At present, our ability to comprehend the dynamics of food systems and the consequences of their rapid ‘transformations’ is limited. In this paper, we propose to address this gap by exploring the interactions between the sustainability of food systems and a set of key drivers at the global scale.

This report summarizes the main findings and insights obtained from the various agroecological value chain analyses conducted in the different Agroecological Living Landscapes (ALL) that take part of the CGIAR Agroecology Initiative (AE-I).
The document includes a synthesis of 10 value chains analyses in specific subregions from 6 countries, which represent a wide range of political, agroecological, socioeconomic and cultural conditions: a dairy value chain in Burkina Faso;

Maize is the main dietary cereal in Mexico and Central America, with annual per capita consumption between 25.5 and 116.34 kg. Unfortunately, maize is highly susceptible to fungal infestation in the field, either through systemic infections or wounds caused by farm equipment, birds or insects. Field infestations can be exacerbated by bad postharvest handling practices. Proliferation of fungi on maize grains can alter physical appearance, taste and chemical composition, including accumulation of toxic fungal metabolites known as mycotoxins.

Across a wide range of inequality measures, survey data measure lower levels of inequality in 2019/20 compared to a decade earlier in 2010/11. The latest survey data put Malawi’s Gini Coefficient at 0.38. The 20% richest households consume about half of the country’s total consumption. The poorest 20% account for only 6% of total consumption. Differences between districts or regions are not the primary contributors to inequality. Differences across households within the same region or district contribute much more to total inequality.

The focus of research on international trade has recently shifted from industries and countries to firms. Firm heterogeneity is shown to be a determinant of trade at both the intensive margin (increase exports per firm/product) and extensive margins (the number of firms exporting – new products, new partners, new varieties, and new prices). It is now widely accepted that exporting firms are larger, comparatively productive, more skilled, and capital-intensive, and pay higher wages than non-exporting firms.

This brief identifies important constructs for assessing drivers of food choice behaviors and describes progress on the development of a repository of instruments and measures for assessing these constructs.
OBJECTIVES

List constructs that can be assessed to understand drivers of household and individual food choice behaviors.
Identify instruments and measures to assess each food choice construct and organize these into a searchable repository.
Illustrate the use of the Food Choice Repository.

Knowledge of genetic diversity in plant germplasm and the relationship between genetic factors and phenotypic expression is vital for crop improvement. This study’s objectives were to understand the extent of genetic diversity and population structure in 60 common bean genotypes from East and Southern Africa. The common bean genotypes exhibited significant (p<0.05) levels of variability for traits such as days to flowering (DTF), days to maturity (DTM), number of pods per plant (NPP), number of seeds per pod (NSP), and grain yield per hectare in kilograms (GYD).

This study measures the economic contribution of International Rice Research Institute’s (IRRI) Germplasm Health Unit (GHU) to a breeding program that aims to avert yield losses from rice blast disease (Pyricularia oryzae Cavara) in Bangladesh. We first conceptualize the general pathways through which SHU contributes to the impact of international agricultural research.

Local agrobiodiversity in remote areas such as the Moroccan High Atlas is poorly studied, despite being of great importance for the sustainability and resilience of mountainous populations. This includes important species such as wheat (Triticum spp.), barley (Hordeum vulgare), fava beans (Vicia faba), peas (Pisum sativum), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa). This study aimed to better understand varietal naming by farmers and the traits they use for assessing the current diversity of the five species, in 22 locations, distributed across three hubs of the High Atlas.

Cassava-maize intercropping is a common practice among smallholder farmers in Southern Nigeria. It provides food security and early access to income from the maize component. However, yields of both crops are commonly low in farmers’ fields. Multi-locational trials were conducted in Southern Nigeria in 2016 and 2017 to investigate options to increase productivity and profitability through increased cassava and maize plant densities and fertilizer application.

Introduction: Agroforestry plays a vital role in maintaining and developing the resilience and productivity of farms and landscapes. Scientific evidence from the Sahel region suggests that integration of trees and shrubs has the potential to improve temperature and moisture levels whilst providing bio-based fertilizer that contributes to increased yields of annual crops. However, little is known about the factors that influence the diô€€€usion of agroforestry.

Global biodiversity hotspots are areas containing high levels of species richness, endemism
and threat. Similarly, regions of agriculturally relevant diversity have been identified where many
domesticated plants and animals originated, and co-occurred with their wild ancestors and relatives.
The agro-biodiversity in these regions has, likewise, often been considered threatened. Biodiversity
and agro-biodiversity hotspots partly overlap, but their geographic intricacies have rarely been