CGIAR

A $5,500,000 Window 3 grant from USA-United States Agency for International Development to CIMMYT for VACS Capacity

A $230,000 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to CIMMYT for INIT01 - ABI (Accelerated Breeding) - BRS

A $598,772 Bilateral grant from HarvestPlus Solutions to IFPRI for HARVESTPLUS SOLUTIONS (HPS)

A $9,193 Bilateral grant from ILO-International Labour Organization to IFPRI for CRASH COURSE CLIM. CHANGE

A $128,133 Bilateral grant from Germany-GIZ-Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH to IFPRI for BMZ-CGIAR POLICY SEMINAR

A $99,977 Bilateral grant from IDB-Inter-American Development Bank (Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo) to IFPRI for EXPLORE FUTURE TRADE OPP

A $117,000 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IFPRI for INIT-11-EXCELLENCE IN AGRONOMY

A $195,856 Bilateral grant from IBRD-International Bank for Rural Development to IFPRI for STUDY ON SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT APPROACHES TO MITIGATE AGRICULTURE DRIVEN NATURE LOSS

A $100,000 Bilateral grant from FAO-Food and Agriculture Organization to IFPRI for REGIONAL MAPPING OF ANTICIPATORY ACTION CAPACITIES IN THE NENA AGRICULTURE SECTOR

A $40,000 Bilateral grant from IDB-Inter-American Development Bank (Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo) to IFPRI for PERSPECTIVES OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL GROWTH IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (LAC)

A $723,670 Window 3 grant from USA-United States Agency for International Development to IFPRI for EVALUATION OF USAID ADVANCING FOOD FORTIFICATION OPPORTUNITIES TO REINFORCE DIETS (USAID AFFORD)

A $22,750 Bilateral grant from UNICEF-United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund to IFPRI for REVIEW OF POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES FOR PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF ANEMIA IN ADOLESCENT GIRLS AND WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE IN THE SOUTH ASA REGION

A $39,000 Bilateral grant from IBRD-International Bank for Rural Development to IFPRI for UNLOCKING THE POWERFUL TOOLS OF AGRICULTURAL GENOME EDITING TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION

A $40,000 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IFPRI for HOW INVESTING IN THE CGIAR MAKES AMERICA SAFER AND MORE PROSPEROUS

A $75,000 Bilateral grant from NCSU-North Carolina State University to IFPRI for ACCELNET IMPLEMENTATION PHASE 1: INTERNATIONAL NETWORK OF NETWORKS (S2S-ACCELNET) FOR ACCELERATING S2S HYDROCLIMATE FORECAST APPLICATIONS AND SERVICES

A $44,550 Bilateral grant from IBRD-International Bank for Rural Development to IFPRI for DATA SERVICES FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE COUNTRY WISE IRRIGATION WATER USE AND AVAILABILITY.

A $200,000 Bilateral grant from IBRD-International Bank for Rural Development to IFPRI for WB-MENA FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY FORESIGHT ANALYSIS

A $100,000 Bilateral grant from CropLife International to IFPRI for SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT AND COORDINATION OF GENOME EDITING ACTIVITIES ACROSS AFRICA, 2025

A $229,000 Bilateral grant from Novo Nordisk Foundation to CIMMYT for Preparing the playbook of the BNI-wheat mission pipeline project

A $162,850 Bilateral grant from Australia-GRDC-Grains Research and Development Corporation to CIMMYT for UOS2301-003RTX - ACRCP Phase 5: Optimising genetic control of wheat rusts through high value resista

A $128,260 Bilateral grant from United Kingdom-MET OFFICE to CIMMYT for Strengthening Wheat Disease Early Warning Systems in South A

A $5,369,598 Window 3 grant from USA-United States Agency for International Development to IFPRI for FTF CLIMATE GENDER NUTRI.

A $2,080,170 Window 3 grant from USA-United States Agency for International Development to IFPRI for WOMENS EMPOWERMENT-W3

A $423,000 Window 3 grant from USA-United States Agency for International Development to IFPRI for SOUTH ASIA BIOSAFETY-2019

A $2,450,000 Window 3 grant from USA-United States Agency for International Development to IFPRI for BIOSAFETY SYS TRANS SUPP

A $500,000 Window 3 grant from BMGF-Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to IFPRI for MODELING AG ADAPT

A $5,919,813 Window 3 grant from BMGF-Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to IFPRI for ASTI Phase III

A $5,207,129 Window 3 grant from BMGF-Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to IFPRI for Global Futures-Ph. 2

A $70,756,850 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IFPRI for CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)

A $64,185,160 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IFPRI for CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

A $184,000 Window 3 grant from Japan-Ministry of Foreign Affairs to IRRI for Japan Unrestricted

A $135,000 Bilateral grant from Indonesia-Ministry of Agriculture to IRRI for Indonesia Unrestricted Grant

A $133,000 Bilateral grant from Philippines-Department of Agriculture to IRRI for Philippine Unrestricted Grant

A $30,000 Bilateral grant from Vietnam-Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to IRRI for Vietnam Unrestricted Grant

A $300,000 Window 3 grant from Bangladesh-Ministry of Agriculture to IRRI for Bangladesh Unrestricted Grant

A $270,000 Window 3 grant from China-Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to IRRI for CAAS Unrestricted Grant

A $242,000 Bilateral grant from University of Zurich to IRRI for Improvement of broad-spectrum disease resistance in rice: how a comprehensive study of natural rice diversity can help to reduce crop losses in developing countries (funded by SNSF)

A $39,000 Bilateral grant from University of Sheffield to IRRI for Tropical Field Testing Rice

A $492,000 Bilateral grant from University of Sheffield to IRRI for Climate ready rice: Optimising transpiration to protect rice yields under abiotic stresses (funded by BBSRC)

A $153,000 Bilateral grant from University of California to IRRI for Plant Genome Editing Nanotechnologies for Amylopectin Downregulation in Rice

A $320,000 Bilateral grant from New York University to IRRI for Uncovering the molecular mechanisms that integrate nutrient and water dose sensing and impact crop production

A $291,770 Bilateral grant from New York University to IRRI for RESEARCH-PGR: Systems Genomics of Rice Stress Adaptation (funded by NSF)

A $261,000 Bilateral grant from TEIN Cooperation Center to IRRI for RICESTATS DATABASE: Leveraging the Cloud for Rice Statistics and Analytics

A $91,000 Bilateral grant from SRP-Sustainable Rice Platform Members to IRRI for Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) - Conference and Consultants

