivation is the principal source of income for more than 35 million smallholder rice farmers, women provide the bulk of the labour, from sowing to weeding, harvesting, processing, and marketing, according to the Africa Rice Centre.

Acknowledging the challenges faced by small and middle-income rice farmers, she emphasizes the need to ensure that farmers receive fair returns on their investment.

“Smallholder farmers are reliant upon the private sector or non-governmental organizations to receive the material, such as seeds and other agriculture inputs. In rice and rice seed systems, for example, there are a number of private sector players who are involved. We have to have very intelligent Intellectual Property (IP) arrangements with the private sector to ensure that our farmers have affordable access to these materials and they are not disadvantaged in the process,”  says Pinto, who will also serve as the CGIAR Regional Director for South-East Asia and the Pacific and Country Representative for the Philippines.

Unlike in most Asian countries, where economic growth and increasing urbanization have led to a decline in rice consumption, in African countries, consumption has significantly increased. Demand for rice is growing at more than 6 percent per year, which is faster than for any other food staple in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Africa Rice Centre.

Looking ahead, Pinto envisions IRRI playing a pivotal role in promoting circular agricultural practices in rice production and underpinning the importance of rice in human health and nutrition.

She says, “We have tremendous opportunities to create more nutritious and resilient rice varieties capable of withstanding climate change, benefiting both farmers and consumers alike. There is an opportunity to enable IRRI’s germplasm, not only to influence and impact the Asia-Pacific region but to support other rice producing and consuming countries, notably in Africa”.

Rice is now the second-most important source of calories after corn in many sub-Saharan African countries. The region’s total rice consumption is projected to grow to around 36 million tons by the end of 2026, and the region is expected to import over 32 percent of globally traded rice by 2026, mainly from India, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam, according to a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report.

Reflecting on her extensive experience chairing boards and committees worldwide, she says effective leadership hinges on “fostering connections, building trust, and nurturing partnerships and collaboration, as leadership is a collective responsibility within an interconnected ecosystem.”

Pinto is poised to drive impactful change in agricultural research, advancing food security and sustainability.

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Dr Ismahane Elouafi looks at cassava plantlets “grown in boxes” in a mass propagation facility in IITA, Ibadan. Credit: IITA

By Guy Dinmore
BANGKOK , Feb 19 2024 (IPS)

Dr Ismahane Elouafi has her work cut out. As the new executive managing director of CGIAR, a global network of agricultural research centers, her mandate, simply put, is to tackle the world’s most severe hunger crisis in modern history.

And it is in Africa that the former Chief Scientist of FAO with a PhD in durum wheat genetics faces her greatest challenges, both in terms of developing science-based innovations and technologies and lobbying governments to adopt responsible policies.

Ten years ago, an African Union summit of heads of state and government signed the Malabo Declaration, committing to end hunger in Africa by 2025, to allocate at least 10 percent of national budgets to agriculture and to double productivity levels. Those goals are far from being reached. 

The FAO’s 2023 report on state of global food security estimates that between 691 and 783 million people in the world faced hunger in 2022, as measured by the prevalence of undernourishment, with numbers rising in Western Asia, the Caribbean, and all sub-regions of Africa.

“Most countries in Africa are much below that (budget) target of 10 percent,” Elouafi told IPS in an interview from Nigeria after visiting the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), part of the CGIAR network. Only Ethiopia and Morocco were close to that spending target, she noted, while African countries were also failing to meet goals of allocating three percent of spending on science and innovation.

CGIAR’s executive managing director Ismahane Elouafi.

The severely worsening climate crisis, the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and soaring costs of grain and fertilizer following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago have all contributed to derailing grand pledges made in Malabo. But as a recent report by Oxfam noted, nearly three-quarters of African governments have cut instead of increased their agricultural budgets since 2019 while spending almost twice as much on arms.

“CGIAR is a science-based organisation, and our bread and butter is science, mostly applied science,” Elouafi replies when asked if much of her time will be spent knocking on the doors of heads of governments over their policy choices. But, she adds, many solutions are not “technical” as such and involve policies in investment, education, women’s rights, and capacity building.

“We need African countries to invest in solutions that are better fit for Africa,” she says. She highlights how the lack of food processing industries means that crops are exported and then re-imported, crossing multiple borders and contributing to the continent’s trade deficit in food of over $40 billion a year.

Durum wheat—the subject of her doctorate—may fetch some USD 300 a tonne on the international market, but processed as pasta, it is valued 10 times as much. The added value of processed quinoa is even more.

Much of the work on developing wheat—a significant component of Africa’s annual food import bill of over USD 80 billion—has been achieved under TAAT (Transformation of African Agricultural Technologies), a multi-CGIAR center initiative funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and led by IITA.

Delivering that knowledge to farmers and making an impact through innovative platforms is a vital element of CGIAR’s work, with TAAT a good example of a model that Elouafi is considering for adoption by CGIAR.

Dr Ismahane Elouafi looks at disease-free cassava and banana plants at the Virology Lab in IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria. Credit: IITA

In Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria and IITA’s International Goodwill Ambassador, welcomed  Elouafi on her visit, during which they discussed IITA’s strategic initiatives for stakeholder engagement aimed at combating food insecurity at both national and African levels.

Recognizing IITA’s extensive contributions to improving Nigeria’s food systems, including its network of stations across Africa, Obasanjo noted gaps in research dissemination and agricultural extension services, suggesting an approach akin to the Zero Hunger Program with IITA in which he was involved.

