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  • Analysis of gender research on forest, tree and agroforestry value chains in Latin America

Analysis of gender research on forest, tree and agroforestry value chains in Latin America

11 January, 2018
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FTA COMMUNICATIONS TEAM

Latin America presents an important opportunity for research in gender and forest, tree and agroforestry (FTA) value chains due in part to the growth of its rural-urban interface, the region’s large expanses of existing forests, and the relatively limited research on gender and forestry themes in Latin America to date.

This paper seeks to analyze the principal themes and findings in the literature related to gender and FTA value chains in Latin America, and to provide recommendations for future areas of research. The analytical review focuses on literature from 2000 to 2017 and includes a total of 50 publications. Studies tend to analyze how the interplay of norms and policies can influence women’s and men’s benefits from participation in FTA value chains.

While a significant portion of the literature seeks to illuminate women’s contributions to FTA value chains, increased research on both women’s and men’s roles is necessary in order to understand gender dynamics along the chains. Additional research on gender equality impacts of women specific value chain interventions will also be important in order to assess opportunities and challenges for enhancing women’s empowerment in Latin America’s dynamic rural context.

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  • Webinar: Género, agroforestería y cambio climático en América Latina (Parte 1)

Webinar: Género, agroforestería y cambio climático en América Latina (Parte 1)

13 December, 2016
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FTA communications

Fecha: 23 de noviembre, 2016

Este webinar buscó proveer hallazgos recientes de investigaciones empíricas en género y agroforestería en países latinoamericanos, a tomadores de decisiones de los sectores agropecuarios y ambientales y profesionales involucrados en el desarrollo rural en América Latina, con el fin de promover la integración de género en la formulación de políticas e intervenciones de cambio climático. Específicamente, los objetivos del webinar incluyeron: Compartir nuevas investigaciones de Sur y Centro América sobre género, agroforestería y cambio climático con tomadores de decisiones y profesionales en América Latina; y Discutir experiencias y buenas prácticas para la integración de género en la formulación de políticas e intervenciones en agricultura, agroforestería y cambio climático

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  • Webinar: Género, agroforestería y cambio climático en América Latina (Parte 2)

Webinar: Género, agroforestería y cambio climático en América Latina (Parte 2)
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FTA communications

Fecha: 23 de noviembre, 2016

Este webinar buscó proveer hallazgos recientes de investigaciones empíricas en género y agroforestería en países latinoamericanos, a tomadores de decisiones de los sectores agropecuarios y ambientales y profesionales involucrados en el desarrollo rural en América Latina, con el fin de promover la integración de género en la formulación de políticas e intervenciones de cambio climático. Específicamente, los objetivos del webinar incluyeron: Compartir nuevas investigaciones de Sur y Centro América sobre género, agroforestería y cambio climático con tomadores de decisiones y profesionales en América Latina; y Discutir experiencias y buenas prácticas para la integración de género en la formulación de políticas e intervenciones en agricultura, agroforestería y cambio climático.

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  • FTA event coverage: Credit Suisse, CIAT and IFPRI endorse Global Landscapes Forum

FTA event coverage: Credit Suisse, CIAT and IFPRI endorse Global Landscapes Forum

18 November, 2016
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FTA

Mark Burrows, Vice Chairman at Credit Suisse, IFPRI’s Director General Shenggen Fan and CIAT’s Director General Ruben Echeverria give their endorsement to the long-term future of the Global Landscapes Forum.

Through scientific input, capacity-building programs, online engagement, thematic symposiums and global events, GLF aspires to introduce one billion people by 2020 to the landscape approach – and connect them in embracing it. The GLF is more than just a series of events: it is a dynamic platform with which diverse stakeholders can collaborate to create a more sustainable world.

See the full event coverage at http://www.landscapes.org/glf-marrakesh/videos/

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  • Are the major imperatives of food security missing in ecosystem services research?

Are the major imperatives of food security missing in ecosystem services research?

13 October, 2016
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FTA communications

Authors: Cruz-Garcia, Gisella S.; Sachet, Erwan; Vanegas, Martha; Piispanen, Kyle

It has been widely recognized that food security depends on the sustainable use and provisioning of ecosystem services. The goal of this paper is to present an overview of the scientific literature on ecosystem services and food security, with a major focus on case studies of farming communities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, in order to answer the following research questions: (1) does ecosystem services research generate knowledge that helps to address the major imperatives of food security?, and (2) are the multiple linkages between ecosystem services and food security analyzed or assumed in research? The results of the study highlighted that food utilization, access and stability, which are the major food security challenges in the world, remained under-investigated. There is a major bias on food availability in relation to crop production, and most articles assumed that food security would improve by increasing crop productivity, but this hypothesis remained largely untested. Other research blind-spots were co-production, trade-offs and off-site effects of ecosystem services in relation to food security, gender and cultural services. The study concludes that ecosystem services research needs to improve efforts to generate knowledge that helps to address the main imperatives of food security.