A $92,000 Bilateral grant from Rothamsted Research Limited to IRRI for Genetic improvement of rice seed vigour for dry direct-seeded conditions (funded by BBSRC)

A $690,000 Bilateral grant from AXA Research Fund to IRRI for AXA Chair in Genome Biology and Evolutionary Genomics

A $1,868,110 Window 3 grant from USA-United States Agency for International Development to CIMMYT for United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

A $186,701 Bilateral grant from NIAB-The National Institute of Agricultural Botany to CIMMYT for Isolation of genetic variation for flowering morphology for hybrid wheat production

A $3,000,000 Bilateral grant from IFS-IRRI Fund Singapore to IRRI for The Best Young Minds for Food Security. Securing the Global Rice Supply by Building and New Generation of Rice Scientists (funded by Lee Foundation)

A $11,000,000 Bilateral grant from India-Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to IRRI for Establishment of IRRI South Asia Regional Center (ISARC)

A $336,000 Bilateral grant from Germany-Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to IRRI for Improving conservation of rice genetic resources in the genebank (BMZ Attributed Funding for 2018)

A $7,000,000 Bilateral grant from GCDT-Global Crop Diversity Trust to IRRI for Long-term Partnership between GCDT and IRRI's Harnessing Rice Genetic Diversity to Accelerate Impact Theme

A $1,172,000 Bilateral grant from FAO-Food and Agriculture Organization to IRRI for Coordination of the Design and Development of the Global Information System on PGRFA Project (Loan of an Expert to FAO)

A $200,000 Bilateral grant from Australia-CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation to IRRI for Directed Search for Broad Spectrum Disease Resistance Alleles in Cereals (funded by BMGF)

A $709,000 Bilateral grant from ADB-Asian Development Bank to IRRI for Investment Assessment and Application of High-Level Technology for Food Security in Asia and the Pacific

A $573,000 Window 3 grant from China-Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to IRRI for CAAS-IRRI Joint Laboratory on Genomics-Assisted Germplasm Development

A $1,658,000 Window 3 grant from EC-European Commission to IRRI for Improved crop management and strengthened seed supply system for drought-prone rainfed lowlands in South Asia under the Programme Putting Research into Use for Nutrition, Sustainable Agriculture and Resilience (PRUNSAR) (the “Project”) (funded by EC)

A $205,000 Window 3 grant from China-Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to IRRI for China Attribution

A $1,651,000 Window 3 grant from BMGF-Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to IRRI for IRRI: Institutional Evaluation

A $12,500,000 Window 3 grant from BMGF-Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to IRRI for Transforming Rice Breeding

A $32,770,000 Window 3 grant from BMGF-Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to IRRI for STRASA Phase III – Stress-Tolerant Rice for Africa and South Asia

A $3,360,000 Window 3 grant from BMGF-Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to IRRI for Rice Monitoring System for South Asia (Phase II)

A $120,000 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IRRI for Seed Quality Management workshop held by IRRI and Crop Trust (Genebank Conservation Module)

A $60,000 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IRRI for DOIs mainstreaming and data curation (Genebank Use Module)

A $30,000 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IRRI for GRIN Global (Genebank Conservation Module)

A $19,500 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IRRI for Impact Evaluation of the International Rice Genebank (2018/2020 Genebank Impact Fellowship program: Donald Villanueva)

A $100,000 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IRRI for Sub-setting (Genebank Use Module)

A $200,000 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IRRI for Data Integration (Genebank Use Module)

A $564,000 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IRRI for Capital Purchase Plan (Genebank Conservation Module)

A $340,000 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IRRI for Other PPA Activities - Germplasm Health Unit (GHU) (Genebank Conservation Module)

A $880,000 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IRRI for Routine - W1/W2 (Genebank Conservation Module)

A $62,757,000 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to IRRI for Rice Agri-Food Systems CRP, RICE (GRiSP Phase II)

A $46,156,000 Windows 1 & 2 grant from CGIAR Fund to CIFOR for CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees, and Agroforestry: Landscapes, Livelihoods and Governance

A $200,000 Bilateral grant from OFID-OPEC Fund for International Development to ICARDA for Mainstreaming Energy- and Labor-saving Traits in Food Legumes for Efficient and Nutritious Agri-food Systems in South Asia

A $2,500,000 Window 3 grant from IFAD-International Fund for Agricultural Development to ICARDA for Enhancing Food and Nutritional Security and Improving Livelihoods through Intensification of Rice-Fallow Systems for Pulse Crops in South Asia (Bangladesh, India and Nepal)

<p class="ql-align-justify">Hunger and severe malnutrition are surging in fragile and conflict-affected settings (FCASs), which often struggle to sustain resilient food, land, and water systems (FLWSs). For the 1.5 billion people living in FCASs (1), livelihood challenges and rising food, fertilizer, and input prices (2) are compounded by climate change, unsustainable resource consumption, poor governance, and weak social cohesion (3,4,5). Conflict and forced migration often result from, and further escalate, these challenges. Economic disruptions, such as those caused by COVID-19 and the Ukraine-Russia War, are sparking the risk of food and nutrition crises and poverty and conflict traps. Nearly 670 million people are projected to face hunger in 2030 — 8 % of the world population, and the same as in 2015 when the 2030&nbsp;Agenda and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched (6). </p><p class="ql-align-justify">By mid-2021, 84 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide; 80% of them experience acute food insecurity and high levels of malnutrition (7,8). Migration is an important development tool; it can support livelihoods, build resilience, and protect against fragility and conflict — particularly for youth (9,10). However, migration can strain FLWSs and create challenges for those left behind — especially women facing increased work burdens alongside insufficient decision-making authority and limited access to key assets and services (11,12). Currently, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) host 83% of the world’s refugees (9). Host communities struggle to provide livelihood opportunities for all; new arrivals often strain local infrastructure and services, put pressure on natural resources and the environment, and increase competition for jobs.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">By 2021, most food crises were due to conflict and insecurity (5). On average, 30% of the population in countries facing protracted crises lives in extreme poverty (<$1.90/day), compared to ~6% in LMICs overall (13). Climate change and social inequalities exacerbate conflict. Climate change is rapidly intensifying, increasing pressure on livelihoods and ecosystems (14). In 2020, about 25% of internally displaced people were displaced by conflict and violence, and the remainder by disasters, mostly weather-related (15). Social inequalities further increase risks of hunger and reduce access to benefits from FLWSs, while serving as structural constraints to stability and peace (16,17, 18). Women are disproportionately negatively affected by shocks and crises and have less access to channels of power and influence that could help them benefit from programming addressing these issues. Failure to address interactions between climate stress and human-made crises will escalate both problems. </p><p class="ql-align-justify">Governments and development organizations demand evidence to address these complex global crises. Poor governance and weak access to basic services, common features of FCASs, severely limit policy effectiveness and require novel solutions. &nbsp;The recent “Global Food Crisis Report 2022” highlighted the need to fill data gaps so that research and evidence guide proposed policy solutions <em>as well as </em>contextually appropriate implementation (5). And the Committee on World Food Security High Level Panel of Experts has called for a globally coordinated response to both address the humanitarian crisis and build more resilient FLWSs (19).</p><p class="ql-align-justify">A systems approach in partnership with those working in FCASs — incorporating women’s and youth’s voices — is needed to devise practical solutions that promote gender equity and social inclusion (GESI). CGIAR is uniquely positioned to generate evidence to support more effective and transformative policies and programming to enhance FLWS resilience in FCASs facing migration-related challenges, and to promote social equity, conflict mitigation, and peacebuilding (20).</p><p><br></p>

