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.

Anthropogenic activities profoundly impact soil organic carbon (SOC), affecting its contribution to ecosystem services such as climate regulation. Here, we conducted a thorough review of the impacts of land-use change, land management, and climate change on SOC. Using second-order meta-analysis, we synthesized findings from 230 first-order meta-analyses comprising over 25,000 primary studies.

This research brief comprises two case studies about carbon farming projects which are currently running in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Telangana.

The main objective of this action was to co-identify technological and institutional innovations that can be implemented within the agroecology living landscapes (ALLs) to facilitate the agroecological transition with specific reference to pre-selected value chains. The action also aimed to co-develop the action to be implemented in the ALLs by the farmers. This co-development capacitated all stakeholders and built confidence to use local resources to solve local problems.

This work offers a synthesis of the current digital technologies available for coffee that are relevant to the context of Honduras and
Guatemala. It results from desk research considering current literature (grey and academic) and interviews with actors selling

The adoption of sustainable agricultural mechanization (SAM) can sustainably increase productivity, and increase ecosystem resilience. Thirty (30) baby trials and One mother trial were established to expand access to smallholder farmers to SAM technologies and generate and share scientific evidence on the performance of SAM technologies, services and information in Ghana. The demonstration trials utilize participatory research and extension approaches by using existing partnerships.

Humanity is challenged with making progress toward global biodiversity, freshwater, and climate goals, while providing food and nutritional security for everyone. Our current food and land-use systems are incompatible with this ambition making them unsustainable. Papers in this special feature introduce a participatory, integrated modeling approach applied to provide insights on how to transform food and land-use systems to sustainable trajectories in 12 countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Finland, India, Mexico, Rwanda, Sweden, the UK, and USA.

The field monitoring activities within the partner network play a crucial role in understanding the territory, production systems, and socio-economic conditions in communities. This knowledge enables effective support for partners, facilitating better interventions. The close relationship between technicians and producers, backed by a supportive team, fosters shared interventions, considering both local knowledge and technical expertise. Identifying production issues and leveraging community experiences with crops, yields, pests, and diseases further enhances collaboration.

Maize is the staple food of most households in sub-Saharan Africa. The adoption of stress-tolerant maize varieties (STMV) is being promoted due to climate change. There are various methods applied to disseminate these varieties. Unfortunately, the adoption at the household level is still unsatisfactory. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the dissemination methods used in Benin. We identified dissemination methods from key informants involved in STMV seed dissemination projects.

Mungbean is an important pulse crop in Bangladesh, where it is primarily grown in the south by small and marginal farming households who produce two-thirds of the total national mungbean crop. Mungbean is a short-duration crop which requires only 60-65 days from planting to harvest. It is typically grown between February and May with few inputs or intensive management, and is thus growing in popularity in southern Bangladesh.

This study describes what did and did not work in the prioritization of preferred traits within the value chain of yam and associated food products (boiled and pounded yam) in Nigeria. Demand-led breeding protocols have enhanced participatory methods along gender lines to increase the clarity of information on the yam traits preferred by farmers and other end users.

Background
The social science and agribusiness research program at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has supported the Institute’s research and delivery efforts since 1967. This Compendium highlights the main achievements of IITA’s social science and agribusiness research over the 55 years from 1967 to 2022.
Methodology