Source: Ecosystem Services, June 2016

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  • Low Emission Development Strategies in Agriculture. An Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Uses (AFOLU) Perspective

Low Emission Development Strategies in Agriculture. An Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Uses (AFOLU) Perspective
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FTA communications

As countries experience economic growth and choose among available development pathways, they are in a favorable position to adopt natural resource use technologies and production practices that favor efficient use of inputs, healthy soils, and ecosystems. Current emphasis on increasing resilience to climate change and reducing agricultural greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions strengthens the support for sustainable agricultural production. In fact, reducing losses in soil fertility, reclaiming degraded lands, and promoting synergistic interaction between crop production and forests are generally seen as good climate change policies. In order for decision-makers to develop long-term policies that address these issues, they must have tools at their disposal that evaluate trade-offs, opportunities, and repercussions of the options considered. In this paper, the authors combine and reconcile the output of three models widely accessible to the public to analyze the impacts of policies that target emission reduction in the agricultural sector. We present an application to Colombia which reveals the importance of considering the full scope of interactions among the various land uses. Results indicate that investments in increasing the efficiency and productivity of the livestock sector and reducing land allocated to pasture are preferable to policies that target deforestation alone or target a reduction of emissions in crop production. Investments in livestock productivity and land-carrying capacity would reduce deforestation and provide sufficient gains in carbon stock to offset greater emissions from increased crop production while generating higher revenues.

Source: Word Development, November 2016

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  • CIAT Annual Report 2015-2016: Sustainable Food Futures--Getting the Fundamentals Right

CIAT Annual Report 2015-2016: Sustainable Food Futures–Getting the Fundamentals Right

03 May, 2016
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FTA

Originally published at CIAT blog

The world has never produced or consumed so much food. We cannot, however, ignore the pressure that food production is putting on the environment and the ecosystem services we all depend on. We cannot ignore either the unprecedented threat that climate change poses on agriculture – and the need to adapt swiftly. And we must ensure that food production and distribution systems give farmers in developing countries – men and women alike – a fair deal, and consumers around the world, adequate access to varied, affordable, and nutritious foods.

In this Annual Report covering the period April 2015 through March 2016, CIAT offers a dynamic overview of our contribution in addressing these challenges and building sound fundamentals for sustainable food futures. Working with hundreds of partners, we are helping conserve the integrity of vital ecosystem services in Latin American, African, and Asian rural landscapes, while generating increased economic and social benefits. Inspired by our experience with Colombia’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to better shield important value chains from climate variability, we are now extending our support to Peru and Honduras.

The fourteen country profiles on climate-smart agriculture (CSA) that have been produced so far also enable policymakers and investors to quickly and easily review the opportunities for CSA prioritization at a national level. As one of the pioneers of big data in agricultural science, CIAT uses large, uncontrolled, real-world data sets, and cutting-edge analytics to scour the data and produce reliable and highly site-specific recommendations.

CIAT’s big data operation has yielded game-changing discoveries for the Colombian rice industry – solutions that can easily be scaled up and broadened to include other crops. To boost explanatory power, scientists are looking at incorporating data on soils, pests, and diseases, as well as other factors. Of the 169 targets that make up the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, over 60 relate in some way to the food system.

By conserving bean and cassava varieties as well as tropical forages and their wild relatives in our genebank, accelerating genetic gain, spreading sound agronomic practices, and by promoting business models that give farmers and the environment a better deal, CIAT and our hundreds of partners contribute actively to shaping a sustainable future. More investments and efforts in agricultural research for development are needed. With 21 offices and almost 1,000 staff strategically located across the tropics, we are uniquely placed to pursue sustainable food futures for tropical agriculture in collaboration with our partners, including policy makers, and the private sector.

Read the Annual Report here

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  • FTA event recap: Putting pledges into practice in Latin America

FTA event recap: Putting pledges into practice in Latin America

21 April, 2016
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FTA


Watch this Discussion Forum from the Global Landscapes Forum 2015, in Paris, France, the most important event of the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA).

Restoration represents an incredible opportunity to restore productivity to degraded lands, enhance livelihoods, and mitigate climate change. Initiative 20×20 is a country-led effort to bring 20 million hectares of degraded lands into the process of restoration in Latin America and the Caribbean by 2020.

The Discussion Forum highlighted the results achieved on the ground by seven projects that were developed by countries and organizations under the auspices of the 20×20 Initiative. Deborah Bossio, Director of Soil Research of FTA partner CIAT, was one of speakers, together with many business leaders.

