As the problems of impact assessement are rather intractable, a fairly simple dual approach is proposed. First the major components of environmental impact of current agricultural production systems in Africa (i.e. impact of cropping, livestock keeping, fuelwood and timber extraction and burning) are summarised. Second, "danger zones" in which current and future environmental impacts will be most severe and on which ILCA has focused its problem solving-research is identified.

In many developing countries, smartphone and internet usage has become a revolution for the population and has opened up many possibilities to use new services for communication purposes. For researchers and development organizations, it is now possible to engage more directly with beneficiaries during the implementation phase of a project. However, many regions still face the problem of a non-existent or unreliable internet connection, which is why mobile applications have to be able to work offline as well as online.

This introductory paper raises general issues and poses questions that are pursued in the other papers. The initial premise of this paper is that impact cannot be discussed in isolation from the broader context of research and development and the overall priorities guiding the centres research, training, and networking activities.