Elouafi proposed a continental summit on food security to synergize efforts between researchers and scientists, and also discussed the possibility of working with development banks to establish an endowment fund for agriculture.

Thanking Nigeria for hosting and supporting IITA, Elouafi said she was deeply impressed by the quality and strategic significance of IITA’s role in Africa and the commitment of its team under Director General Dr Simeon Ehui, who is also CGIAR’s Africa regional director.

“Leadership at a country level is very important,” she says, singling out Ethiopia, which has made substantial progress in wheat production using the expertise of CIMMYT and ICARDA, two of CGIAR’s network of 15 global research centers.

Food has become a major part of the world’s climate agenda, with every degree in temperature rise significantly increasing the number of people going hungry, Elouafi says, noting that 500 million small-scale farmers, who provide a third of the world’s food, live in regions disproportionately affected by climate change.

Africa’s rapid population growth means the continent must produce more food in terms of quantity and quality of nutrition. “This is where CGIAR has a huge role to play, because to produce more food on the continent, we need to adopt new technologies and innovation,” she says. This is not just about improved crop genetics but also generating policies that, for example, provide more jobs and opportunities for African youth in agribusiness, she adds.

But Africa also needs to promote crop diversification, says Elouafi, who is a champion of neglected or “forgotten” crops like fonio, a climate-resilient grain and formerly a staple food across West Africa, as well as cassava and a wider range of vegetables.

Asked about the long-running debate that amounts to a battle for attention between large-scale industrialised agriculture and the needs of smallholders, Elouafi first points out that more than 80 percent of food in sub-Saharan Africa is produced by smallholder farmers.

“CGIAR is working tremendously with smallholder farmers. We know that there will always be many farmers in Africa who are smallholders and that is where we need to adopt our technologies and innovation.”

But while the debate often focuses on the extremes of small and large industrialized farms, she says “the reality is in between,” as demonstrated by successful examples of models like cooperatives and aggregations of smallholder farmers. She points again to Ethiopia, where the irrigated wheat initiative brought together smallholders with areas ranging from 10 hectares to 5,000.

“We need to move away from both extremes and look for solutions,” she said, citing Asia’s success in developing small-scale mechanisation for fishing communities, herders, and smallholders.

“But I want to stress that in CGIAR and across our centers in Africa, we are doing a lot of work on the technical side and on the social and policy side to help smallholder farmers,” she says.

Elouafi also thinks of a future where “ideally” policies are adopted so that these smallholders will be paid not just for their farm products but also for the “ecosystems services” that they are performing in terms of carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and conservation.

For the moment, the methodologies to monitor and monetise these processes are lacking, she says.

“But in the ideal world going forward, we could eventually both monitor the carbon sequestration, the ecosystem services, and the food production and get the farmers, particularly the small-scale farmers, to be paid for both of them.”

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Siamese Rosewood trees on a farmland in Lao PDR - Credit_NAFRI, Laos

By Catherine Wilson
CANBERRA, Australia , Nov 30 2021 (IPS)

The famed Rosewood forests of the Greater Mekong region in Southeast Asia produce dark, richly grained timbers zealously sought after worldwide by manufacturers of luxury furniture, flooring and musical instruments, among other products. But their high value has also made them a major commodity in transnational organized crime.

Now a strategic partnership of international and national government research organizations is leading an expert endeavour to ensure their survival.

“The Rosewood species are among the most valuable species in the world. They are worth tens of thousands of dollars per cubic metre, but because of illegal logging, they were almost wiped out in the Indochina landscapes,” Riina Jalonen, a scientist working with the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, told IPS. The collaborative research-for-development initiative pursues research and innovative solutions to the major global challenges of land degradation, biodiversity loss and poverty around the world.

For the past three years, the Alliance has joined with national partners in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam as well as the University of Copenhagen and the Chinese Academy of Forestry to spearhead ways of conserving the genetic diversity of Rosewoods. The project, which is also working to support planting and restoration of Rosewood timbers and galvanize a strong reliable supply of seeds and seedlings, is led by the University of Oxford and funded by the Darwin Initiative in the United Kingdom.

Collecting seed of Burmese Rosewood (Dalbergia oliveri) in Cambodia – Credit_IRD, Cambodia

Chaloun Bountihiphonh at the National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute in Vientiane, Lao PDR, has witnessed a turnaround in the fortune of the species since the project began in 2018. “The status of the Rosewood Dalbergia populations have improved and now cover more than 60 percent of their natural habitat, and a seed network has been established. And communities of the project have been strengthened in their awareness of the importance of Rosewoods and the additional income that they can get from seed collection,” Bountihiphonh told IPS.

The Greater Mekong subregion, comprising the countries of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and China, boasts immense biodiversity, including 20,000 plant species and 1,200 species of birds. The region’s forests provide the natural habitats for wildlife, but also prevent soil erosion and landslides, create essential levels of atmospheric moisture and combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. And local communities, including many indigenous peoples, depend on the forests for shelter, sustenance, livelihoods and income.

But deforestation, driven by rapid population growth, expansion of infrastructure, agriculture and mining, as well as forest fires and illicit logging operations, has taken a heavy toll. Forest cover in the Greater Mekong declined by 5 percent, while in Cambodia alone it declined by 27 percent, from 1990-2015, reports the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The Rosewood conservation project has focussed on three specific species: Dalbergia cochinchinensis, also known as Siamese Rosewood, is in high demand by furniture makers. Dalbergia oliveri, or Burmese Rosewood with highly fragrant and with a pronounced grain, is popular for woodworking, and Dalbergia cultrata, also named Burma Blackwood, is a blackwood timber characterised by varied hues of burgundy.