<p>Water, land, energy, forests and biodiversity&nbsp;are highly interconnected and critical to nutrition, health and food security (Impact Area, IA1), poverty reduction, livelihoods and jobs (IA2),&nbsp;gender equality, youth and social inclusion (IA3), climate adaptation and mitigation (IA4), and environmental health and biodiversity (IA5) at multiple scales through multiple pathways.<span style="background-color: inherit;">i</span>,<span style="background-color: inherit;">ii</span>,<span style="background-color: inherit;">iii</span>&nbsp;Similarly, the SDGs are systemic, with interdependencies across goals mediated by water, energy, food and ecosystems.<span style="background-color: inherit;">iv</span>&nbsp;</p><p>However, governments,&nbsp;stakeholders&nbsp;and investors struggle to manage systems change in the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus and ensure changes are robust under climate change.&nbsp;NEXUS Gains&nbsp;addresses the challenge of optimizing trade-offs and building synergies to support SDG achievement through transformations in food,&nbsp;land&nbsp;and water systems nexus.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The transboundary nature of basins&nbsp;makes integrated and sustainable management of water, energy,&nbsp;food&nbsp;and&nbsp;ecosystems challenging&nbsp;(Figure 1; WEFE; note for ecosystems the particular focus on forests and biodiversity). Systems thinking helps avoid unintended consequences that would jeopardize sustainability and possibly exacerbate conflict. Good governance across boundaries and sectors requires strong institutions and actors willing to overcome silos and adopt new tools to support nexus approaches.<span style="background-color: inherit;">v</span>,<span style="background-color: inherit;">vi</span>,<span style="background-color: inherit;">vii</span>,<span style="background-color: inherit;">viii</span>&nbsp;</p><p>Governments, investors and local communities are uncertain about where or how best to maintain, restore and improve ecosystems and biodiversity, regenerate agriculture, and support sustainable irrigation, clean energy, and agro-processing needs.<span style="background-color: inherit;">ix</span>&nbsp;Investments are often not coordinated. For instance, investments in water or energy remain&nbsp;often&nbsp;disconnected from policy goals of healthy diets,<span style="background-color: inherit;">x</span> re/afforestation often neglect ecosystem&nbsp;services across scales and socioeconomic development pathways.&nbsp;Women,&nbsp;youth&nbsp;and other vulnerable groups continue to bear the brunt of poorly developed WEFE systems.<span style="background-color: inherit;">xi</span>&nbsp;They struggle to access information, technology and needed skills<span style="background-color: inherit;">xii</span> and are under-represented in leadership and decision-making - a lost opportunity in terms of their contributions toward sustainable and inclusive development pathways.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>South Asia’s breadbasket basins&nbsp;</strong>Ganges and Indus (focus: India, Nepal and Pakistan) are increasingly challenged by ground and surface water abstractions (among the most unsustainable in the world), climate change (among the most vulnerable countries), deforestation, drastic pollution, severe ecosystem degradation and biodiversity<span style="background-color: inherit;">xiii</span>&nbsp;and poor policies, putting 7% of the world’s food production at risk, with potentially devastating impacts on the wellbeing, health and livelihoods of an estimated 1 billion people.<span style="background-color: inherit;">xiv</span>&nbsp;Governments are calling for scaling sustainable and inclusive on-farm water management practices for improved livelihoods and nutrition, and jobs; renewable energy as a priority intervention; nutrition and gender equality in access to safe water for multiple uses are systemic challenges. However, policies are incoherent,&nbsp;fragmented&nbsp;and inefficient.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>In the</strong> <strong>Blue Nile basin </strong>(Ethiopia and Sudan) a rapidly growing population faces increasing food and nutrition insecurity from climate change, demographic change, severe ecosystem degradation and low productivity,<span style="background-color: inherit;">xv</span>&nbsp;lack of irrigation, and energy access. Transboundary conflicts over nexus resources are intense (e.g., GERD)<span style="background-color: inherit;">xvi</span>&nbsp;and growing with development and climatic change.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Aral Sea Basin&nbsp;</strong>needs are similar, where glacial retreat, reliance on fossil fuels, and the depletion of the Aral Sea and other hydrological and ecological changes are aggravated by transboundary water conflicts, jeopardizing the region’s future.&nbsp;</p><p>All focal basins are global hotspots for multi-sector risks based on anticipated stresses from climate change and development paths for the water and energy sectors, crop yields and habitat degradation.<span style="background-color: inherit;">xvii</span>&nbsp;These challenges are surmountable if water, energy,&nbsp;food&nbsp;and ecosystems are managed with an integrated approach.&nbsp;</p><p><span style="color: rgb(60, 64, 67);">&nbsp;</span><strong style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Implementing&nbsp;NEXUS Gains&nbsp;Systems Approach at Basin Scale</strong>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">NEXUS gains&nbsp;examines&nbsp;WEFE systems in transboundary basins of significant international relevance. Upstream/downstream interdependencies will be quantified, and the complexity of intersecting sub-national boundaries for policymaking and management of WEFE resources addressed by building on existing institutional strengths. Dependencies of interventions from farm to watershed to river basin scales will be analyzed to support social equity, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability across scales,&nbsp;sectors&nbsp;and other divides with a focus on gender, age, income and ethnicity.&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The Nexus approach is multicentric, not water centric like integrated water resources management. It aims to connect systems to optimize equitable economic and social welfare and environmental sustainability. Therefore, it considers a broad range of actors and stakeholders to overcome disciplinary and administrative silos. It requires a polycentric and multi-level governance framework, which makes co-development and implementation of nexus solutions challenging as it is interwoven with a complex political economy.</span>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">NEXUS Gains&nbsp;focuses on river basins that combine landscape elements and ecological regions connected by water flows. Water balance parameters as a basis for resource management can be quantified for basins. Natural and anthropogenic characteristics determine responses such as floods and droughts, soil surface and groundwater recharge, changes in water level, wetlands,&nbsp;reservoirs&nbsp;and nutrient and pollution fluxes. Digital models help us&nbsp;understand and quantify system interdependencies and predict future conditions in a changing climate under evolving environmental and societal changes (e.g., water availability for food systems, energy production, forests and other land uses, and Aquatic terrestrial ecosystems).</span>&nbsp;</p>

