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The review finds that AWM interventions generally produce positive impacts across five capitals—financial, natural, social, physical, and human—with projects employing multiple interventions yielding more positive results. However, it highlights a critical lack of systematic monitoring and evaluation, particularly regarding negative externalities and long-term sustainability.

The report 'Losing Ground' documents the systemic human rights violations associated with the expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia. It details how the conversion of customary lands into industrial monocultures leads to land dispossession, violent conflict, and the erosion of indigenous cultures. The authors highlight the economic failure of many smallholder schemes, which often result in debt bondage rather than prosperity, and describe severe environmental degradation, including water pollution and the loss of biodiversity. The document calls for the adoption of the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and urges European governments to abandon biofuel targets that drive this unsustainable expansion.

The report argues that GM crops, particularly herbicide-tolerant varieties, have not increased yields and have instead led to an increase in pesticide use due to the emergence of resistant 'superweeds'. It highlights the monopolization of the seed market by a few agrochemical giants, specifically Monsanto, and documents negative socio-economic impacts on small farmers in India, South Africa, and South America, including increased debt and land displacement.

The report argues that GM crops, primarily herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant varieties of soya, maize, cotton, and canola, have not increased yields and have instead driven a rise in pesticide use due to the emergence of resistant weeds. It highlights the monopolization of the seed supply by a few corporations, specifically Monsanto, and documents the negative socio-economic impacts on small farmers in the US, India, and South America, including increased debt and rural poverty.

The report outlines strategic opportunities to implement the International Coffee Agreement 2007, focusing on participatory governance, improved market statistics for differentiated coffees, capacity building, and enhanced access to finance for small producers.

The report argues that successful mesoscale agricultural water management (AWM) depends heavily on 'soft components' such as initial social capital, participatory methodologies, and capacity building. Through meta-analyses and case studies in regions like India, Kenya, and Ethiopia, the authors find that participatory projects generally outperform top-down technocratic approaches. However, the report highlights a critical gap in the systematic monitoring and economic valuation of these social and environmental gains, noting that conventional cost-benefit analyses often ignore externalities and changes in natural and social capital.

The document examines how specific trading practices can address the economic vulnerabilities of coffee producers, such as declining prices and market instability. It argues that while standard-based systems often focus on production, economic sustainability requires a focus on the trading relationship. The report details various instruments—including long-term contracts, minimum price arrangements, and shared hedging—that can redistribute risk and revenue more equitably. It concludes that trust and information transparency are the essential foundations for these practices to succeed, providing a set of recommendations for stakeholders to improve producer bankability and bargaining power.

The document examines the high volatility of coffee prices and the resulting financial instability for 20–25 million coffee-producing households. It argues that while traditional risk mitigation—such as diversification and reduced input use—is costly and inefficient, market-based instruments like futures, options, and over-the-counter (OTC) contracts can provide a more effective alternative. The report identifies significant barriers to adoption, including stringent 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) rules, lack of financial sophistication, and the inefficiency of many cooperatives. It suggests that the most viable path forward involves local banks acting as intermediaries, the development of local commodity exchanges, and the integration of risk management into physical trade and finance contracts.

The document assesses how certification schemes like Fair Trade, Organic, and Rainforest Alliance affect coffee producer incomes. It argues that while these standards can reduce price volatility through premiums and minimum price floors, their overall impact is limited by the small market share of certified coffee relative to conventional markets. The author also explores non-price factors, such as improved farm management and shade-grown quality, as potential drivers of long-term income stability.

The document examines the economic impact of commodity price volatility in Vietnam and Malaysia, analyzing the failures of stockpiling and protectionism while highlighting the success of vertical diversification and biofuel transition schemes. It recommends global information-sharing, technological upgrades, and small-farmer empowerment to reduce commodity dependence.

The report examines how the consolidation of the global supermarket sector has shifted power to a few major retailers, creating a 'buyer-driven' commodity chain that often marginalizes smallholder farmers. While the fresh fruit and vegetable (FFV) sector offers growth potential for developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, supermarkets' stringent private standards and aggressive business practices create high barriers to entry. However, the report argues that smallholders maintain comparative advantages in labour-intensive and organic production. It suggests that cooperatives, outgrower schemes, and public-private partnerships can help smallholders overcome scale and infrastructure problems to access these lucrative markets.

The document argues that climate change disproportionately harms disadvantaged people and that current policies are failing to achieve gender equality and low-carbon commitments. It calls for the integration of gender equality and low-carbon development goals to avoid 'maladaptation' and ensure just transitions. The call to action provides specific recommendations for governments, multilateral organisations, the private sector, and LGBTQIA+ movements to foster gender-equitable 'green' and 'blue' economies, improve women's access to resources, and increase the climate literacy of gender equality movements.