The United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports that 8.3 million kilograms of illegally trafficked Rosewood was seized worldwide between 2005-2015. The top ten source countries included India, Thailand and Cambodia, and the main destination countries included China, Malaysia, Vietnam and the United States. This is also what makes regional collaboration so crucial for safeguarding the species.

“Illegal logging of primary forests has directly destroyed the mature trees and good quality mother trees which produce seeds for natural regeneration and silviculture,” Bountihiphonh said.

The conservation project grew out of discussions with forestry experts in the Mekong countries, who highlighted the issues threatening the valuable timber forests. The Alliance first conducted conservation assessments of the species to analyse and identify the specific threats and conservation needs.

Then, in partnership with Cambodia’s Institute of Forest and Wildlife Research and Development, Lao’s National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute and the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, two main conservation approaches were implemented. The ‘in situ’ approach preserves the Rosewood trees in their natural environment, for example, in the form of a national park or community-managed forest. The second ‘ex situ’ strategy promulgates the species in a different designated location, such as a plantation or in a seed production area.

However, restoring and expanding forests requires a vast supply of seeds. And so, seed and seedling production are some of the most important activities carried out in forest-dwelling communities.

“We have been helping farmers to establish seed orchards, where trees are planted specifically for seed production. It is the farmers who are interested in producing seeds and selling them. Especially in Cambodia, they have quite an active network of seed producers and seed collectors, and the Institute of Forest and Wildlife Research and Development has really spearheaded this work to help more and more farmers to participate and benefit” Jalonen said.

Seed orchards make seed collection an easier, safer and less time-consuming process than in the natural environment, and have led to substantial economic benefits for communities.

Some of the largest remaining rosewood populations in Cambodia are found within Community Forests – Credit_Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT

“People in rural areas are increasingly realizing the value of these species. The species provides two sellable products; timber and seed. Timber takes a very long time to produce, but seed is something that the farmers can collect after a few years and Rosewood seed is highly valuable, fetching around US$200-250 per kilogram. It is something that the farmers can harvest every year for annual income,” Jalonen explained.

The work being done by the Alliance and its national partners aims to benefit seven rural forest-based communities in the Greater Mekong region and reduce poverty in 175 households by boosting earnings from the marketing of seeds and seedlings by up to 20 percent.

“Big Rosewood trees are not widely available as before because of the illegal cutting and debarking of the Burmese Rosewood,” Ou Veng, farmer and village leader of O Srao in Cambodia, said. “In the past, people were not interested to protect the forest. But now they worry about losing it because it’s required for their livelihoods. So more and more people are involved in patrolling, tree planting and fire protection. The forest has regenerated significantly.”

In Pursat, Cambodia, the expansion of a local farmer’s nursery for the sale of Rosewood seed and seedlings increased local employment opportunities in the community threefold between 2018 and 2020.

In the village of Kampeng, also in Cambodia, Soeung Sitha, a farmer described how reafforestation efforts had also acquired a heritage purpose. “Many of our community forest members have planted Siamese Rosewood in their home gardens and farms. They don’t want the species to become extinct. They want the younger generation to use them as well,” he said.

Ahead of the initiative coming to an end in December, Jalonen reflected on what is likely to be some of its important legacies.

“A model for farmer-led seed production for Rosewoods now exists. What has been really successful is the establishment of seed orchards by farmers,” she said. “Seeds are providing incomes and job opportunities and, what is also important, is that it generates more opportunities for women because collecting the seeds of these trees from the forest is difficult. You actually have to climb the trees. So when the seed production is done on farms with smaller plants, it is much easier to collect.”

And the new forest growth will be more robust. “By helping to improve the quality of seeds and seedlings in restoration areas and making sure they are genetically diverse, the planted forest will grow to be productive and also resilient. Under the rapidly changing environment, this capacity of the trees to adapt is more important than ever – and not only for the species themselves but also for the global efforts to mitigate climate change through forest conservation and restoration,” Jalonen emphasised.

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U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the U.N. Climate Summit 2014. Credit: UN Photo/Kim Haughton

By Carey L. Biron
WASHINGTON, Sep 24 2014 (IPS)

All international development assistance and investments from the United States will now be required to take into account the potential impacts of climate change, according to a new rule signed Tuesday by President Barack Obama.

When designing development programmes of any type, federal agencies will need to factor in climate resilience, referring to the ability of a host country or community to anticipate and prepare for global warming-related changes. Those agencies will likewise be required to encourage similar planning by multilateral development institutions.“Climate resilience is of critical importance to the 500 million smallholder farmers that provide the majority of food in developing countries.” -- Frank Rijsberman, CEO of the CGIAR Consortium

“The president is setting the right course with his executive order,” Jennifer Morgan, director of the climate and energy programmes at the World Resources Institute, a think tank here, said in a statement. “We can’t pursue development around the world without recognising the risks that climate change poses every day.”

President Obama announced the new directive at the opening of a United Nations summit on climate that brought together some 120 heads of state to discuss new commitments. There, the president also announced a suite of new “tools” and initiatives aimed at assisting developing countries prepare for the impacts of a changing climate, particularly around the sharing of scientific and weather data.