<p class="ql-align-justify">Our food system is unsustainable. In 2020, between 720 and 811 million people faced <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb4474en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hunger</a>, while one-third of food goes to <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i2697e/i2697e.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">waste</a>. To realize the transformative potential of digital technologies in shifting food-land-water systems toward climate resilience and sustainability, we identified three challenge areas that CGIAR’s multidisciplinary expertise could help address.&nbsp;</p><ol><li class="ql-align-justify"><strong>The digital divide:</strong>&nbsp;The potential of digital technologies is clear, yet their reach is not universal. The Global South – and especially women and rural areas – are underserved by digital technologies&nbsp;and infrastructure. More than 600 million people still live outside of <a href="https://www.gsma.com/r/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/The-State-of-Mobile-Internet-Connectivity-Report-2021.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mobile network coverage</a>, 67%&nbsp;of whom are from Sub-Saharan Africa. Fewer than 40% of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00631-0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">small farms</a> are covered by mobile internet, and only 13% of small farmers in <a href="https://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/101498" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sub-Saharan Africa</a> have ever accessed a digital service. Across low- and middle-income countries, <a href="https://www.gsma.com/r/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/The-Mobile-Gender-Gap-Report-2021.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">women</a> are 15% less likely than men to use mobile internet. <a href="https://www.uneca.org/?q=fr/node/4024#:~:text=The%20State%20of%20Climate%20in%20Africa%20Report%202020%20anticipates%20longer,rate%20than%20the%20global%20average." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Africa</a> has only-one eighth of the minimum density of weather stations recommended to issue timely early warnings. The cost of deploying and maintaining <a href="https://www.gsma.com/r/somic/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rural infrastructure</a> can be two to five times the cost in an urban area, with 10 times less revenue generated. Enabling policies and investments are urgently needed, yet policy makers and investors do not always agree on priorities to address the digital divide.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li class="ql-align-justify"><strong>Inadequate information:</strong>&nbsp;Real-time monitoring of food-land-water systems is possible at a lower cost and a higher accuracy than ever before using <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-141f720bcb" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">digital technologies</a>, yet decision-makers lack access to timely, reliable, and actionable information across the <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Global South</a>. Weak information systems waste <a href="https://publications.iadb.org/en/value-official-statistics-lessons-intergovernmental-transfers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">budget</a>, exacerbate <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jel.20151293" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">poverty</a>, and slow <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20151293" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">economic growth</a>. More than 300 million small-scale producers lack access to <a href="https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/108489/Actions%20to%20Transform%20Food%20Systems%20Under%20Climate%20Change.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">digital climate advisory services</a>, and unmanaged risks hinder producers’ adoption of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2018.05.010" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">improved technologies</a>.<a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i6583e/i6583e.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Existing knowledge</a> is often outdated and difficult to apply in practice. Public, private, and civil society actors are insufficiently coordinated to develop win-win digital solutions leveraging <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">data and technologies</a>. Siloed data do not support evidence-based policy responses that synergistically manage systems-level issues and risks such as price hikes, pest infestations, floods, and droughts.&nbsp;</li><li class="ql-align-justify"><strong>Limited digital capabilities:</strong>&nbsp;Any technological investments should be supplemented by digital capability initiatives that invest in the “soft” infrastructure to foster the <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/959181623060169420/pdf/A-Global-Study-on-Digital-Capabilities.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">digital ecosystem</a> and build <a href="https://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/113555" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">forward-looking skills</a>. Digital literacy and skills levels across the Global South remain <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/ca4887en/ca4887en.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">low</a>, particularly for the most marginalized and food-insecure individuals and communities, such as women. Social norms in many cultural contexts determine <a href="https://www.cgap.org/blog/digital-gender-divide-wont-close-itself-heres-why#:~:text=While%20there%20is%20often%20an,among%20other%20factors%2C%20gendered%20social" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">women’s </a>access to and use of technology, including mobile phones. Promising pilots of decision-support tools exist, yet research, codesign, and capacity strengthening are needed to channel new evidence to decision-makers, tailor digital advisory content, and serve food-water-land systems stakeholders in their risk management decisions.&nbsp;</li></ol>

