Many young researchers working in plant protections lacks skills and knowledge on pest and disease
surveillances, identification, disease/pest measurements, pest and disease dynamics, Integrated Pest and
Disease Management (IPDM) options and different aspects of conducting plant protection research and

Food legumes play an important role in Morocco's agricultural landscape. They cover approximately 270,000 hectares, representing 4% of the total agricultural area. The productivity of food legumes has persistently remained low and variable, primarily attributed to the susceptibility of the crop to environmental stresses, diseases, insect pests, and parasitic weeds.

Temperate food legumes (faba bean, chickpea, field pea and lentil) are important food and feed crops in West Asia, north and East Africa regions. The productivity of legume crops is affected by Aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum and Aphis fabae) and pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera).

Women are key stakeholders in sustainable and resilient food systems, given their roles as primary food producers and household caretakers (Visser and Wangu 2021). Understanding how gendered roles affect food security and women’s well-being is essential for pursuing sustainable development (Angel-Urdinola and Wodon 2010; Doss, Meinzen-Dick, and Quisumbing 2018; Meinzen-Dick et al. 2019).

Agriculture is key to economic growth and poverty reduction in Kenya as it plays a pivotal role in employment creation, food security, exports, and sustainable development. In 2019, it directly contributed 22.7 percent of GDP, accounted for 20.9 percent of total exports, and generated 43.3 percent of employment (Chapter 2).

Contract farming is one potential mechanism that smallholder farmers in developing countries can use to participate in and benefit from domestic and global value chains (Okello and Swinton 2007; Barrett et al. 2012; Minot and Sawyer 2016; Ruben 2017; Ton et al. 2017).

The 2010s were a decade of strong economic development in Kenya. Gross domestic product (GDP)—an indicator of the economy’s size—expanded by an average of 5 percent per year (KNBS 2022).

The livestock sector plays a major role in the Kenyan food system, contributing about 12 percent of the country’s overall GDP and 40 percent of agricultural GDP, and employing about half of the agricultural labor force (Kenya Markets Trust 2019a). The livestock sector also contributes 22 percent of food system GDP.

This book has adopted a food systems framework as a new way of conceptualizing and designing food policies and research. Looking beyond agriculture and value chains makes it possible not only to turn food systems into a driver of economic transformation but also to better include health, productivity, resilience, inclusivity, and sustainability as integral parts of system transformation.

Climate change represents a major challenge to food systems. It is associated not only with rising average temperatures but also with less predictable weather and changes in humidity, with severe consequences for agricultural production, input markets, aggregation, processing, distribution, and consumption.

Digital innovation is a key feature in the global and national discourse on food systems transformation.