Recognizing and promoting the role of women in climate change adaptation and mitigation, and their contributions to creating resilient food systems, is key to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and keeping global warming to no more than 1.5°C as called for in the Paris Agreement. This paper develops the case for investing in rural women as a means of achieving climate mitigation and adaptation goals, while simultaneously addressing gender inequality and poverty.

The paper examined demand-driven agricultural extension education in Nigeria and emphasized the need for extension professionals to acquire soft skills in addition to their technical capabilities through the utilization of demand-driven extension education (DDEE) strategies. A review of demand-driven agricultural extension education in Nigeria as introduced by Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education in universities was carried out to assess the concepts of demand-driven extension education, capacity development, skill, skill- mismatch. The reviews were analysed using themes and the findings were reported based on the themes identified from the review analysis.

In the face of escalating global challenges – lack of food availability, food accessibility and food affordability due to the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, economic slowdowns and downturns, worsening poverty, and other overlapping crises –we find ourselves standing at a critical juncture. The choices we make now, the priorities we set and the solutions we implement will determine the trajectory of our shared future. Consequently, the decisions we make about global agrifood systems must acknowledge these interrelated challenges.mThere is increased international consensus that transforming agrifood systems to increase their efficiency, inclusiveness, resilience, and sustainability is an essential comprehensive designfor realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The 2023 edition of the Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean presents the main indicators of hunger, food insecurity, malnutrition in all its forms and those related to the cost and affordability of a healthy diet, in order to contribute to the analysis of food security and nutrition as fundamental pillars for the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and the conflict in Ukraine, as well as the economic slowdown, rising food inflation and income inequality, have had an impact on regional figures. The most recent data shows that, between 2021and 2022, progress was made in reducing hunger and food insecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, the progress achieved is still far from the targets established to meet SDG 2 of ending hunger.

The Nepalese Agricultural Extension System has experienced conceptual, structural, and institutional changes during the last seven decades. During this period, various extension approaches and models were tried, adapted and discarded. In 1999, the Government of Nepal (GoN) through the Local Self Government Act 1999 (LSGA 1999) endorsed a decentralized agriculture extension system to address the need for bottom-up planning, self-rule, territorial integrity and upliftment of local economy. It was one of the major paradigm shifts in agricultural service delivery in Nepal. However, the full implementation of LSGA (1999) remained incomplete and agriculture service delivery remained weak (Jaishi et al. 2022 a &b) as the institutional capability and competencies of implementers were not considered.

This study examined how agricultural extension agents conduct farm or home visits. It analysed the extent to which extension agents follow the guidelines for conducting farm/home visits and the relationship between extension agent’s characteristics and implementation of guidelines for conducting home/farm visits. Data for the study were collected through a survey of 69 agricultural extension agents obtained from 22 Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar regions. Also, qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with key informants. In general, findings showed that home or farm visits are poorly planned which negatively affected the conduct of the visits. Furthermore, due to the high farmer extension ratio, extension agents do not always make follow-ups of their visits. A large number of farmers constrained extension agents from visiting all farmers, despite this reality farm or farm visit is still an important extension method. Nevertheless, for extension agents to be effective, they need to consider planning home or farm visits as part of the successful extension work.

The Adaptive Collaborative Management (ACM) of Forest Landscapes programme was a fascinating experience in participatory action research and social learning. At the start of the programme, some of the concepts were not well defined,in terms of what exactly they meant in practice and how to operationalise them. The experiences on which this chapter on facilitation is grounded go way beyond the ACM programme. Many lessons and insights described here are based on long-term processes in community development and participatory learning and extension which we as PICOTEAM (Institute for People, Innovation and Change in Organisations) have gained since 1991 in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Tanzania, Cambodia and the Dominican Republic.

Le conseil agricole occupe une place prépondérante dans l’appui aux processus d’innovation, particulièrement dans les pays du Sud. Or, l’accompagnement de l’innovation nécessite une diversité de formes d’appuis, appelés services support à l’innovation (SSI). À partir d’une analyse exploratoire à Madagascar, cet article questionne la place du conseil agricole vis-à-vis de la diversité des organisations et des activités d’accompagnement de l’innovation. Les principales organisations fournissant des SSI ont été étudiées dans quatre régions des Hautes Terres de Madagascar et leur offre de SSI caractérisée. Les résultats montrent que le conseil technique reste prépondérant dans l’éventail de l’offre de SSI, avec un fort pluralisme des fournisseurs de conseil et une diversité de combinaisons avec les autres SSI. Or, les porteurs d’innovation doivent bénéficier d’autres SSI, tels que le renforcement de capacité, la mise en réseau, des appuis institutionnels, un accès au financement, intrants et équipements nécessaires à l’innovation.