<p>&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Two generations ago, the challenge facing agriculture was daunting but clear: the world needed to rapidly increase staple food production to meet rising demand. That&nbsp;challenge&nbsp;was&nbsp;largely&nbsp;met but new ones arose, and today the challenges facing food, land and water systems are more numerous and complex: over 700 million people still live in absolute poverty, millions&nbsp;more&nbsp;young people&nbsp;seek jobs&nbsp;every year;&nbsp;nearly&nbsp;2 billion people&nbsp;suffer from moderate or severe food insecurity,&nbsp;while 4 in 10&nbsp;adults globally are&nbsp;overweight or obese; gender gaps persist; natural resources are under stress;&nbsp;and&nbsp;water resources are polluted&nbsp;and depleted&nbsp;(<a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/24797GSDR_report_2019.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(225, 227, 230);">Messerly&nbsp;et al&nbsp;2019</a>;&nbsp;<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">Mahler et al 2021</a>;&nbsp;<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">FAO&nbsp;et al&nbsp;2021</a>;&nbsp;<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">UNEP&nbsp;2012</a>;&nbsp;<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">Our World in Data 2021</a>).&nbsp;Climate change&nbsp;compounds&nbsp;all&nbsp;these challenges, increases uncertainty, and means that we can no longer rely on historical experience to guide decision-making (<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">IPCC&nbsp;2021</a>).&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Addressing these interlinked challenges&nbsp;requires transformation of food, land, and water systems.&nbsp;Transformation means moving from our current state to a fundamentally different state in the future, but what&nbsp;is that desired future state, and what actions are needed to get there? Synergies between impacts are possible, for example between poverty reduction, improved nutrition, and&nbsp;increased equity.&nbsp;But trade-offs between policies and investments to achieve these impacts are often unavoidable, given limited resources and disparate decision-making domains, and the choices facing national governments and their development partners have become increasingly complicated&nbsp;(<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">Hasegawa et al 2018</a>;&nbsp;<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">Balié&nbsp;2020</a>).&nbsp;What is the appropriate balance between self-reliance and global integration,&nbsp;for example,&nbsp;or&nbsp;between immediate welfare gains and long-term sustainability?&nbsp;Decision-makers at global and national levels have expressed their need for better evidence on the&nbsp;questions and&nbsp;challenges they face, which courses of action should be undertaken, and which policies and investments might minimize trade-offs and achieve collective goals (<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/ejb2p52qrun9qrj/Country%20consultation%20on%20Foresight%20and%20Metrics%2025-Aug-2021.pdf?dl=0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">see country stakeholder consultations</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/hz3mw8gylzh8zu9/Regional%20consultation%20on%20Foresight%20and%20Metrics%2027-Oct-2021.pdf?dl=0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">regional&nbsp;stakeholder consultations</a>).&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">These difficult questions&nbsp;highlight&nbsp;the&nbsp;need for cross-cutting capacity to understand system-level interactions and outcomes –&nbsp;across multiple spatial and political scales&nbsp;(from sub-national to global), across multiple time periods&nbsp;(from the next year to the next generation), and across multiple thematic and decision-making domains. A growing body of analysis is exploring future challenges and options to address them, but very often these studies are focused on individual commodities, challenges, locations, or time horizons, and&nbsp;thus&nbsp;miss important interlinkages. Integrated analytical approaches increasingly bring multiple domains together over longer time horizons, but these are typically focused on broad global and regional scales, with insufficient attention to the diverse concerns and needs of low- and middle-income countries&nbsp;(<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">Willet et al 2019</a>;&nbsp;<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">Springmann&nbsp;et al 2018</a>;&nbsp;<a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">Van Zeist et al 2020</a>).&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Building on these methodological advances and combining them with multi-disciplinary scientific expertise and close engagement with decisionmakers offers&nbsp;major opportunities for improvement. Innovative use of data, state-of-the-art analytics, and deep and ongoing dialogue with national,&nbsp;regional&nbsp;and global partners&nbsp;–&nbsp;with particular focus on poor and vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries&nbsp;–&nbsp;offer better insights into alternative transformation pathways that can inform choices and sharpen decision-making today.&nbsp;This is what the Foresight and Metrics&nbsp;Initiative seeks to provide.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

<p class="ql-align-justify">Home to one-quarter of humanity — one-fifth of whom are youth – South Asia has the world’s largest concentration of poverty and malnutrition.^[i] The Green Revolution positioned South Asia to produce one-quarter of the world's consumed food,<strong> </strong>but<strong> the region’s agrifood systems today face formidable poverty reduction, climate change adaptation and mitigation, environmental health and biodiversity challenges. Significant hurdles remain to securing an adequate and affordable supply of diverse foods necessary for sustainable healthy diets (SHDs)</strong>.^[ii] Social, economic, and geographic inequalities create barriers from production to consumption, disproportionately affecting the poor.[iii] Unhealthy food consumption is rising, with many nutritious foods too costly for the poor.^[iv]</p><p class="ql-align-justify">South Asia’s predominantly rice-based farming systems span the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP).^[v] While crucial to food security and political and economic stability<strong>,</strong>^{<strong>[vi]</strong>}<strong> </strong><strong style="color: black;">parts of the IGP are threatened by unsustainable groundwater withdrawal</strong><span style="color: black;"> — the region extracts one-quarter of global groundwater — due to food and energy policy distortions.</span>^[vii] <strong>Natural resource degradation, low resource use efficiency, and agriculturally-based nonpoint</strong> <strong>source air pollution undermine sustainability and human health</strong>.^[viii] South Asia’s farmers are both contributors to and victims of <strong>climate change and extreme weather.</strong>^[ix] In association with off-farm employment opportunities, these issues contribute to <strong>rural out-migration </strong>— particularly of youth — resulting in rising labor scarcity and increased production costs. This in turn <strong>disproportionately affects resource-poor and women farmers</strong>.^[x] Outside of the highly-productive ‘breadbasket’ of the western IGP, many farmers suffer from weak markets, poor access to extension, limited access to irrigation, and insufficient policy support.^[xi] These issues contribute to nearly<strong> 22 million hectares being fallowed </strong>across South Asia following the harvest of the monsoon-season rice crop,^[xii]&nbsp;indicative of a significant missed opportunity sustainable intensification and diversified farm production. </p><p class="ql-align-justify">Many of South Asia’s agricultural policies and the research systems supporting them focus primarily on the production and related value chains of single crops in isolation, with less emphasis on developing an evidence base around the <strong>multisectoral farm, market, and policy interventions</strong> needed to sustainably intensify and diversify farming systems equitably without overstepping environmental boundaries.^[xiii] Although agriculturally-focused nutrition interventions are frequently proposed to improve diets in rural communities, causal linkages between farm production and nutrition are not always direct, underscoring the <strong>need for integrated approaches considering household food production alongside market purchase</strong>.^[xiv] In addition, <strong>poor nutrition awareness</strong> among rural households, low affordability of nutritious diets and <strong>limitations to women’s empowerment</strong> interact to prevent progress.^[xv]</p><p class="ql-align-justify">These obstacles must be overcome through<strong> coordinated efforts to transform agrifood systems in ways that ensure that people can equitably access and consume healthy diets produced within environmental boundaries, while also securing livelihoods</strong> and reducing poverty.^[xvi] <strong>Food systems are urgently needed that generate profits and incentivize farmers to produce nutritious foods, while also reducing prices for consumers purchasing healthy products by shortening and reducing inefficiencies within value chains</strong>.^[xvii] These objectives — which are also governmental and donor priorities in Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and Pakistan — require <strong>coordinated research and action across the public and private sector</strong>.^[xviii] In response, TAFSSA will partner across sectors to generate <strong>actionable evidence spanning the production-to-consumption continuum</strong>. TAFSSA <strong>will also amplify the effects of other CGIAR Initiatives</strong> working in South Asia to <strong>achieve productive, environmentally sound agrifood systems that support equitable access to SHDs</strong>. <span style="color: black;">(</span><em style="color: black;">Additional references and supporting evidence can be found online in </em><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/gje6of3nsrax06q/ANNEX%202.1.pdf?dl=0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Annex 2.1</em></a><span style="color: black;">)</span></p>

