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Climate change adaptation strategies for smallholder farmers in the Brazilian Sertão
The document analyzes climate vulnerability in the Bacia do Jacuípe, a poor region in the Brazilian Sertão, where temperatures have risen by approximately 2 °C and rainfall has decreased by about 350 mm since 1962. This environmental shift has led to a decline in average milk productivity, contrasting with overall increases in Bahía and Brazil. To address this, the Adapta Sertão coalition tested various farm-level interventions, finding that efficient irrigation systems and balanced animal diets can reduce production's dependence on climate, suggesting these are viable adaptation strategies for larger-scale implementation in semi-arid regions.
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Document type: Policy brief
Food security in the Sustainable Development Goals: Where is the process heading?
The document analyzes the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on the shift toward a universal, integrated approach to food security and sustainable agriculture. It reviews proposals from the Open Working Group (OWG) and other entities, highlighting a consensus on increasing productivity and resource efficiency while prioritizing vulnerable populations. However, it notes that specific implementation strategies and the integration of cross-sectoral synergies remain underdeveloped.
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Document type: Briefing
Food security in the Sustainable Development Goals: Where is the process heading?
The document analyzes the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), noting a shift toward a universal, integrated approach to food security. It highlights a consensus on increasing agricultural productivity and resource efficiency, with an expanded focus on nutritional value and the empowerment of smallholders. While the Open Working Group's 'Zero draft' includes a dedicated goal for hunger and sustainable agriculture, the author argues that the framework still lacks sufficient integration between goals and specific strategies for implementation, such as research and technology transfer.
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Document type: Briefing
Perceptions of climate change and adaptation to microclimate change and variability among smallholder farmers in Mhakwe Communal Area, Manicaland province, Zimbabwe
The study examined 43 smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe's Mhakwe Communal Area to understand their perceptions of climate change and their adaptation methods. It found that while farmers receive information from government and non-governmental organisations, they rely on specific practical strategies like zero tillage and agroforestry. The authors recommend that external agencies strengthen these existing strategies and improve the dissemination of analysed weather and climate data.
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Document type: Research paper
Inclusive Investment in Agriculture: Cooperatives and the role of foreign investment
The document argues that agricultural cooperatives promote inclusive investment by allowing farmers to maintain control over resources while achieving economies of scale. It highlights that well-organized cooperatives reduce risk for foreign investors and facilitate more efficient contracting. The brief emphasizes that government support should be limited to creating an enabling legal environment and providing technical resources, rather than interfering in internal management, as bottom-up initiatives are generally more successful.
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Document type: Policy brief
who benefits from gm crops?
The report argues that GM crops are an extension of an unsustainable industrial agricultural model that benefits a few multinational corporations while harming smallholder farmers and the environment. It highlights the failure of herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant traits to reduce pesticide use, the emergence of resistant weeds and pests, and the socio-economic risks of seed monopolies. The document advocates for agroecology as a sustainable, farmer-led alternative to tackle hunger and malnutrition.
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Document type: Report
¿quién se beneficia con los cultivos transgénicos?
The document argues that the GM crop industry is based on myths, noting that nearly 99% of current GM crops are designed for herbicide tolerance or insect resistance rather than nutrition or climate adaptation. It highlights that GM crops have led to increased agrotoxic use due to weed and insect resistance, particularly in North and South America, and have caused negative environmental impacts, such as the decline of the monarch butterfly. The report also notes the market monopoly held by six multinational companies and the financial burden on small farmers. It concludes that agroecology is a more sustainable and effective solution for food security and hunger than GM technology.
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Document type: Executive summary
La réponse mondiale à l’investissement étranger dans le secteur agricole
The document assesses the international response to the increase in agricultural land and water investments following the 2008 food crisis. It details various voluntary guidelines and principles established by intergovernmental bodies, international organizations, and the private sector, while also examining financial mechanisms designed to support smallholder farmers. The author notes that while a consensus exists on the need for responsible investment, most frameworks remain voluntary and lack enforcement mechanisms.
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Document type: Briefing
Promoting an Integrated Approach to Climate Adaptation: Lessons from the coffee value chain in Uganda
The document analyzes how climate hazards like drought and floods affect all actors in Uganda's coffee value chain, from farmers to exporters. It finds that while adaptation efforts exist, they are often uncoordinated, unsustainable, and hindered by a lack of trust and communication between stakeholders. The report highlights a critical gap in agricultural financing and recommends improving networking, developing flexible financial products, and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure to enhance the sector's resilience.
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Document type: Briefing
Governing for sustainability in agricultural-forest frontiers: A case study of the Brazilian Amazon
The document analyzes the socio-economic complexity of agricultural-forest frontiers, specifically in the Brazilian Amazon, where a diverse mix of actors—from subsistence smallholders to large-scale commercial farms—compete for resources. It argues that 'one-size-fits-all' policies are ineffective and recommends tailored interventions that account for the different capacities and responsibilities of these actors. The brief highlights both the risks of actor diversity, such as land displacement and increased inequality driven by soy expansion, and the opportunities for collective action, citing the success of the zero-deforestation pact in Paragominas.