Engaging youth in agriculture requires an enabling environment, including access to financing, modern farming technologies, and training programs tailored to their needs. Inclusive value chain clustering promotes sustainable rural transformation, with collaboration among stakeholders and active involvement of youth and women leading to positive impacts on employment and regional development. Comprehensive support packages, including tailored training and targeted grant programs, are essential for enhancing the skills and employability of young individuals in rural areas, addressing challenges like limited financial access and climate change adaptation.

Small farmers in India are generally trapped in the vicious cycle of low productivity, high cost of credit, with no market connectivity, and as result, tend to be at the subsistence level of farming. Standalone interventions in productivity enhancement or introduction of high value crops without market linkages is detrimental as the farmer would have incurred more on the cost of cultivation with no prospect of better returns due to poor links with the market. Therefore, to increase the income of small farmers, an integrated approach of increasing productivity, together with market linking and also ensuring access to the proper inputs has to be implemented. The Syngenta Foundation India (SFI) has been following this approach since 2009; and the main reason for its success has been its focus on developing and anchoring of local rural youth as Field Extension Workers or Agri-entrepreneurs, who provide all agricultural services to small farmers.

Farmers are the key to achieve Sustainable Food Security. What farmers produce is the precondition to attain the UN Sustainable Development Goal number 2. FAO stated in 2009 the multiple challenges facing agriculture in the 21st century: Higher production of food, feed and fiber is needed for a growing population. The rural labour force is smaller, and more feed stocks for a potentially huge bio-energy market is needed. Agriculture must contribute to the overall development in agriculture-dependent developing countries. Agriculture must adopt more efficient and sustainable production methods and adapt to climate change. Farmers feel and take responsibility of these challenges. However, eradication of hunger and poverty alleviation for the world’s 10 billion people by 2050 is the responsibility of the whole global society. It is clear, though, that farmers are in the forefront of the challenges. To be able to solve the challenges, farmers need appropriate political and legal frameworks. The voices of farmers must therefore be heard and listened to. Decision-makers must consider the diversity of global agriculture and take into account their practical needs.

This study assessed the opinion of agricultural extension workers on the privatization of agricultural extension services in Ondo State, Nigeria. A simple random sampling technique was used in collecting primary data from 90 out of 112 extension workers in the Ondo State Agricultural Development Programme, through the use of a validated questionnaire. Data were analysed using percentage and mean statistics. The majority (55.6%) of extension professionals asserted that agricultural extension services should not be privatized. The major reasons adduced to this were the fear that privatization could lead to the loss of jobs among the extension professionals (100%) and also the belief that it is the responsibility of the government to cater for farmers (100%). The average amount proposed by the few respondents if extension services should be privatized, ranges from a minimum of ₦100 - ₦400. The proposed areas where extension should be privatized are where and when to sell their products and technical advice on farming activities (crops and livestock). Since farmers will be the ones to bear the consequences of privatisation, the government should ensure total overhauling of the extension system before experimenting with the payment for extension services in phases and with utmost caution.

This study analysed the perceived effects of professionalization of extension services by extension agents in South West Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit data from three hundred and one (301) public agents and fifty-five (55) private agents that were selected through a stratified random sampling procedure. The public and private agents had basic knowledge about the concept of professionalization and exhibited a favourable attitude towards professionalizing extension services. Extension agencies should support continuous professional development of extension agents through trainings and acquisition of relevant higher degrees that will help to enhance their knowledge thus upgrading their professionalization-readiness status.

Our very existence depends on water – water to drink and water to grow food. Agriculture relies on freshwater from rivers, lakes and aquifers. Rainfed agriculture and much of livestock production depend on the water from limited rainfall. Moreover, water-related ecosystems also sustain livelihoods, food security and nutrition by, inter alia, supporting inland fisheries and aquaculture. Supplies of uncontaminated freshwater are needed for safe drinking water, and to ensure hygiene and food safety standards to guarantee human health. In addition, water has numerous other uses and supports other human activities. Against this backdrop, no doubt, water underpins many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 6, in particular, seeks to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Unfortunately, this report shows that achieving this objective by 2030 will be a challenge.

In the two years that have passed since the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit, the global food system has seen profound shifts.  Now, 18 months after the summit, Farm Radio International, in partnership with eight radio stations in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda, revisited the questions that small-scale farmers, vendors, processors, marketers and their communities were asked 2021 to see what, if anything, has changed. Nearly 50,000 responses were recorded, as people shared their concerns and solutions for creating a healthier, more sustainable, productive and equitable food system.This research was conducted in collaboration with and with funding from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and additional funding from World Vision Canada, the Canadian Food Security Policy Group and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.