<p class="ql-align-justify">This&nbsp;Initiative addresses the&nbsp;<a href="https://cgiar-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/performanceandresult_cgiar_org/EZK1Mrs-xcFDoSsihDRenLUBmJIqamygaqJebCZpLJMRmg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">Sustainable intensification</a>&nbsp;(SI) of&nbsp;<a href="https://cgiar-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/performanceandresult_cgiar_org/EZK1Mrs-xcFDoSsihDRenLUBmJIqamygaqJebCZpLJMRmg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">Mixed farming systems</a>&nbsp;(MFS). By SI, we mean&nbsp;the production of more food on the same piece of land while reducing the negative environmental impact.&nbsp;MFS&nbsp;cover&nbsp;about 2.5&nbsp;billion&nbsp;ha of land globally<span style="background-color: inherit;">i</span>. In the developing world, MFS supply around 75% of milk, 60% of meat,&nbsp;and 41–86% of cereals consumed<span style="background-color: inherit;">ii</span>. These&nbsp;<a href="https://cgiar-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/performanceandresult_cgiar_org/EZK1Mrs-xcFDoSsihDRenLUBmJIqamygaqJebCZpLJMRmg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">farming systems</a>&nbsp;occur in nearly all&nbsp;agro-ecological zones, with an enormous variety of climatic and soil conditions<span style="background-color: inherit;">iii</span>&nbsp;and livelihood patterns<span style="background-color: inherit;">iv</span>.&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">In MFS, livestock provides draft power for crop cultivation and manure to fertilize the soil, while crop residues provide livestock feed. Livestock is sold to compensate for low crop yields in unfavorable years. Mixed systems allow farmers to diversify risk from single crop production, use labor efficiently, access cash, and add value to products. Integrating crops and livestock has the potential to maintain ecosystem function and health, and to help prevent agricultural systems from becoming fragile by enhancing biodiversity and thus increasing capability to absorb shocks to the natural resource base<span style="background-color: inherit;">v</span>.&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Population growth, urbanization, water scarcity, soil degradation, climate change, evolving food consumption patterns, and food price volatility are pressures that act on these systems<span style="background-color: inherit;">vi</span>, deepening inequalities in resource access,&nbsp;and&nbsp;leading&nbsp;to conflict and migration<span style="background-color: inherit;">vii</span>. Social inequalities are a persistent feature of&nbsp;agrifood&nbsp;systems including MFS. They relate to deeply entrenched inequitable norms that produce unfavorable outcomes—&nbsp;primarily for women, youth, and marginalized actors—&nbsp;and obstruct progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)<span style="background-color: inherit;">viii</span>.&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Farmers’&nbsp;local experience and knowledge&nbsp;enable them&nbsp;to adapt to many challenges. However, the increasing speed at which many changes are happening will likely exceed their capacity<span style="background-color: inherit;">ix</span>.&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">The challenges can be mitigated through SI, which responds to the need to both feed growing populations and counteract environmental degradation<span style="background-color: inherit;">x</span>. Sustainable intensification requires integrated systems research to identify context-specific pathways towards resilient, scalable MFS that preserve natural capital, offer equitable benefits for all, and attract young people to venture into profitable agribusinesses. The components of MFS interact both with each other and with the external environment, including climate and landscape<span style="background-color: inherit;">xi</span>. However, there are knowledge gaps on the biophysical and socio-economic interactions and dynamics<span style="background-color: inherit;">xii</span>, which can undermine many development-oriented interventions aiming at driving MFS towards SI.&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">A predominantly commodity and biophysical research approach has been leading to improvements in single system components, but frequently amplifies the&nbsp;<a href="https://cgiar-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/performanceandresult_cgiar_org/EZK1Mrs-xcFDoSsihDRenLUBmJIqamygaqJebCZpLJMRmg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">trade-offs</a>&nbsp;between different livelihood objectives if the interactions between crop, tree, livestock, and social sub-systems are not properly addressed at the appropriate spatial and temporal scales. This has affected the capacity to scale many of the technologies and practices promoted by CGIAR and partners in landscapes dominated by MFS.&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Current research to support SI&nbsp;of&nbsp;MFS is often disconnected, falling short of the effectiveness and scale needed to achieve important global targets such as the SDGs. Also, attention to how SI may (re-)produce inequalities has remained low<span style="background-color: inherit;">xiii</span>. For One CGIAR to make significant contributions that result in multiple desired impacts at sufficiently large scales will require well-coordinated, prioritized,&nbsp;and focused efforts that strategically integrate multiple elements of the sub-systems in MFS. SI&nbsp;of MFS provides a viable avenue to achieve this.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p>

