During the last decade, post-harvest losses (PHL) reduction has been topping the agenda of governments as a pathway for addressing food security, poverty, and nutrition challenges in Africa. Using survey data from 579 households, we investigated the factors that affect farmers’ decisions to adopt post-harvest technologies: mechanized shelling, drying tarpaulins, and airtight storage validated for reducing PHL in Tanzania’s maize-based systems, and the impacts on households’ food security and welfare.

Many sub-Saharan farmers rely on agricultural production for home consumption and sell crops to meet their other needs. Farmers’ market intervention enhances economic expansion and helps to improve household food security. In our current study, we strive to explore the determinants of farmers’ decisions and the intensity of market participation in the Sahelian region of Niger, where little has been published, thereby filling the gap in the literature. A double hurdle approach was employed to achieve this objective using a sample collected from 1784 farm households in Niger.

Reliable and seasonally updated information on the effective rice cultivated area, forecasted, harvested yield and climate change impacts are essential requirements for governments to support decision-making related to food security, management of natural resources, agricultural productivity, and insurance.

Achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment in food systems can result in greater food security and better nutrition, as well as more just, resilient and sustainable food systems for all. This chapter uses a scoping review to assess the current evidence on pathways between gender equality, women’s empowerment and food systems. The chapter uses an adaptation of the food system framework to organize the evidence and identify where evidence is strong, and where gaps remain.

Under the Latin American Regional initiative AgriLAC Resiliente, the establishment of Innovahubs in Guatemala and Honduras has been a pivotal focus. At year end, in each country intensive stakeholders' meetings were organized at the subnational level to foster participatory discussions and delineate key aspects on how to consolidate and mature the Innovahubs and its core activities. Rooted in a hub model approach, the Innovahubs aim to catalyze innovation by facilitating spaces for collaborative learning, adapting to local contexts, and promoting interactive knowledge acquisition.

Sub-Saharan Africa is grappling with surging food demand amid a growing population and challenges of climate change. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) emerges as a holistic solution, aiming to counter these complexities and enhance livelihoods. However, the evidence remains thin and mixed. We used a meta-analysis with 18 studies to assess the impacts of climate smart agricultural practices on livelihood indicators in sub-Saharan Africa. We find that adoption of climate smart agriculture is positively correlated with crop and household income and food security in sub-Saharan Africa.

This study seeks to increase the efficiency of yam breeding practice using farmers’ insight at the trait and socioeconomic levels. A three-staged multisampling procedure was employed and 792 yam farmers from four geopolitical zones, comprising 10 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in Nigeria were randomly selected. Farmer’s preference criteria and factors pertinent to improving the efficiency of yam breeding in Nigeria were documented.

Wheat is a staple food in many areas around the World. In the 20th century, breeders and scientists were able to boost wheat yield considerably. However, a yield plateau has become a concern and is threatening food security. Investments in cutting-edge technologies, including genomics and precision phenology measurements, can provide valuable tools to drive crop improvement.

Accurate and regularly updated information regarding the cultivated area of rice, along with forecasts and harvested yields, is indispensable for governments in making informed decisions related to food security, natural resource management, agricultural productivity, and insurance. The RIICE technology approach, tailored for Mali's rice-based systems, has demonstrated its capability to intricately map rice areas and accurately determine the start of growing seasons.

The CWANA (Central and West Asia and North Africa) region was once considered the birthplace of civilizations and played a significant role in sustaining ancient empires like the Romans through its agricultural productivity. The area is characterized by diverse agroclimatic conditions, which vary across the countries in this extensive region in terms of climate, soil, and topography. Agriculture continues to make a significant contribution to the GDP of many CWANA countries, creating job opportunities and ensuring food security.

The Sustainable Intensification of Mixed Farming Systems (SIMFS) is a CGIAR initiative. This initiative ‘aims to provide equitable, transformative pathways for improved livelihoods of actors in mixed farming systems through sustainable intensification within target agroecological and socioeconomic settings. To achieve this, different methodologies, innovations, and practices have been implemented to understand and improve the agroecological/productive conditions to assess a benefit on nutrition, food security and welfare.