The report identifies a pool of 147 potential CSA technologies for Nepal, categorizing them into water-smart, energy-smart, nutrient-smart, carbon-smart, weather-smart, and knowledge-smart interventions. Using climate analogue tools, the study maps the suitability of these options across the country, finding that districts like Nawalparasi are representative of the Terai region. Key findings indicate that precision nutrient and water management can significantly increase rice and wheat yields, while zero-tillage in wheat improves profitability despite potential yield decreases. The report argues that scaling out requires a combination of knowledge-transfer, market-based, public-private partnership, and community-based 'Climate-Smart Village' approaches, supported by an enabling environment including credit access and gender-responsive mechanization.

The document outlines the progress of the Sharm el-Sheikh joint work on implementation of agriculture and food security (SSJA) following SB62, where a draft was adopted without objection. It highlights a divide between the G77, China, and LDCs—who prioritize food security, adaptation for smallholders, and non-conditional finance—and developed nations like the EU, UK, and Australia, who favor market-linked mechanisms and climate-smart agriculture. The briefing notes that while parties recognize the need to align agriculture finance with climate goals, significant funding gaps remain as they prepare for COP30 in Belém.

The document defines first-loss facilities as tools that absorb the earliest layer of losses to reduce risk for senior investors, while second-loss facilities provide an additional protective layer after the first is depleted. These instruments are particularly relevant for adaptation, resilience, and nature-based solutions where projects often have variable returns and limited track records. The text details the roles of commercial and public providers, the impact on debt sustainability, and the internal and regulatory capacities required for governments to integrate these structures. It also outlines challenges to uptake, such as limited technical expertise in Ministries of Finance and high transaction costs for adaptation projects.

The report analyzes four smallholder oil palm models in Central Kalimantan: cooperative plasma, company-managed plasma, individual partnership, and independent smallholders. It finds that collective and company-managed models significantly outperform individual and independent models in terms of yield, profit, and risk management. The cooperative model is highlighted as the most beneficial for sustainable livelihoods, while independent smallholders face systemic barriers in finance, supply chains, and market access.

The fact sheet analyzes three organizational models for smallholder oil palm farmers in Central Kalimantan: individual partnerships, cooperatives, and company-managed plasma schemes. It finds that larger, integrated models—specifically cooperatives and company-managed schemes—yield higher harvests and profits per hectare compared to individual partnerships. Cooperatives are highlighted as the most effective for risk management and farmer control, though they face institutional and financial barriers to establishment. Individual partnerships show the lowest performance, achieving only 52% of potential yields and facing high legal, supply, production, and market risks.

The Ukulima Bora, Mazingira Bora Initiative, led by the Chyullu Development Foundation, supports 400 beekeepers in Makueni County, Kenya. The project aims to transition farmers toward climate-resilient and regenerative agriculture by combining traditional log hives with modern technologies to increase productivity and reduce deforestation. Key activities include capacity building, advocating for wildlife park fencing to reduce human-wildlife conflict, and creating job opportunities for tertiary-educated youth to return to their communities. The initiative also works to dismantle exploitative power dynamics by connecting farmers to agricultural cooperatives to bypass middlemen and by encouraging household-level participation to improve women's agency in beekeeping.

The case study examines the Trans-Harmony Farms project by the Initiative of Trans with A Mission (ITWAM) in the Mbale and Manafwa districts of Uganda. It details how the initiative supports 29 LGBTQIA+ farmers by providing training in permaculture and agroforestry, creating a cooperative to bypass systemic exclusion from government resources, and developing a digital app to ensure safe market access. The document analyzes these efforts through five dimensions of transformative potential: alignment with local contexts, resource enablement, relationship building, challenging power structures, and supporting systems learning. It highlights the critical role of the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) in exacerbating the marginalization of these farmers and the strategic use of trusted personal relationships with local government officials to navigate a hostile legal environment.

A case study of an 80-hectare sugarcane cooperative in KwaZulu-Natal demonstrates that switching from tractor-mounted boom sprayers to precision drone spraying reduced total spraying costs by approximately 25% and chemical usage by 20–30%. The transition eliminated operational downtime after rainfall and reduced labour requirements from 10 man-days per hectare to 2 man-days. These efficiencies, combined with yield increases of 6–12.5 tonnes per hectare and a 2 percentage point increase in estimated recoverable crystal (ERC), resulted in a net financial benefit of approximately R8,400 per hectare per year, totaling R672,000 for the cooperative. The document notes that direct drone ownership, costing between R250,000 and R400,000, has an estimated payback period of 1–1.5 seasons, while shared-service models lower the entry barrier for smallholders.