<p>ransformation to a more sustainable and equitable livestock sector in Africa and Asia can secure and enhance the critical role livestock plays to support and improve livelihoods.&nbsp;Livestock is a fast growing, high value agriculture subsector, accounting for 15-80% of&nbsp;agricultural GDP in&nbsp;low and middle-income countries. In Africa and Asia, demand for livestock products is expected to&nbsp;grow 200-300% by 2030 depending on the region and commodity. This provides an opportunity for hundreds of millions of&nbsp;small- to medium-scale livestock&nbsp;producers&nbsp;who can meet the demand&nbsp;and provide nutrient dense foods for their families, countries, and regions.<span style="background-color: inherit;">i</span>&nbsp;The African Development Bank echoes other development leaders<span style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); background-color: inherit;">ii</span><a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: inherit;">﷟HYPERLINK "file:///C:\Users\KMarshall\OneDrive%20-%20CGIAR\Documents\2021%20Various\CGIAR%20Initiative%20on%20'Sustainably%20improving%20livestock%20productivity%20for%20improved%20livelihoods\Proposal%20on%20new%20template\SAPLING%20proposal%20Working%20Doc%20Sept%2028%20submission%20cleaned%20version%20%20KM%202.59%20pm.docx#a"</a>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">iii</span>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">iv</span>&nbsp;in highlighting now as the time to “reposition livestock as a business activity with the potential to significantly improve food and nutrition security and drive inclusive [economic] growth.…”&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">v</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Failing to capitalize on this opportunity and meet demand could lead to a shortfall in livestock-derived foods (LDFs),&nbsp;which are a unique source of high-quality proteins and bioavailable essential&nbsp;micronutrients. Relatively small amounts of LDFs can substantially increase the nutrient adequacy of diets.<span style="background-color: inherit;">vi</span>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">vii</span>&nbsp;But malnutrition remains high in livestock dependent communities.<span style="background-color: inherit;">viii</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>This is in part because productivity is low; annual milk yield of a cow in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia is 6% and 12%, respectively, of a cow in an OECD country. Within production system yield gaps are high for all species.<span style="background-color: inherit;">ix</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;In Ethiopia, for example, there is a 20% yield gap for sheep from genetics alone.<span style="background-color: inherit;">x</span>&nbsp;Widespread constraints to achieving sustainable productivity&nbsp;include:&nbsp;non-optimal use of livestock genetic potential; lack of optimal adaptive and productive livestock genetics; lack of resilient, resource efficient feeds and forages available year-round in sufficient quantity and quality; poor animal health management and husbandry; and a combination of insufficient and underutilized animal health technologies.<span style="background-color: inherit;">xi</span>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xii</span>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xiii</span>&nbsp;These combine to increase pressure on natural resources and GHG emissions intensities.<span style="background-color: inherit;">xiv</span>&nbsp;At the same time, value chain governance structures prevent producers from fully benefiting from markets, investing in sustainable productivity and commercializing their farms.<span style="background-color: inherit;">xv</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Failure to address constraints to livestock productivity and the growing risks from climate change<span style="background-color: inherit;">xvi</span>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xvii</span><span style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">&nbsp;</span>and other shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic<span style="background-color: inherit;">xviii</span>&nbsp;can limit productivity gains while putting sustainability at risk. Increasing yields can contribute to lowering emissions intensities while enhancing livelihoods.<span style="background-color: inherit;">xix</span>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xx</span>&nbsp;But research is needed to better understand trade-offs between productivity, environmental&nbsp;impacts&nbsp;and livelihood outcomes.<span style="background-color: inherit;">xxi</span>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xxii</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Women, who often look after livestock, have limited control over resources and decisions.<span style="background-color: inherit;">xxiii</span>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xxiv</span>&nbsp;Youth, who supplement household&nbsp;labor&nbsp;are marginalized from income-generation opportunities and assets.<span style="background-color: inherit;">xxv</span> Research is needed to identify livestock development solutions that achieve equitable access and benefits.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Advances&nbsp;in improved forages, animal breeding, herd health, and markets have demonstrated sustainable gains in on-farm productivity<span style="background-color: inherit;">xxvi</span>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xxvii</span>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xxviii</span>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xxix</span>&nbsp;but need to reach impact at scale.&nbsp;Bundling combinations of new and scale-ready technical innovations with the right institutional arrangements and policy support has the potential to increase sustainable productivity.<span style="background-color: inherit;">xxx</span>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xxxi</span>&nbsp;But deep and early engagement with stakeholders in iterative co-design approaches is needed to increase impact and accelerate scaling. SAPLING will engage stakeholders to generate&nbsp;evidence on innovation packages that&nbsp;support livestock producers, including women and youth, to transition to sustainable, resilient livelihoods and productive enterprises.&nbsp;This is expected&nbsp;to catalyse investment by public and private sectors and enable a supportive policy environment, enhancing scale potential.<span style="background-color: rgb(225, 227, 230);">30</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p class="ql-align-justify"><strong>Smallholder farming</strong>&nbsp;represents over 80% of the&nbsp;world’s&nbsp;farms and produces around 50% of&nbsp;its&nbsp;food supply&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">i</span>;<span style="background-color: inherit;">ii</span>;<span style="background-color: inherit;">iii</span>.&nbsp;These farming systems are&nbsp;often&nbsp;characterized by degraded soils and/or scarce nutrients and water, low and stagnating crop yields and&nbsp;reduced&nbsp;product quality and profitability&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">iv</span>;<span style="background-color: inherit;">v</span>, exacerbated by climate change, low resource use efficiencies, declining soil health&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">vi</span>;<span style="background-color: inherit;">vii</span>, and gender inequalities&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">viii</span>;<span style="background-color: inherit;">ix</span>, all related to the CGIAR Impact Areas.&nbsp;Smallholder farmers&nbsp;seasonally&nbsp;make critical agronomic decisions regarding&nbsp;crop choice, planting dates,&nbsp;and&nbsp;pest,&nbsp;disease, weed, soil fertility and water&nbsp;management, often based on subpar practices and information.&nbsp;The&nbsp;Excellence&nbsp;in&nbsp;Agronomy&nbsp;(EiA)&nbsp;initiative&nbsp;focuses&nbsp;upon improving&nbsp;the&nbsp;ability&nbsp;of men and women&nbsp;farmers&nbsp;to make&nbsp;appropriate decisions and&nbsp;apply&nbsp;new,&nbsp;climate-adaptive, and gender- and youth-responsive&nbsp;solutions.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify"><strong>Traditional agronomic research</strong>&nbsp;increases&nbsp;knowledge&nbsp;through&nbsp;experiments&nbsp;that&nbsp;enhance&nbsp;our understanding of basic processes, but&nbsp;with limited&nbsp;connection to stakeholder demand and often based on outdated approaches.&nbsp;The development, deployment, and uptake of interventions&nbsp;also&nbsp;remains&nbsp;hampered by social, economic and institutional constraints, further confounded by adherence to conventional supply-driven&nbsp;scaling strategies&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">x</span>;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xi</span>.&nbsp;As such, realization of genetic&nbsp;gains&nbsp;is&nbsp;also&nbsp;hindered by suboptimal agronomic&nbsp;practices&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xii</span>.&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">In response,&nbsp;EiA&nbsp;<strong>research objectives</strong>&nbsp;are&nbsp;(i) To determine how agronomy research and development (R&D) can leverage advances in diagnostics, data science, geospatial analysis, remote sensing, and behavioral sciences to develop widely applicable and locally-relevant gender- and youth-responsive solutions at scale and&nbsp;(ii) To assess the effectiveness of the Use Case model, constructed around actual demand for agronomic solutions, and implemented through a co-creation process with demand partners, the science community, and other service providers&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Appropriate application of&nbsp;diagnostic approaches, modern agronomic and spatial data science methods, and&nbsp;new&nbsp;digital&nbsp;approaches can&nbsp;amplify agronomic advances&nbsp;and&nbsp;accelerate impact at scale through better-targeted, site-specific advisories.&nbsp;However, there is also&nbsp;need for systematic research to understand how farmers can&nbsp;better&nbsp;use these tools, backed by targeted field research to improve crop yields, profitability and quality, resource use efficiency and soil health – and make agile decisions to minimize climate-related risks.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">EiA&nbsp;offers a new model and research culture,&nbsp;seizing&nbsp;these opportunities&nbsp;to deliver agronomic gain at scale&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xiii</span>&nbsp;by facilitating efficiencies through globalized networking&nbsp;and&nbsp;aligning&nbsp;R&D priorities&nbsp;with&nbsp;demands from scaling partners&nbsp;through context-specific Use Cases. It utilizes&nbsp;standardized&nbsp;analytics and decision support approaches in partnership with&nbsp;non-CGIAR&nbsp;Advanced Research Institutes&nbsp;(ARIs)&nbsp;and builds&nbsp;on Use Cases involving multi-actor partnerships.&nbsp;EiA’s&nbsp;priority research themes&nbsp;are: (i) Sustaining soil productivity and ecosystem services;&nbsp;(ii)&nbsp;Climate change adaptation; (iii) Precision cropping system management;&nbsp;and&nbsp;(iv) Perennial&nbsp;crops for livelihoods and conservation. This vision is drawn from experience gained from&nbsp;CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) and&nbsp;projects including&nbsp;ACAI<span style="background-color: inherit;">1</span>,&nbsp;AfricaRISING,&nbsp;AfSIS, CIALCA,&nbsp;CocoaSoils,&nbsp;CSISA,&nbsp;N2Africa,&nbsp;and&nbsp;TAMASA&nbsp;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xiv</span>;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xv</span>;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xvi</span>;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xvii</span>;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xviii</span>;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xix</span>.&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Assessment of&nbsp;<strong>national and regional priorities</strong>&nbsp;supports&nbsp;productivity improvement through efficient use of land, soil, and water resources,&nbsp;with a focus on&nbsp;reversing natural resource degradation,&nbsp;climate&nbsp;adaptation, and&nbsp;digital service provision&nbsp;[<a href="https://bit.ly/39Hi9wM" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(225, 227, 230);"><strong>EiA_Regional&nbsp;Priority_report_2021</strong></a>].&nbsp;EiA&nbsp;also&nbsp;aligns with&nbsp;priorities&nbsp;of&nbsp;<strong>key funders</strong>&nbsp;xiv;<span style="background-color: inherit;">xx</span>, and&nbsp;is&nbsp;responding to interests from other One CGIAR Initiatives and ARIs&nbsp;[<a href="https://bit.ly/3EVuWu8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);"><strong>EiA_Interactions_Other_Initiatives_2021</strong></a><strong style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);">;&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://bit.ly/3lZFjEx" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193);"><strong>EiA_Cooperation_with_ARIs</strong></a>].&nbsp;</p>

