What's New

Innovative financial services within agrifood value chains are rising in low- and middle-income countries. This holds great promise for employment, yet the reality is that many smallholder farmers are unable to access and benefit from these services. What are the main barriers and where are the opportunities? 

Agrifood systems are a major source of employment worldwide. Yet women working within agrifood systems in low-income countries are more likely to have irregular, informal, and less well-paid jobs compared to men, and experience less favourable working conditions. Closing gender gaps is critically needed to create more sustainable and inclusive agrifood systems.

This internal webinar from the Honduras team of the CGIAR 'Rethinking Food Markets' Initiative presented the portfolio of innovations developed by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT in agricultural product traceability for compliance with international regulations.

The Honduran team consists of researchers from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT: Federico Ceballos-Sierra, postdoctoral researcher; Mirian Colindres, Senior Research Associate; Byron Reyes, scientist; and Jenny Wiegel, scientist and Regional Coordinator for Central America.

Agrifood systems represent a substantial source of employment for a diverse range of supply chain actors. In recent years, we have learned a lot from the rapid rise in innovations on what is needed to build more inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems that can lift people out of poverty and provide better job opportunities. Yet there are still critical gaps in knowledge to address before we get there. 

The supply and demand of fruits, vegetables and animal products is often insufficient and too expensive for most consumers in sub-Saharan Africa. However, recent evidence suggests that both the production and consumption of these nutrient-dense products is rapidly growing. What are the policy implications of this? And what can governments do to stimulate more inclusive and sustainable domestic value chains?