“Today, I’m directing our federal agencies to begin factoring climate resilience into our international development programmes and investments,” the president said U.N. headquarters in New York.

“And I’m announcing a new effort to deploy the unique scientific and technological capabilities of the United States, from climate data to early-warning systems … to help vulnerable nations better prepare for weather-related disasters, and better plan for long-term threats like steadily rising seas.”

The president did not announce a new U.S. carbon emissions-reduction target during Tuesday’s highly anticipated address. However, he did pledge that such a target would be made public by early next year.

Safeguarding progress

Acknowledging that those countries that bear the least responsibility for climate change “often stand to lose the most”, Obama noted that U.S. assistance for climate-related adaptation efforts has expanded eightfold since 2009.

In an executive order detailing the new mandates, also signed Tuesday, Obama warns that failure to take into account the potential impacts of climate change could “roll back decades of progress in reducing poverty and improving economic growth in vulnerable countries” and weaken the overall effectiveness of U.S. development assistance.

“Development investments in areas as diverse as eradicating malaria, building hydropower facilities, improving agricultural yields, and developing transportation systems will not be effective in the long term if they do not account for impacts such as shifting ranges of disease-carrying mosquitoes, changing water availability, or rising sea levels,” a White House fact sheet notes.

The new mandate could mean, for instance, ensuring that a new road built with U.S. assistance is engineered and sited to withstand strengthened flooding, or that a planned school is moved out of the way of forecasted rising sea waters. It could also mean increased aid focus on agricultural seeds and techniques able to withstand weather extremes, as well as data to allow for better planning by farmers.

“Climate resilience is of critical importance to the 500 million smallholder farmers that provide the majority of food in developing countries,” Frank Rijsberman, the CEO of the CGIAR Consortium, a global organisation that promotes agricultural research to advance food security, told IPS.

“It is an important step for the U.S. to announce that it will mainstream climate resilience in all its development investments – as did a number of other countries and multilateral organisations at the summit.”

A new working group, led by the heads of the U.S. Treasury and USAID, the country’s main foreign aid agency, will now come up with guidelines for integrating these considerations into federal strategies.

But U.S. development agencies are already expressing excitement about the new requirements. An official with USAID told IPS that “it is essential that, as the world’s leading development agency, USAID continue to set a high bar for building resilience into all efforts to end extreme poverty and build flourishing societies.”

An official with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government’s development finance agency, likewise called the executive order “incredibly significant”.

“OPIC is eager to take part in this administration-wide action that underscores the seriousness of the challenge the whole world faces from a changing climate,” Charles Stadtlander, an OPIC spokesperson, told IPS. “If one thing is clear, it’s more cost-effective to act now than to wait until after it’s too late.”

Low-emissions development

In recent years, OPIC has been increasingly lauded by environmentalists and development groups for its overseas investments in renewable energies. Last year, Stadtlander says, those commitments topped 1.2 billion dollars, marking more than a 50-fold increase since 2007.

For some, it is expanding such efforts, and the U.S. government’s still-nascent focus on overseas alternative and low-carbon energy sources, that remains of paramount importance.

Importantly, the new executive order requires that federal agencies “continue seeking opportunities to help international partners promote sustainable low-emissions development”. It also orders the U.S. National Security Council, within a year, to bring together federal agencies to “explore further mitigation opportunities” in U.S. development activities, and to come up with recommendations for additional action.

“An important element of this order is the mandate to continue seeking avenues for mitigation and low-carbon development,” Justin Guay, a Washington representative for the Sierra Club, a conservation and advocacy group, told IPS.

“Already important initiatives like OPIC’s Africa Clean Energy Finance programme are building a pipeline, and new loan guarantees and the private investment they’ll leverage can take that pipeline to scale.”

Guay points to a new U.S. government project, announced this summer, called Beyond the Grid, aimed at expanding renewable energies in Africa. Strengthening that initiative would now offer a key opportunity to put the executive order’s mitigation mandate into action, Guay notes.

Meanwhile, others are expressing concerns over the impact in developing countries of new resilience assistance from the West.

For instance, while President Obama and others on Tuesday inaugurated a new Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture, aimed at addressing food security in the context of a changing climate, some farmers in developing countries worry the initiative will increase their dependence on foreign interventions.

“Climate smart agriculture will lead to further consolidation of land … creating dependency on so-called new technologies,” La Via Campesina, a global group of smallholders, said Tuesday, “while ignoring traditional tried-and-true adaptive farming techniques and stewardship of seed varieties.”

Edited by Kitty Stapp

The writer can be reached at cbiron@ips.org

Joane Nkuliye, a rural entrepreneur from Rwanda’s Eastern Province, grows biofortified beans on a commercial scale. Credit: Fabíola Ortiz/IPS

By Fabíola Ortiz
KIGALI, Apr 6 2014 (IPS)

Joane Nkuliye considers herself an activist. She is part of a select group of farmers producing biofortified crops on a commercial scale in Rwanda. 

Nkuliye owns 25 hectares in Nyagatare district, Eastern Province, two hours away from the capital, Kigali. She was awarded land by the government and moved there in 2000, with plans of rearing cattle. But she soon realised that growing food would be more profitable and have a greater impact on the local community as many of the kids in the area suffered from Kwashiorkor, a type of malnutrition caused by lack of protein.

