THE GFAR BLOG

By CGIAR Unemployment is a major issue among African youth, who constitute the largest population segment, yet often feel marginalized from the economic mainstream. Despite their best efforts, many young people find little means to meet their expectations for a better life or contribute to their countries’ economies. Higher education has grown faster than the economies they were intended to support, leaving large numbers of recent … More Youth Agripreneurs Program engages African youths into agribusiness, creating over 1 million jobs

By Vivian Atakos and Marc Ghislain, International Potato Center Successful innovation for agriculture will depend on thorough and careful understanding of the aspirations of beneficiaries and the challenges farmers face. It entails putting them at the center of these innovations. In Kabale, approximately 410 kilometres (by road), south-west of Kampala —the capital of Uganda —  and … More Defeating potato late blight with farmers’ help in Uganda

By the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Dutika Pujari, Hemanti Pujari, Pramila Gopal, and Dharani Gopal are farmers that have something in common: they all endeavored to improve their well-being, social, economic, and health status. Today, they are proud shareholders of the Adarsh Dharmagarh Women Farmers Services Producer Company Ltd (ADWFSPCL) in Kalahandi District in … More With the wind beneath our wings, we soar together and higher

GFAR’s Coordinator of the initiative on Forgotten Foods – Alessandro Meschinelli, responds to questions about ‘Participatory Innovation Development’ with excerpts from Rural Innovation Specialist and author, Laurens Van Veldhuizen. Why should we promote farmer participation? “Throughout the various new fashions that have shaped rural development programs over the past decades, increasing emphasis has been laid … More Handing over the reins back to the farmers

By Dr Monica Kansiime, Scientist-Agricultural Economist, CABI A CABI study brief has shown that three years on, the Good Seed Initiative is still reaping rewards for farmers in Tanzania. The study entitled Perspectives on sustainability of smallholder seed enterprises: a case study of African indigenous vegetables in Tanzania reveals how this initiative was instrumental in … More Three years on, the Good Seed Initiative still reaps rewards for farmers in Tanzania

By Karel Charvat, WirelessInfo and Hana Kubickova, Plan4all Since 2016, the INSPIRE Hackathon organized by Plan4all has served as a collaborative event for developers, researchers, designers and others interested in open data, volunteered geographic information and citizen observatories. The event brings together specialists from across disciplinary backgrounds to form teams around a problem or idea, … More New digital tools to support African farmers created at INSPIRE Hackathons

By Smallholder Agribusiness Partnerships Programme (SAPP) The impacts of climate change on agriculture and food security are now widely known. Severe and unpredictable weather is leading to a decline in the production and quality of crops, increased crop damages, land degradation, greater pest and disease outbreaks, salt accumulation in soils and is obstructing the pollination … More Helping pepper farmers in Sri Lanka adapt to the impacts of climate change

By CGIAR Climate change affects every aspect of agriculture, from changes in weather patterns to soil quality and availability of water. It exacerbates social and economic inequalities and threatens to backtrack global progress on sustainable development, including goals to end poverty and hunger.   Innovations for climate adaptation and mitigation are a major focus for CGIAR scientists and their partners around … More Using climate-smart innovations for adaptation and mitigation

By the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation For people in many parts of the world, bamboo is already an everyday sight. But this tall, fast-growing woody perennial, which covers more than 35 million hectares of land across Africa, Asia and the Americas, can also be a key part of climate-smart farming practices. Bamboo agroforestry meets … More How farming with bamboo can combat climate change

By Aanchal Saxena, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) “When we address degraded lands, we also address water scarcity. Augmenting water supply, enhancing water recharge, slowing down water run-off and retaining moisture in the soil are all parts of holistic land and water strategy.” – Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India at … More Building a climate-resilient agriculture structure in India

By Jeff Bentley, Agro-Insight The yapuchiris of Bolivia are often able to accurately predict frost, hail, and rainfall patterns months in advance, but how will climate change impact their predictions and impact harvests? Yapuchiris are expert farmer-researcher-extensionists on the semi-arid, high plains of Bolivia. At 4000 meters above sea level (over 13,000 feet), seasoned farmers … More Validating local knowledge of weather and forecasts for planting

By The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) Evans Ochuto surveys the bright pink plume of the unusual crop on his farm. Next to a giant pumpkin and some healthy-looking green vegetable leaves, the crop, he explains, is the indigenous food Amaranth. Researchers have found that African leafy vegetables contain a wealth … More Banking on indigenous seed: investing in a healthier future

By CGIAR From a total of 391,000 known plant species, 5,538 are known to have been used for human food since the origin of agriculture. And of the 1,097 plants now recognized as vegetables, only a fraction is commercialized and widely eaten. The reduction of agricultural biodiversity in global food systems is of increasing concern, … More Putting farro, quinoa, and rocket back on the table

In pursuit of productivity, the global food system has become focused on a few staple crops. This has not only left consumers with fewer choices for healthy diets, but also sidelined a wealth of nutritious and resilient food crops around the world. But while they may have been forgotten by formal research systems, these hundreds … More Forgotten foods: forgotten by science, but not by farmers

By Duncan Turnbull, Pomeroon Moringa has long been a staple for both people and livestock across Southeast Asia. However in recent years it has found its way to the breakfast smoothies of America’s Millennials. In moringa’s largest reincarnation, this popular food supplement can bring important economic benefits to smallholder farmers across the globe. High in … More Moringa: The ancient food staging a comeback

Viviana Palmieri, Executive Secretary of FORAGRO speaks with GFAR’s Valeria Pesce about leading the Collective Action on Inclusive Digital Transformation of Agriculture, the challenges and opportunities facing farmers and how to ensure inclusivity is key. Valeria: Why did FORAGRO propose a Collective Action on Inclusive Digital Agriculture and what is the importance for you of … More Why we’re launching a Collective Action on Inclusive Digital Transformation of Agriculture starting in Latin America

By Farm Radio International At Farm Radio International, we field the question “why radio” more often than we care to admit. And, in a world where apps, blockchain, and artificial intelligence are exciting new ways of improving agriculture, we get it. Our work looks a little like this: organizations often come to us with a … More How to ensure farmers are not left behind in the digital transformation of agriculture

By Ruthie Musker, Project Officer – Data Policy & Practice at CABI, and Fiona Smith, Independent Contractor for CABI Access to data on soil health, agronomy and fertilizer based upon FAIR could be a ‘game changer’ in helping to create greater food security within Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia who are already battling with the … More A range of incentives could help open up free access to FAIR data in agriculture

By Valeria Pesce (GFAR), Chris Addison (formerly CTA), Foteini Zampati (GODAN Sometimes—perhaps often—we who work in research for development ask ourselves if and how our findings will get picked up, “taken off the shelf”, to help make a difference on the ground. In GFAR we ask how our partners’ concerns and the findings that emerge from our collaborations can make it into the dialogues and hard-hitting reports of influential organizations. We are thrilled to see this is the case with a newly … More From niche to known: findings on farm data sharing from Partners in GFAR reflected in World Bank book