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Document type: Briefing
CLEANED – a new comprehensive framework for ex ante assessment of environmental impacts of livestock and aquaculture system interventions
The CLEANED framework provides a participatory, rapid assessment tool for evaluating the environmental footprints of livestock and aquaculture interventions across the entire value chain. It focuses on four main impact categories: water availability and quality, soil and land health, biodiversity, and greenhouse gas emissions. Designed for use in developing countries, the tool combines public global datasets with local participatory GIS data to provide scores (adverse, positive, or static) for specific spatial units. A pilot application in Tanzania's dairy sector demonstrated the tool's ability to visualize how increased milk demand could expand fodder production areas.
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Document type: Briefing
The emerging oil palm agro-industry in Palawan, the Philippines: Livelihoods, environment and corporate accountability
The document investigates the expansion of the oil palm industry in Palawan, operated primarily by Palawan Palm & Vegetable Oil Mills, Inc. (PPVOMI) and Agumil Philippines, Inc. (AGPI). It finds that while promoted as an economic opportunity, the industry has led to significant grievances, including contractual deception of smallholder cooperatives, land dispossession of indigenous peoples, and illegal encroachment into protected forestlands. The study highlights a failure in institutional oversight, noting that environmental clearances were often obtained after project initiation and that the legal framework fails to distribute liability fairly, leaving smallholders with most of the financial risk. It concludes with ten recommendations to strengthen corporate accountability, including contract revision, stricter government 'gatekeeping', and the promotion of RSPO certification.
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Document type: Research paper
The Indirect Effects of Adaptation: Pathways for Vulnerability Redistribution in the Colombian Coffee Sector
The research investigates the risk of 'vulnerability redistribution,' where adaptation measures in one location inadvertently increase vulnerability elsewhere. The authors develop a framework based on the 'sustainable livelihoods' approach, focusing on five asset types (natural, physical, social, financial, and human) to identify 'risk transfer pathways.' Applying this to Colombia's coffee sector, the study identifies three primary pathways for indirect effects: global economic competition affecting price premiums, donor-funded projects diverting national institutional resources, and infrastructure improvements reducing demand for manual labour.
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Document type: Research paper
A Critical Assessment of the G-20 Food Security Agenda
The document assesses the G-20's food security commitments from an African perspective, focusing on food-price volatility, agricultural productivity, and nutrition. While it finds broad alignment in rhetoric and focus areas, it argues that the G-20 fails to implement critical regulatory reforms in financial markets and trade that would meaningfully benefit Africa.
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Document type: Research paper
G-20 Food Security in Africa: Measures to Strengthen the G-20 Agenda
The G-20 has progressively prioritised global food security since 2009, focusing on price volatility, agricultural productivity, and humanitarian tools. However, the document argues that these efforts have had few measurable effects in Africa due to a lack of implementation of regulatory reforms and insufficient investment. It specifically highlights the negative impact of market-distorting biofuel policies and agricultural protectionism in developed countries, which undermine food security for smallholders in the developing world. The author recommends that South Africa use its G-20 membership to push for the regulation of commodity speculation, the elimination of agricultural subsidies, and increased funding for African agriculture.
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Document type: Policy brief
soil carbon markets undermine concerns of small and marginal farmers watch this
The author contends that soil carbon markets are financially and technically unviable due to low carbon prices, measurement challenges, and the high cost of implementation. The text argues that pushing for emission reductions in agriculture burdens small farmers in India, Africa, and Latin America, potentially leading to the takeover of agricultural operations by non-farmers. It advocates for agro-ecological approaches and financial support for adaptation over market-based mitigation burdens.
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Document type: Statement
Determinants of Smallholder Farmers' Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change in the Semi-Arid Nguru Local Government Area Northeastern Nigeria
The study identifies nine significant variables that determine how smallholder farmers in Nguru, Nigeria, adapt to climate change, finding that agricultural labor force has the strongest positive influence on adaptation strategies.
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Document type: Research paper
CLIMATE RISK MANAGEMENT FOR SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE IN HONDURAS
The report identifies Honduras as highly vulnerable to climate hazards, particularly droughts and tropical cyclones, which threaten the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and national development goals. It highlights significant gaps in climate data, institutional coordination, and adaptive capacity, while proposing a suite of local actions—such as improved water management and agroforestry—and national policy mainstreaming to reduce vulnerability.
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Document type: Report
CLIMATE RISK MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE CROP PRODUCTION IN UGANDA: RAKAI AND KAPCHORWA DISTRICTS
The report examines the vulnerability of crop production in Uganda's Rakai and Kapchorwa districts, finding that increasing climate variability—specifically more frequent droughts and intense floods—threatens food security and livelihoods. While crop modelling suggests limited long-term yield declines for maize and beans by 2050, current climate hazards already disrupt farming calendars and reduce coffee quality. The study highlights that high poverty, land tenure issues, and HIV/AIDS exacerbate vulnerability, often leading to maladaptive coping strategies like wetland encroachment. It recommends a holistic approach combining small-scale irrigation, conservation agriculture, stress-resistant crop varieties, and improved meteorological information systems, supported by stronger national governance and coordination.
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Document type: Report
Food Price Inflation and Food Security: A Morocco case study
The report examines the relationship between food price inflation, food security, and trade policy, using Morocco as a case study. It analyzes the drivers of global food price spikes and evaluates Morocco's 'Green Morocco Plan' and its 'guided liberalization' strategy. A specific focus is placed on the lentil market, where high import tariffs on Canadian lentils are argued to encourage irregular trade and increase costs for consumers. The document suggests that reducing these tariffs, combined with targeted social safety nets and productivity investments, could improve food security and accessibility for the Moroccan population.
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Document type: Case study