“I have a passion for farming. We are being subsidised because very few people are doing commercial farming,” the entrepreneur, who is married with five children and has been farming for over 10 years, told IPS.

Four years ago, she was contacted by the NGO HarvestPlus, which is part of a CGIAR Consortium research programme on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health. The NGO is considered a leader in the global effort to improve nutrition and public health by developing crops and distributing seeds of staple foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals.

HarvestPlus provided Nkuliye with seeds, packaging, outlets for distribution and know-how. Now she grows biofortified beans on 11 of her 50 hectares of land.

“After harvesting beans I grow maize as an intercrop. I also grow sweet bananas, pineapples and papaya. I harvest 15 tonnes of food; I talk in terms of tonnes and not kilos,” she smiled.

Nkuliye was invited by HarvestPlus to speak at the Second Global Conference on Biofortification held in Kigali from Mar. 31 to Apr. 2, which was a gathering of scientists, policymakers and stakeholders.

Rwanda has ventured into a new agricultural era as it boosts its food production and enhances the nutrition level of the crops grown here.

In this Central African nation where 44 percent of the country’s 12 million people suffer from malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency, biofortified foods, like beans, are seen as a solution to reducing “hidden hunger” — a chronic lack of vitamins and minerals.

One in every three Rwandans is anaemic, and this percentage is higher in women and children. An estimated 38 percent of children under five and 17 percent of women suffer from iron deficiency here. This, according to Lister Tiwirai Katsvairo, the HarvestPlus country manager for the biofortification project, is high compared to other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Biofortified beans have high nutritional levels and provide up to 45 percent of daily iron needs, which is 14 percent more than commonly-grown bean varieties.

They also have an extra advantage as they have proved to produce high yields, are resistant to viruses, and are heat and drought tolerant.

Now, one third of Rwanda’s 1.9 million households grow and consume nutritious crops thanks to an initiative promoted by HarvestPlus in collaboration with the Rwandan government. The HarvestPlus strategy is “feeding the brain to make a difference,” Katsvairo said.

The national government, which has been working in partnership with HarvestPlus since 2010, sees nutrition as a serious concern. According to Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources Agnes Kalibata, five government ministers are working cooperatively to address nutrition issues here.

She said that biofortified crops ensured that poor people, smallholder farmers and their families received nutrients in their diets. Around 80 percent of Rwanda’s rural population rely on agriculture for their livelihoods.

“Beans in Rwanda are our staple food, they are traditional. You cannot eat a meal without them. Beans that are biofortified have the main protein that will reach everybody, they are the main source of food,” she said.

Katsvairo explained that Rwanda has 10 different varieties of biofortified beans and that Rwandan diets comprise 200 grams of beans per person a day.

“Our farmers and population cannot afford meat on a daily basis. In a situation like this we need to find a crop that can provide nutrients and is acceptable to the community. We don’t want to change diets,” Katsvairo told IPS.

The ideologist and geneticist who led the Green Revolution in India is an advocate of what he calls “biohappiness”. Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan became famous for the Green Revolution that increased food production and turned India into a sustainable food producer.

“I am an enthusiast of biofortification. It is the best way to add nutrients like iron, zinc and vitamin A. In the case of biofortification it is a win-win situation,” he told IPS.

According to Swaminathan, who has been described by the United Nations Environment Programme as “the Father of Economic Ecology”, the concept of food security has grown and evolved into nutritious security.

“We found it is not enough to give calories, it is important to have proteins and micronutrients.”

Swaminathan says it is also a way of attacking silent hunger — hunger caused by extreme poverty.

“It fortifies in a biological matter and not in chemical matter, that is why I call it biohappiness,” said the first winner of the World Food Prize in 1987. He  has also been acclaimed by TIME magazine as one of the 20 most influential Asians of the 20th century.

According to Katsvairo, Rwanda has become an example to other sub-Saharan countries as the issue of nutrition is now part of public strategic policy here.

“Rwanda is still at the implementation stage but it is way ahead of other African countries,” confirmed Katsvairo.

Meanwhile, Nkuliye aims to expand her farm over the next few years and increase her crop of biofortified beans.

“I wanted to improve people’s lives. My husband is proud of me but I feel I haven’t done enough yet,” she said. Currently, she employes 20 women and 10 men on a permanent basis and hires temporary workers during planting and harvesting.

She first started her business with a three-year bank loan of five million Rwandan Francs (7,700 dollars). Now, she has applied for 20 million Rwandan Francs (30,800 dollars).

“I want to buy more land, at least 100 hectares. What I am producing is not enough for the market,” Nkuliye explained. While she harvests tonnes of produce to sell to the local market, she says it is not enough as demand is growing.

But she is proud that she has been able to feed her community.

“I have fed people with nutritious beans, I changed their lives and I have also changed mine. We have a culture of sharing meals and give our workers eight kilos of biofortified food to take to their families,” she said.

Fabíola Ortiz was invited by HarvestPlus and Embrapa-Brazil to travel to Rwanda.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), which works to end malnutrition among more than two billion people worldwide, is expressing strong support  for enriching the micronutrient content of plants.

Cassava is a staple crop in Africa. The new variety promoted by CGIAR is more nutritious, contaning higher amounts of vitamin A, zinc, or iron. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS

In technical terms, it is called biofortification: a nutrition-specific intervention designed to enhance the micronutrient content of foods through the use of agronomic practices and plant breeding.

The breeding is taking place at HarvestPlus, an international programme supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and at national agricultural research centres, mostly in developing countries.

