Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges confronting our global system today. The scientific community has clearly established that global temperatures are rising and the consequences of climate change may swiftly transition from an environmental risk to an economic threat. Agriculture sector is particularly vulnerable to changes in weather and climatic condition. Over 60% of the yield variability is chalked up to to climate change; significantly affecting food production and farmer income.

Nigeria’s agrifood system (AFS) diagnostic results
Nigeria’s AFS lacked transformation between 2009 and 2019
• Primary agriculture is larger than off-farm AFS and its share in total GDP did not fall
• Off-farm share of AgDP+ barely changed over time AFS growth has been mainly driven by domestic-market-oriented value chains
• Less-traded value chains dominated the AFS both in terms their size and contribution to AFS GDP growth
• Domestic consumption patterns (and changing diets) are therefore important drivers of agricultural transformation

Irrigation expansion is critical for agricultural and rural development, food and nutrition security, and climate change adaptation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Lack of accessible energy for irrigation development due to limited off- and on-grid infrastructure and the resulting dependence on costly fuel-based irrigation have been key inhibiting factors for irrigation expansion in the region. Off-grid solar-powered irrigation pumps (SIPs) can overcome many of the energy access and other challenges in the region, but their uptake has been slow.

Key messages
• Population growth, changing diets, and a rapidly growing feed sector are contributing to a sharp increase in global maize demand which is expected to double by 2050 relative to 2010.
• Average global maize yield is projected to decrease by 11% under a global warming scenario of 2.0 °C (2060-2084) relative to the 1986–2005 period (in the absence of technological change, adaptation, or market adjustments).

Drylands occupy more than 40% of the world’s land area and are home to some two billion people. This includes a disproportionate number of the world’s poorest people, who live in degraded and severely degraded landscapes. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification states on its website that 12 million hectares are lost annually to desertification and drought, and that more than 1.5 billion people are directly dependent on land that is being degraded, leading to US$42 billion in lost earnings each year.

The only specialized multilateral development institution focused exclusively on rural development, IFAD has successfully used agriculture as a means of poverty reduction – contributing ~USD 22 billion in funding to date1 . About 90% of IFAD's portfolio is focused on Low to Middle Income (LMI) countries. IFAD stands out with its nutrition and gender-sensitive lenses coupled with investments in climate resilient agriculture – mainstreaming nutrition, gender, and climate change work in agriculture.

Livelihood diversification has become an integral focus of policies and investments aiming to reduce poverty, vulnerability, and pressure on fishery resources in coastal communities around the globe. In this regard, coastal fisheries in the Pacific Islands have long been a sector where livelihood diversification has featured prominently. Yet, despite the widespread promotion and international investment in this strategy, the ability of externally funded livelihood diversification projects to facilitate improved resource management and rural development outcomes often remains inconsistent.

Cattle play an important role in rural livelihoods and the economies of developing countries, especially regarding food and nutrition security and producer welfare. Cattle support poverty alleviation by building resilience and strengthening the livelihoods of large numbers of rural people: over half a billion poor farmers depend on cattle globally.

Palm oil is an important commodity contributing to livelihoods of many communities, GDP of governments and the achievement of several sustainable development goals (SDG) including no poverty, zero hunger, and decent work and economic growth. However, its cultivation and continuous expansion due to high and increasing demand has led to many negative effects and subsequent calls to make production sustainable. To this end, information is needed to understand the negative and positive impacts on both the environment and human wellbeing to respond appropriately.

The effect of an unproductive investment could be detrimental to the investor, especially when is a dairy farmer investor who depend on earnings and may distort the productivity effort if is not approached with caution. Anyone who wish to invest in dairy farming must choose wisely, think independently to avoid follow the crowd. Ideal investment decisions in dairy would starts by best choice of breeds, feeds availability, affordability and accessibility, knowledge in proper animal husbandry and proper handling and marketing of animal products.

In Ghana, women participation in the small ruminant value chain as a poverty reduction strategy is increasing. However, fodder of good nutritive value is relatively unavailable. Considering this need, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) has been using its Climate-Smart Village (CSV) approach to test and promote the adoption of climate-smart agricultural (CSA) interventions such as the management of useful fodder tree and shrub species.

Although agriculture is the backbone of the African economy, it has faced considerable challenges in the past sixty years. Africa has moved from being a self-sufficiency continent before the 1960s, to net food importers, with a handful of countries facing severe food shortages from drought, desertification, climate change and wars. In this article, we use the case of Northern Ghana to explore some of the salient dynamics that have resulted in the current crisis in the African agricultural sector over time.