<p class="ql-align-justify">Smallholder&nbsp;farmers, especially women and disadvantaged groups, are&nbsp;particularly&nbsp;vulnerable to climate-related and other challenges,&nbsp;compromising&nbsp;their ability to meet their own food, nutrition, and income needs, much less contribute to local and national food security.&nbsp;More frequent and&nbsp;severe droughts&nbsp;and erratic rainfall&nbsp;due to climate change&nbsp;threaten agricultural production. Due to&nbsp;inadequate&nbsp;seed supply and&nbsp;delivery&nbsp;systems misaligned with user and market demand, smallholders use ‘old’ varieties or recycle seed, leaving them&nbsp;more&nbsp;vulnerable to pests and diseases<span style="background-color: inherit;">i</span>.&nbsp;Productivity varies by gender,&nbsp;with&nbsp;these&nbsp;challenges disproportionately affecting&nbsp;women<span style="background-color: inherit;">ii</span>.&nbsp;Until gender disparities in access to information, technologies, markets and other opportunities are addressed, efforts to realize agriculture’s potential to sustainably achieve food, nutrition&nbsp;and income security will have limited impact.&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">With increasing population&nbsp;and climate&nbsp;pressure, inclusive and climate-smart intensification of food production is urgently needed&nbsp;for&nbsp;One CGIAR and partners to deliver&nbsp;in&nbsp;key&nbsp;impact areas—nutrition, poverty, gender, climate, and environment—and the second Sustainable Development Goal: Zero Hunger by 2030.&nbsp;Improved varieties,&nbsp;innovations,&nbsp;and approaches&nbsp;developed&nbsp;and promoted&nbsp;by&nbsp;CGIAR&nbsp;and partners have potential,&nbsp;when contextualized&nbsp;considering&nbsp;social, economic and political factors,&nbsp;to transform agri-food systems and reduce yield gaps,&nbsp;‘hunger&nbsp;months,’&nbsp;and other disparities.&nbsp;However,&nbsp;limited access&nbsp;to&nbsp;and use&nbsp;of&nbsp;affordable,&nbsp;quality seed of well adapted varieties&nbsp;with&nbsp;desired&nbsp;traits&nbsp;remains a bottleneck.&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">Achieving&nbsp;One CGIAR’s&nbsp;goals&nbsp;requires&nbsp;a long-term, end-to-end&nbsp;investment in CGIAR breeding driven by market intelligence, supported by partnerships&nbsp;that deliver&nbsp;genetic gains&nbsp;equitably&nbsp;in&nbsp;farmers’ fields.&nbsp;This&nbsp;requires&nbsp;enabling policy environments&nbsp;incentivizing&nbsp;varietal turnover and quality seed use<span style="background-color: inherit;">iii</span>&nbsp;and&nbsp;integrating and leveraging&nbsp;formal and informal seed systems to the benefit of all.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">To this end,&nbsp;SeEdQUAL will build on decades of work on seed systems by CGIAR and partners,&nbsp;and&nbsp;leverage&nbsp;synergies&nbsp;as governments<span style="background-color: inherit;">iv</span>, breeders, funders<span style="background-color: inherit;">v</span>,&nbsp;and communities recognize the need to accelerate&nbsp;demand-driven&nbsp;seed system development and reach farmers at the last mile.&nbsp;Success hinges on&nbsp;better&nbsp;understanding and&nbsp;responding&nbsp;to seed user&nbsp;demands,&nbsp;including women and young&nbsp;farmers,&nbsp;and&nbsp;value chain actors&nbsp;specializing&nbsp;in niche markets with high potential.&nbsp;Seed systems that respond dynamically to such opportunities&nbsp;and deploy&nbsp;innovative methods (e.g.&nbsp;ICT tools) and aligned approaches (EGS production and policies)&nbsp;will&nbsp;increase&nbsp;and expand&nbsp;the benefits of seed access and use, especially for disadvantaged groups.&nbsp;SeEdQUAL,&nbsp;together with key innovation, delivery and scaling partners, will&nbsp;develop and promote&nbsp;new&nbsp;technology solutions, more effective business models, and policy reforms to create sustainable and inclusive seed systems.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p>