The first nutritious crop, developed by African scientists and released in partnership with the Internal Potato Center (CIP), was the orange sweet potato, which has been effective in providing up to 100 percent of daily vitamin A needs for young children, according to CGIAR.

Six additional nutritious crops are now being developed through the use of conventional breeding methods: vitamin A-rich cassava and maize, iron-rich beans and pearl millet, and zinc-rich wheat and rice.

The first three crops are targeted to Africa and the rest to South Asia.

New varieties of the first four crops were launched in 2012, says CGIAR, with wheat and rice expected to follow later this year.

While it takes time to produce the amount of seed necessary to meet demand, up to half a million farmers will be growing these nutritious crops by year end, it predicts.

Asked how far plant breeding can go in resolving hunger and nutrition problems worldwide, Dr. Erick Boy, head of nutrition at HarvestPlus, told IPS, “Our focus is on hidden hunger, caused by not getting enough minerals and vitamins in the diet – that is the major hunger problem the world faces today.

“The six new varieties of staple crops we are developing are more nutritious—they contain higher amounts of vitamin A, zinc, or iron,” he added.

Lack of these nutrients is what causes widespread suffering and health problems, especially for women and children.

Boy said these crops will be distributed to more than three million farming households in seven countries in Africa and Asia by 2015.

“Not bad for a programme that started from scratch to develop these crops beginning only in 2003,” he noted.

When eaten regularly, these nutritious crops could provide on average 50 percent of vitamin A, zinc, or iron requirements. According to CGIAR, more than two billion people worldwide do not get enough of these crucial nutrients in their diets.

Deficiencies can lead to lower IQ, stunting, and blindness in children; increased susceptibility to disease for both children and adults; and higher health risks to mothers – and their infants – during childbirth.

According to the World Bank, malnourished children are more likely to drop out of school and have lower incomes as adults, thus reducing overall economic growth.

In its latest annual flagship publication The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) released here, FAO explains that unlike food fortification, which occurs during food processing, biofortification involves enriching the micronutrient content of plants.

Questions remain about the readiness of consumers to purchase biofortified foods, especially when they look or taste different from traditional varieties. But, FAO says, early evidence suggests that consumers are willing to buy them and may even pay a premium.

In Uganda, FAO discovered consumers were willing to pay as much for the orange-fleshed varieties of sweet potato as for the white varieties, even in the absence of a promotional campaign.

Similar results were found for nutritionally-enhanced orange maize in Zambia, where consumers did not confuse it with ordinary yellow or white maize. They were also willing to pay a premium when its introduction was accompanied by nutrition information.

Asked why the project targets Asia and Africa and not Latin America, CGIAR’s Dr. Boy said, “Our focus is on subSaharan Africa and South Asia because if you look at any map of hidden hunger, these are the regions marked in red.”

Latin American countries have done a better job of improving nutrition over the past two decades, he added. There are still, however, pockets where hidden hunger is a problem.

“So we are also working in this region. In fact, I am in Guatemala now to work with stakeholders to buy in to our high-iron beans and high zinc-maize initiative there. We anticipate that we could have varieties of two to three crops that are rich in iron and zinc to LAC farmers by 2015,” Boy added.

Meanwhile, in early June, the UK government granted £30 million [46.4 million dollars] to HarvestPlus to develop and deliver six nutritious crops to several million farming households in Africa and Asia.

The grant was announced at a high-level international meeting in London that brought together a range of partners to make strong political and financial commitments to improve nutrition globally.

In his opening remarks, British Prime Minister David Cameron said, “It has to be about doing things differently…For science, it’s about harnessing the power of innovation to develop better seeds, [and] more productive and nutritious crops.”

Kenyan farmer Geoffrey Ndung’u adapted to a prolonged drought and now earns a living growing watermelon. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IPS

By Thalif Deen
ROME, Jun 15 2013 (IPS)

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has long warned that a quarter of the world’s farmland is “highly degraded”.

The main culprits are natural disasters, including droughts, floods and desertification. These pressures have now reached critical levels, with climate change expected to worsen the situation, according to the FAO’s annual report The State of Food and Agriculture, released here."Farmers urgently need support to increase the diversity of seed varieties that they can save and grow." -- Teresa Anderson of the Gaia Foundation

At the 38th session of FAO’s biannual conference, currently underway in Rome, three major issues on the table are the high level of undernourishment, volatile food prices and sustainable agricultural productivity.

The United Nations said up to 12 percent of Africa’s agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) is being lost due to environmental degradation, with comparable figures for countries in Latin America varying from six percent in Paraguay to about 24 percent in Guatemala.

According to the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), food yields in Uzbekistan have declined by 20 to 30 percent, while in East Africa nearly 3.7 million people still require food aid following the 2011 drought.

“Business as usual is no longer an option,” said UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja.

“Desertification, land degradation and drought are key constraints to building social and environmental resilience, achieving global food security and delivering meaningful poverty reduction,” he added.

Mohamed Adow, global advisor on climate change at the UK-based Christian Aid, which promotes sustainable development and battles hunger and global poverty, told IPS, “Climate change remains the significant challenge facing food security.”

Extreme and less predictable weather patterns are having the first and hardest impacts on food production, which in turn affects those who are least able to protect themselves, he added.

Adow said that with just the current 0.8 C rise in global temperatures, the world is suffering from increased hunger, disease, floods and sea level rise.

