IFPRI Malawi Monthly Maize Market Report, May 2025

Highlights Retail prices of maize bottomed out in May. Prices rose in southern Malawi despite continued imports. Maize retailed below the government-mandated price in 25 out of 26 monitored markets

Capacity strengthening of Post Graduates in climate smart agricutlure and climate information services

Climate change poses persistent challenges to agricultural productivity, food security, and rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in rice-based systems where millions of smallholder farmers are vulnerable to climate variability. As part of its commitment to strengthening human capital and advancing climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and climate information services (CIS), the Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project supported ten post-graduate researchers to conduct applied field research in Mali between January and June 2025. The research covered ten priority themes, including the integration of CSA technologies and CIS, gender-responsive innovations such as GEM parboiling, diversification with vegetables and tubers, water and nutrient management, rice-fish systems, innovation platforms, and climate suitability assessments. Findings demonstrated that combined adoption of CSA and CIS significantly improved rice yields, farm incomes, water productivity, food consumption scores, and adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers. Studies also highlighted key enablers for adoption, such as access to training, digital platforms for delivering geo-specific CIS, and inclusive innovation platforms that foster multi-stakeholder collaboration. The program not only generated critical evidence to inform policy and scaling strategies but also strengthened the technical, analytical, and leadership capacities of a new cadre of early-career scientists. The results underscore the importance of integrated approaches that combine technological, institutional, and social innovations to enhance resilience, productivity, and inclusiveness in rice-based systems under climate change. The report concludes with policy recommendations to support sustained scaling of CSA and CIS innovations while strengthening national research capacities in Mali and beyond

Climate-smart forage and feed actions: Exploring sustainable forage and feed practices for enhanced livestock nutrition, agricultural productivity, environmental health and climate resilience

Ahead of SB62 in June 2025, the African Group of Negotiators Experts Support (AGNES) convened a pre-SB62 strategy meeting from 25th to 28th February 2025 to deliberate and prepare a common African position on the Global Goal on Adaptation, climate finance, gender, and agriculture. The session emphasised the urgency of strengthening implementation strategies, securing climate finance, and building cross-sectoral partnerships to advance effective and lasting climate action across the continent. This presentation, delivered by Dr Laura Cramer, gave an overview of climate-smart, AICCRA-validated technologies for integrated forage production, offering livestock farmers practical tools to adapt to a changing climate. The presentation covered a range of topics, including climate-smart livestock management, the importance of cultivated forage, forage integration into existing farm systems, forage production in degraded areas, benefits of fodder trees, livestock feed requirements and improved troughs, and smart seed bundles. The practical nature of the presentation was well received, underlining the value of accessible, scalable innovations in advancing Africa’s CSA agenda

AICCRA support enables West and Central African planning for effectively managing crop pest and disease outbreaks

Responding to CORAF demand, AICCRA technical support and capacity development on foresight analysis has enabled co-developing the Regional Plan for Preparedness and Response to Pest and Disease Outbreaks in West and Central Africa. Launched jointly by the Economic Community of both West and Central African States (ECOWAS and ECCAS), the Plan will strengthen agricultural resilience by anticipating and swiftly responding to disease and pest outbreaks that affect regional food systems

Unveiling the Potential: is the private sector poised to revolutionize the solar irrigation market in Ethiopia?

The significance of small-scale solar irrigation is well documented. However, the understanding of its adoption and scaling remains to be seen. Using solar-powered pump technology in Ethiopia as a case study, we aim to investigate the factors influencing technology adoption and the private sector's emergence to take over the market. We used a systemic perspective to analyze the multifaceted aspects influencing the enabling environment. This study shows that actors' engagement in promoting solar irrigation technologies has converged. In particular, the growing and continuous engagement of the private sector with other key stakeholders plays a significant role. These have improved users’ awareness of solar irrigation over the years. However, perceived risk, cost barriers, financial constraints, and pre-and post-sales services remain hindering factors. The findings show that policy initiatives and the private sector's growth can create enabling environments. However, challenges related to limited technology availability, financial constraints, and policy implementation hurdles can impede the process. Addressing these challenges can create an environment that enables the adoption and scaling of solar-powered pumps and private-sector investments in Ethiopia’s irrigation innovations

Biological nitrogen fixation in farming systems of the tropics

This book is the proceedings of a symposium held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria in Oct. 1975. It is divided into sections on general considerations (3 papers); legumes in farming systems of the tropics (4 papers); ecology and physiology of rhizobia (6 papers); nitrogen fixation in legumes (7 papers); non-legume sources of biological N in nature (6 papers); and measuring N gains and losses in farming systems (4 papers). The following are noted

Advancing agroecology and dietary diversity in Vihiga: Bioversity International's instrumental collaboration on the county's first agroecology policy 2024

In August 2024, the County Government of Vihiga launched a public consultation on its new Agroecology Policy, developed with the active participation of Bioversity International. Over the past decade, Bioversity International has facilitated an integrated community-based approach, leading to the establishment of a community seed bank in Vihiga for traditional leafy vegetables, benefitting 8,500 farmers. As a result, 85% of Vihiga County farmers diversified their farms and 75% reported better diets and incomes, ultimately influencing the design of the county-level Agroecology Policy [13,14,18,19]