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The report argues that current WTO rules on agricultural internal support are outdated and inequitable, failing to constrain the high subsidies of wealthy nations or accommodate the growing needs of emerging economies. By examining a diverse sample of countries, the authors demonstrate that a small number of members—China, India, the US, and the EU—concentrate the vast majority of trade-distorting support. The document proposes simplifying these rules by basing support limits on a percentage of the value of agricultural production (VDP) rather than fixed monetary amounts, while advocating for stricter transparency and special treatment for developing nations to align trade rules with Sustainable Development Goals.

The document highlights the economic importance of the beer industry and the risks posed by climate change to barley, hops, and water supplies. It details adaptation efforts, such as the development of drought-resistant crops and water preservation partnerships, alongside operational sustainability measures like using recycled glass and clean energy.

The analysis finds that rural credit for small farmers increases productivity and reduces deforestation pressures, whereas credit for large producers is associated with increased land expansion and deforestation. The document recommends prioritizing credit distribution to small producers to align subsidies with forest conservation goals.

The report identifies that financial service providers (FSPs) prioritize economic factors—specifically governance and business management—over environmental and social themes when assessing financial risk for agricultural investments. Key priorities include management experience, existing buyer relationships, land tenure, and projected cash flows. While climate change is the most important non-economic theme, with a preference for adaptation measures, social and biodiversity issues are often viewed as having more impact on sustainability than on financial risk reduction. The document recommends that agricultural producers seek capacity-building in business management and that voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) integrate more economic criteria to help producers become more bankable.

The Malawi National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Framework provides a structured approach to building climate resilience, integrating adaptation into national development planning, and coordinating stakeholders. It outlines five key mandates: improving community resilience through agriculture and disaster risk management, sustainable natural resource use, improving soil and land management, conserving biodiversity, and providing policy advocacy. The framework adopts a systems approach and emphasizes vertical and horizontal integration, community participation, and gender-responsiveness. It identifies critical gaps in climate modelling and institutional capacity, proposing a roadmap that includes risk and vulnerability assessments, the mobilization of private sector finance, and the integration of adaptation priorities into ministry spending plans, with support from the Green Climate Fund.

The report examines the potential for a sustainable bioeconomy based on quinoa in Bolivia, noting that while the country has high biodiversity and biocapacity, the sector remains heavily focused on the export of bulk seeds. It identifies a value network consisting of basic products, value-added food products, and high-value-added cosmetic products derived from saponins. Key challenges include a lack of public financing for industrial transformation, limited knowledge exchange between industry and research institutions, and environmental risks such as soil erosion and loss of crop biodiversity due to the market preference for white royal quinoa.

The report analyzes the bioeconomy landscape in Colombia, identifying a predominant 'bio-resources' vision that balances economic growth with environmental sustainability. Through a multi-stakeholder workshop, it explores sectoral visions for agriculture, biochemistry, bio-pharmaceuticals, and bioenergy, emphasizing the need for territorial development and the use of residual biomass. The document highlights critical sustainability gaps, including the risk of biodiversity loss if species are valued only for commercial advantage, the lack of formal land property rights for 60% of rural properties, and poor road infrastructure, with 75% of tertiary roads in poor condition. It concludes that a holistic, decentralized governance approach is necessary to align the bioeconomy with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The interim evaluation of the PROAmazonía project in Ecuador shows a mixed progress record as of December 2019. While the project is highly aligned with national policies and has made significant strides in land-use planning (Component 1) and REDD+ operational instruments (Component 4), it has struggled with the implementation of financial incentives and sustainable production transitions (Component 2). Budget execution stands at 31% (US$ 12,939,253 of US$ 41,172,739), hampered by high staff turnover and bureaucratic delays in ministerial approvals. Sustainability is rated as moderately likely, threatened by Ecuador's fiscal adjustment plan and political instability, though the project has successfully integrated gender strategies and established critical territorial coordination platforms.

The report analyzes Bolivia's quinoa sector through a 'value web' lens, identifying that while the country has high biocapacity and biodiversity, the industry remains heavily reliant on exporting bulk seeds. It highlights the underutilization of quinoa biomass—specifically saponins and residual stems/husks—and identifies critical gaps in public financing and knowledge exchange between industry and research institutions. The authors warn that current policies favoring specific varieties like quinoa real and organic monocultures may threaten biodiversity and climate resilience.

The report details a participatory workshop in Thailand where stakeholders from agriculture, biotechnology, and social science backgrounds developed three distinct visions for a sustainable bioeconomy. These visions range from an ecology-focused approach prioritizing farmer well-being and environmental sustainability to a technology-driven approach focused on R&D and economic growth. The analysis emphasizes the importance of public-private partnerships, regional ASEAN cooperation, and the specific cultural importance of rural development in the Thai context.