“And this is predicted to worsen given the abysmally weak climate pollution targets in developed countries,” he noted.

This means that year after year, the numbers of people needing food aid and adaptation support are increasing as the effects of climate change exceed the coping limits of the poor, and as more people go hungry.

Developed countries have a responsibility and obligation to take decisive action to support adaptation and increase opportunities to develop sustainable climate-resilient livelihoods all over the world, Adow declared.

Teresa Anderson of the London-based Gaia Foundation, which advocates secure land, seed, food and water sovereignty, told IPS one of the key reasons for the existence of the U.N. climate convention is to address the inevitable impacts that climate change and increasingly erratic weather will have on food production.

Less rain, more rain, rain coming at unpredictable times – all this affects the germination and growth of crops, she pointed out.

Changing temperatures that are too high or too low can also reduce growth and pollination. And different pests and diseases are likely to emerge in different climatic conditions.

“To deal with these multiple challenges, farmers urgently need support to increase the diversity of seed varieties that they can save and grow, while improving soil health,” said Anderson.

Unfortunately, the growth of agribusiness focused on selling fertilisers and just a few types of seed, is making farming even more vulnerable to climate change, she added.

In addition, communities reliant on fishing and livestock grazing may find the ecosystems on which they rely producing less fish or grass.

Anderson said many communities will also face extreme weather events such as floods, hurricanes and droughts, as well as slow-onset impacts such as rising sea levels and salination that will make food production impossible.

Meanwhile, a report released at the climate change talks in Bonn last week by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) said the cloudy aspects of climate forecasts are no excuse for a paralysis in agriculture adaptation policies.

“Climate projections will always have a degree of uncertainty, but we need to stop using uncertainty as a rationale for inaction,” said Sonja Vermeulen, head of research at CGIAR’s research programme on climate change, agriculture and food security (CCAFS) and lead author of the study.

“Even when our knowledge is incomplete, we often have robust grounds for choosing best-bet adaptation actions and pathways, by building pragmatically on current capacities in agriculture and environmental management, and using projections to add detail and to test promising options against a range of scenarios,” she said.

The CCAFS analysis shows how decision-makers can sift through the different gradients of scientific uncertainty to understand where there is, in fact, a general degree of consensus and then move to take action.

Moreover, she said, it encourages a broader approach to agriculture adaptation that looks beyond climate models to consider the socioeconomic conditions on the ground. These conditions, such as a particular farmer’s or community’s capacity to make the necessary changes, will determine whether a particular adaptation strategy is likely to succeed.

Dr. Marco Wopereis. Credit: AfricaRice

By Busani Bafana
COTONOU, Benin, Jun 14 2013 (IPS)

Thanks to food riots in several African cities fuelled by high rice prices between 2007 and 2008, sub-Saharan Africa is growing and eating more rice after governments were forced into ambitious production programmes.

Rice is the third most important source of dietary energy in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Cotonou-based Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), a research organisation working to contribute to poverty alleviation and food security in Africa and which is supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).

An analysis by AfricaRice conducted in March 2013 shows that  average rice yields in sub-Saharan Africa jumped by about 30 percent from 2007 to 2012, and are increasing at a faster rate than the global average. The rate of paddy rice production also shot up from 3.2 percent per year before the rice crisis to 8.4 percent per year afterwards.

Describing this as encouraging news, AfricaRice’s director general, Dr. Papa Seck, said it was crucial to maintain the trend because rice consumption was increasing in sub-Saharan Africa at an annual rate of five percent.

“Following the food crisis, numerous investments were made by governments, international agencies, and donor countries (through bilateral cooperation) to revamp the rice sector in sub-Saharan Africa,” says AfricaRice Deputy Director General Dr. Marco Wopereis.

In an interview with IPS correspondent Busani Bafana, Dr. Wopereis said that while it was difficult to capture all investments made at regional and country levels, two regional projects have made a big difference.

He cited the two-year, five-million-dollar Emergency Initiative to Boost Rice Production in Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Senegal funded by USAID, which helped some 56,420 farmers across the four countries through access to subsidised seed of improved varieties, fertiliser and improved crop-management methods. Farmers produced 51,279 tonnes more rice in 2010, with their production costs reduced over the two years of the project.

The second main project involved improving access to rice seed and building a rice data system for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The 4.5-million-dollar one-year project funded by the Japanese government produced a total of 106.9 tonnes of foundation seed from 29 varieties across 20 countries and 668.4  tonnes of certified seed.

Excerpts from the interview follow.

Q: With the projected surge in rice consumption, are current agriculture policies in SSA  conducive to promoting rice production?

A: Remarkable progress has been achieved in rice production. Rice production is now growing at almost six percent per year since 2008. However, with the surge in rice consumption, rice production will have to double the current growth rate to satisfy increasing consumption.

Q: What is the annual production of rice in SSA compared to its imports?

A: The 2012 USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) data give 12 million tonnes for milled rice produced in sub-Saharan Africa and almost 12 million tonnes of imported rice. So, in 2012 annual rice production was close to 24 million tonnes with half of it imported.

Q: What is the future of rice as a staple in Africa?

A: The future of rice as a staple in Africa is very promising. AfricaRice is convinced that the future of rice farming is in Africa. The continent has a great untapped potential, which can be seen in its vast stretches of land and barely used water resources (e.g. Sub-Saharan Africa has 130 million ha of lowlands of which only 3.9 million ha are under cultivation).