For more information visit Global Landscapes Forum

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  • Discussion on CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry

Discussion on CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry

05 April, 2016
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FTA

To mark International Day of Forests 2016, Peter Holmgren, Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and Tony Simons, Director General of the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), discuss the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for forests and for our planet.

Below is a transcript of Part 3 in our special three-part TV interview series.

This final segment discusses the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA), which was started in 2011 and will be entering its second phase in 2017.

The program is being supported by six research centers: CIFOR, ICRAF,Bioversity International, the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), and the Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD). With over 230 researchers working in more than 35 countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America, the FTA program responds to the urgent need for a strong and sustained research focus on the management of forests and trees.

Trees on farms and in forests play a crucial role in confronting some of the most important challenges of our time: reducing poverty, improving food security and nutrition, and protecting our environment. They are also important in sustaining ecosystem services like clean water and biodiversity conservation.

A conversation with the Directors General of two CGIAR centers
Part 3: The CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA)

CIFOR and ICRAF are two of the 15 research centers that comprise CGIAR – the only worldwide partnership addressing agricultural research for development whose work contributes to the global effort to tackle poverty, hunger and environmental degradation.

Adinda Hasan, Communications Specialist for Asia, CIFOR

Why did the CGIAR see the need to add a focus on natural resources in the 1980s?

Tony Simons, Director-General, World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF)

The CGIAR was very successful since its establishment in 1971 following a Bellagio meeting around the need to boost the world’s food’s production. We saw through that Green Revolution a lot of emphasis on improved varieties and improved cropping systems, but that was not the full solution. There was a lot of draw-down on natural capital.

So we recorded the revenue from increased cereal production, but not the negative cost to the environment. And that was why it was very important to bring in that environmental dimension and ecosystems services. Probably the biggest win for the world was the establishment of CIFOR in 1993 to help strengthen that within the CGIAR.

Peter Holmgren, Director-General, CIFOR

We live in a transition of times. In the 1970s, food production was the main agenda item for the CGIAR. Since then, we’ve seen the development of the political arena, development of the objectives on all levels. We see a lot more of the social and environmental aspects coming in, just as it does as it does with sustainable development.

Hasan:

So both your centers have played key roles in the program on Trees, Forests and Agroforestry. You’ve just finished your first phase. How did that go? Can you tell us about the key challenges and the main achievements?

Holmgren:

Well, this year is the final year of the first phase. We haven’t quite finished it yet, but CIFOR and ICRAF are the largest contributors to the program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry.

We’re now moving into a second phase. We are currently working on the planning of that. The new phase of the Forests, Trees and Agroforestry program will start in 2017. We will add new partners. We will develop our work, our agenda, our objectives further. We will streamline and focus on our theory of change to make a difference along the lines that we’ve discussed here today. It’s really about the partnership. It’s really about the interests of stakeholders around the world to invest in this program.

Simons:

It’s a fascinatingly exciting program because it’s been operational for six years. And we’ve achieved more as two centers working together than we have probably in the previous decade.

That has brought excitement to the scientists; it brought operational realities on the ground. It was about co-location, co-design, co-investment and co-attribution and recognition of the outputs of that. To do what? To accelerate impact in those environments in which we work.

Holmgren:

As I see it, and I know we share this view, research capacity development and engagement is integrated in development and our efforts. CIFOR envisions a more equitable world where forests and trees contribute to the livelihoods, to the well-being and to a sustainable environment for all.

Simons:

A great focus in the second round is going to be capitalizing on the gains we made on gender. The Forests, Trees and Agroforestry program had one of the most progressive not only gender strategies, but gender action plans. It was rewarding also to see the high level of attribution of budget towards increasing the role of gender into our programs.

When you ask the question, ‘Are we optimistic’? I think Peter and I share a lot of hope, joy and opportunity around raising the profile of forests and trees in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals, in the framework of the Paris Climate Agreement and also in the new CGIAR Forests, Trees and Agroforestry program.Because if these two premier research and development organizations on forests and trees- if we can’t do it, no one else is going to be able to.

This is the final episode of our special three-part video interview series for the International Day of Forests 2016.

Watch Part 1 and Part 2

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  • Cassava in Cambodia: The stakes are high

Cassava in Cambodia: The stakes are high

17 November, 2015
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FTA

By Georgina Smith for CIAT News

Demand for cassava in Asia is on the rise. As wet or dry starch, it’s in everything from noodles to pharmaceutical products, and has a growing niche in gluten-free and low fat foods. In Cambodia, this is a massive opportunity for smallholder farmers, who depend on income from the crop to support their livelihoods. But cassava intensification could have dramatic environmental costs if it’s not managed properly. And farmers face mounting challenges in cultivating cassava profitably: from a swathe of emerging pests and diseases devastating harvests to declining soil fertility, climate shocks and volatile market prices. Read more here

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