The Islamic Finance Toolkit provides a comprehensive overview of Shariah-compliant financial systems, detailing key contracts, the global industry landscape, and specific strategies for integrating Islamic finance into African economies. It identifies significant underdevelopment in Africa—where the region holds only 1% of global Islamic banking assets despite housing 27% of the world's Muslim population—and offers a framework of eleven recommendations covering legal, tax, and regulatory reforms to unlock the potential of Sukuk, Takaful, and Islamic fintech.

The document examines the GreenPitch Innovation Challenge 2019 as a mechanism to strengthen Cape Town's economic resilience by supporting green Small, Medium and Micro-Sized Enterprises (SMMEs). It argues that multi-stakeholder collaboration and pitching events help fragmented cleantech start-ups overcome resource gaps—such as lack of financial assets and networks—to better address climate-related stresses. The challenge attracted 40 nationwide entries, resulting in five finalists and providing the winner, Nubrix, with R 30,000 in business development support.

The executive summary highlights that current WTO disciplines fail to significantly limit the agricultural subsidies of major providers like the US and EU, nor do they adequately address the growing support from emerging economies like China and India. It suggests that reforming these rules is essential for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) and ensuring global food system stability, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors propose simplifying rules by introducing a minimum level of trade-distorting support based on a percentage of production value, implementing stricter transparency requirements, and establishing new, gradually decreasing global limits on internal support to correct international inequalities.

The IISD 2020-2025 strategic direction, termed the CREATE framework, prioritizes driving clean energy transitions, sustainable resource management, and the reform of global economic rules. The organization aims to leverage the post-COVID-19 recovery to 'build back better' by avoiding high-carbon futures and addressing magnified inequalities. Key operational goals include strengthening multilateralism, advancing gender equality, and expanding the reach of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin.

The Ceres2030 project identifies a funding gap of USD 33 billion per year to achieve SDG 2 targets, with USD 14 billion coming from donors and USD 19 billion from recipient countries. The report emphasizes that most existing agricultural research ignores the needs of smallholders, who represent over 80% of the world's farms. Key recommendations include investing in extension services, climate-resilient crops, social protection, and supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the value chain. The project utilizes a complex general equilibrium model and machine-learning-assisted evidence synthesis to identify a portfolio of 14 policy instruments across three categories: empowering the excluded, on-farm interventions, and food on the move.

The Ceres2030 report argues that ending global hunger is possible through an integrated combination of public investments totaling 33 billion USD per year. The project identifies ten key recommendations across three categories: enabling inclusion, on-farm improvements, and post-harvest management. It emphasizes that smallholders are critical to global food security but are often excluded from economic growth and technological advancement. The report highlights a significant funding gap, noting that donor contributions must nearly double to 26 billion USD annually, supplemented by 19 billion USD in domestic spending from recipient countries, with Africa identified as the region with the highest need.

The Ceres2030 report argues that ending global hunger is possible through an integrated portfolio of agricultural interventions and an additional annual public investment of USD 33 billion. Using AI-driven evidence synthesis and complex economic modelling, the study identifies ten key recommendations across three categories: empowering the excluded, on-farm improvements, and value chain logistics. The report emphasizes that small-scale producers, who provide a significant portion of the global food supply, are disproportionately vulnerable to the climate crisis and economic exclusion. It concludes that donor countries must double their current annual spending on food security to USD 26 billion, while low- and middle-income countries must provide an additional USD 19 billion per year, with a particular focus on Africa, where the greatest need for resources exists.

Ceres2030 identifies a funding gap of 33 billion USD per year to eradicate hunger and double the incomes of 545 million small-scale producers by 2030. The project emphasizes integrated policy portfolios over isolated interventions, highlighting the role of farmers' organizations, climate-resilient crops, and SMEs in the value chain. It specifically notes that Africa requires two-thirds of the additional public spending to meet these goals.

The Ceres2030 report argues that a world without hunger is possible through a coordinated investment of 33 billion USD annually until 2030. Using AI-driven data synthesis and complex economic modeling, the project identifies ten key recommendations across three pillars: empowering the excluded, on-farm improvements, and food movement. The findings emphasize that integrated portfolios of interventions—combining technology with human capital, social protection, and market access—are more effective than isolated solutions. The report highlights Africa as the region with the greatest need and calls for a doubling of donor contributions to 26 billion USD per year, supplemented by increased domestic taxation in recipient countries.

The Ceres2030 project uses AI-driven evidence reviews and complex economic modeling to determine that an additional $33 billion in annual public spending—$14 billion from donors and $19 billion from low- and middle-income countries—is required to end hunger and double smallholder incomes by 2030 while adhering to Paris Agreement emissions targets. The report identifies ten key recommendations across three categories: empowering the excluded (e.g., farmer organizations, youth training, social protection), farm-level interventions (e.g., climate-resilient crops, extension services, livestock feed), and food flow improvements (e.g., reducing post-harvest losses, supporting SMEs). It emphasizes that integrated bundles of interventions are more effective than isolated solutions and highlights a critical lack of high-quality, gender-disaggregated, and cost-specific evidence in current agricultural research.