The competitiveness of local rice production in SSA is now an established fact. Besides, yields are growing now at an impressive growth rate higher than those obtained under the green revolution in Asia. Various innovation systems coupled with rice technologies dissemination and enabling policy environment will continue to further enhance the realisation of the potential.

Excerpt:

By Raúl Pierri
PUNTA DEL ESTE, Uruguay , Nov 1 2012 (IPS)

The countries of the developing South should remove the barriers still faced by small-scale farmers, because smallholders play a key role in economic growth, says Carlos Seré, the International Fund for Agricultural Development’s (IFAD) chief development strategist.

“National and regional policies need to eliminate cross-border delays and regulatory stonewalls faced by small farmers,” said the Uruguayan expert, who stressed that “Investment in smallholder agriculture and rural development is the foundation for economic growth.”

In this interview with IPS on the occasion of the Second Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD2), Seré also discussed the importance of helping women gain access to land and of taking into account the environmental challenges faced by smallholders, in support programmes.

Carlos Seré: “Investment along the entire value chain is key.” Credit: Courtesy of IFAD.

The Oct. 29-Nov. 1 conference held in the Uruguayan resort city of Punta del Este was organised by the Global Forum on Agricultural Research, in collaboration with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) consortium.

Excerpts from the interview follow:

Q: The GCARD2 Road Map emphasises agricultural research and innovation for development. Is input from the ancestral knowledge of local communities – which has proved effective, for example, in the search for localised adaptations to climate change – being sidelined?

A: GCARD2 is a multi-stakeholder platform which is promoting partnerships in research for development. These are meant to forge alliances between advanced research institutions in the developed world, international agricultural research centres such as those of the CGIAR, and national agricultural research systems in the developing world.

The latter include national and local entities such as agricultural universities, civil society organisations, NGOs and farmer organisations, including indigenous peoples’ organisations, as full partners in the research process.

GCARD2 places an emphasis on the role of participatory technology development which builds on local knowledge and involves better understanding of people, their beliefs, their culture and other local socio-economic variables together with the bio-physical conditions.

Q: How can poor farmers adapt to new technologies and what criteria should guide investment in the sector?

A: For research to move from the lab to the field, it needs to be supported by a strong extension system and enabling policies that link research to products and markets so that the applications benefit both the public and private sectors.

The decision or choice to adopt new technologies is often quite complex for farmers, especially because they engage in agriculture for a variety of reasons such as generating income, providing for their own food consumption, buffering the impact of possible insecurity or shocks affecting other sources of income (for instance informal employment), and so forth.

Investment in the development of new technologies for adoption by small farmers should be guided by an understanding of the incentives and risks confronted by different types of farmer groups.

Therefore the need to focus more on research and innovation efforts to developing technologies that help farmers increase their productivity in ways that enable them to adapt better to harsher environments, water scarcity, and climate change.

Q: There are projects like the “Millennium Villages” which support small farmers in an interdisciplinary manner and have managed to increase yields. However, they still face logistical difficulties in accessing markets and ensuring that this increase will translate into higher revenues. How can this be fixed?

A: When small farmers in developing countries increase productivity, for a start, it can make a significant contribution to local and national food security and economic development – if they can, then, ensure that surplus food gets efficiently, safely from the farmer’s field to the market.

With extra money in the farmers’ pockets, we can then start to see true transformation for the developing world. Investment in smallholder agriculture and rural development is the foundation for economic growth.

If we want to make regional markets work, if we want to ensure developing countries’ food and economic security, then we must transform our infrastructure and the way we do business.

Roads, access to stable electricity, energy and running water, and good governance are also key to making the business environment attractive in developing countries Smallholder agriculture needs to be seen as a business.

National and regional policies need to eliminate cross-border delays and regulatory stonewalls faced by small farmers, to make it easy for them to get their produce from one country to the next.

Q: How successful can initiatives to provide inputs and training to small farmers in the South be, while subsidies in the North and barriers in international trade remain in place?

A: Proposals or schemes to provide inputs and training to farmers must be part of a broader package of initiatives to support agriculture-led development in developing countries – with maximising opportunities for access to markets.

However, while we recognise market distortions do exist and there are barriers to free trade, the low world food prices of the past that adversely affected agricultural incentives and performance have now changed dramatically.

Higher prices must come with opportunities for a supply response. We need comprehensive approaches to stimulating growth in the agriculture sector and in other rural sectors that can offer new entrepreneurial and employment opportunities.

Q: Women are the foundation of family farming in the developing world, but often the laws and customs of the countries limit their access to land. What is being done in this regard?

A: Gender equality is both a matter of fundamental human values and rights, but is now increasingly also clearly becoming more understood as a driver of economic efficiency in agriculture.

Women have major roles in all aspects of agricultural and food systems across the developing world.

Women are often the farmers of the developing world. Simply giving women the same access as men to agricultural resources and inputs could increase production on their farms by as much as 30 per cent and could reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 100 to 150 million people.

We know, from a number of studies, that when women earn money, they are more likely than men to spend it on food for the family.

When rural women are economically and socially empowered, they become a potent force for change. When it comes to access and control over land, in particular, this may translate into gender sensitive approaches in community-level institutions.

Thus, activities that have an impact on land access, building women’s capacity to be aware of their rights and able to claim them, supporting rural women to have access to identity cards so they can claim their entitlements over land are important enabling institutional responses, while technology systems must be responsive to time and labour saving for women.

Excerpt: