Alliance Research Lever 4: Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/107452
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Item CGIAR Report to the Twentieth Regular Session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture(Report, 2025-02-03) CGIARThis report was prepared by CGIAR in response to an invitation from the Secretariat of the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. It is structured to correspond, in general, to agenda items 2-10 of the Twentieth Regular Session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA-20). Some sections of this report were previously included in the CGIAR submission to the Twelfth Session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group on Plant Genetic Resources (ITWG-PGRFA-12), in December 2024.Item Nature-Positive Agriculture—A way forward towards resilient agrifood systems(Journal Article, 2025-01-31) Kaushal, Manoj; Atieno, Mary; Odjo, Sylvanus; Baijukya, Frederick; Gebrehawaryat, Yosef; Fadda, CarloCurrent food production systems rely heavily on resource-poor small-scale farmers in the global south. Concomitantly, the agrifood systems are exacerbated by various a/biotic challenges, including low-input agriculture and climate crisis. The recent global food crisis further escalates the production and consumption challenges in the global market. With these challenges, coordinated efforts to address the world’s agrifood systems challenges have never been more urgent than now. This includes the implementation of deeply interconnected activities of food, land, and water systems and relationships among producers and consumers that operate across political boundaries. Nature-positive agriculture represents interventions both at the farm and landscape level that include a systems approach for the management of diverse issues across the land-water-food nexus. In the present article, we focus on the history of traditional farming and how it evolved into today’s nature-positive agriculture, including its limitations and opportunities. The review also explains the most impactful indicators for successful nature-positive agriculture, including sustainable management of soil, crops, seeds, pests, and mixed farming systems, including forages and livestock. Finally, the review explains the dynamics of nature-positive agriculture in the context of small-scale farming systems and how multilateral organizations like the CGIAR are converting this into transformative actions and impact. To address the climate crisis, CGIAR established the paradigm of nature-positive solutions as part of its research and development efforts aimed at transforming food, land, and water systems into more resilient and sustainable pathways.Item Addressing Fusarium Wilt Tropical Race 4 in Northern Vietnam's banana production systems.(Brief, 2024-12-01) Huy Nguyen, Chung; Johnson, Vincent; Blomme, GuyItem Tackling Banana Bunchy Top Disease in Rwanda.(Brief, 2024-12) Gaidashova, Svetlana; Johnson, Vincent; Blomme, Guy; Ocimati, WalterItem Tackling Banana Bunchy Top Disease in Uganda.(Brief, 2024-12) Tugume, J.; Odongo Ikoku, P.; Johnson, Vincent; Ocimati, Walter; Blomme, GuyItem Agrobiodiversity Zones - Peru's flagship initiative at COP-16(Blog Post, 2024-12-22) Ramirez, Marleni; Jones, Sarah; Estrada Carmona, Natalia; Quintana, Cristina; Fernandez, ElizabethAt the COP16 on Biodiversity, last October in Cali, Colombia, Peru presented its in-situ/on farm agrobiodiversity conservation model during a prime-time side event titled “Agrobiodiversity Zones, Millenary agricultural conservation for Peru and world food security”, led by INIA, the Institute of Agrarian Innovation in the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation of Peru, MIDAGRI. This event presented the steps being taken by the government to officially recognize and support the silent effort of original people’s and rural communities in the conservation of the magnificent agrobiodiversity of Peru, fundamental for food security, climate change adaptation and sustainable development for the country and the world.Item In situ and ex situ conservation gap analyses of crop wild relatives from Northeast Africa(Journal Article, 2025-01-20) Aldow, Ahmed; Brehm, Joana Magos; Gaisberger, Hannes; Maxted, NigelCrop Wild Relatives (CWR) are wild plant taxa closely related to domesticated crops that play a vital role in enhancing crop resilience. This study assessed the conservation status of 97 priority CWR in Northeast Africa through a comprehensive approach, incorporating ecogeographic data and complementarity analysis. The analysis of 4551 occurrence records from 57 CWR highlighted significant gaps in in situ conservation. Notably, the highest number of occurrence records within Protected Areas (PAs) were found in Ethiopia, particularly in Borena National Park, Kafa UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve, and Bonga National Forest Priority Area. However, only 40 taxa (~ 42%) were identified within existing PAs, with Solanum campylacanthum Hochst. cx A. Rich, and Coffea arabica L. being the most prevalent. Ecogeographic Land Characterization (ELC) maps identified 45 distinct ecological zones representing the region’s diverse habitats. Ex situ analysis revealed 1295 occurrence records from 52 taxa (54%) conserved in genebanks, although only 8% of these taxa were represented by more than 50 accessions. S. camplyacanthum and Avena vaviloviana (Malz.) Mordv. had the highest number of accessions. Ecogeographical analysis indicated that ELC zones 8, 17, and 18 had the highest frequencies of occurrence in both PAs and genebanks. Complementarity analysis identified 34 potential genetic reserve areas, covering 42 taxa (43%), compared to 33 taxa conserved across 18 PAs identified by coverage analysis. These findings highlight the urgent need for a comprehensive CWR conservation strategy to protect valuable genetic diversity for future crop breeding programs, ultimately enhancing crop resilience in the face of ongoing and future agricultural challenges.Item Unravelling genomic drivers of speciation in musa through genome assemblies of wild banana ancestors(Journal Article, 2025-01-23) Martin, Guillaume; Istace, Benjamin; Baurens, Franc-Christophe; Belser, Caroline; Hervouet, Catherine; Labadie, Karine; Cruaud, Corinne; Noel, Benjamin; Guiougou, Chantal; Salmon, Frederic; Mahadeo, Joël; Ahmad, Fajarudin; Volkaert, Hugo A.; Droc, Gaëtan; Rouard, Mathieu; Sardos, Julie; Wincker, Patrick; Yahiaoui, Nabila; Aury, Jean-Marc; D’Hont, AngéliqueHybridization between wild Musa species and subspecies from Southeast Asia is at the origin of cultivated bananas. The genomes of these cultivars are complex mosaics involving nine genetic groups, including two previously unknown contributors. This study provides continuous genome assemblies for six wild genetic groups, one of which represents one of the unknown ancestor, identified as M. acuminata ssp. halabanensis . The second unknown ancestor partially present in a seventh assembly appears related to M. a . ssp. zebrina . These assemblies provide key resources for banana genetics and for improving cultivar assemblies, including that of the emblematic triploid Cavendish. Comparative and phylogenetic analyses reveal an ongoing speciation process within Musa , characterised by large chromosome rearrangements and centromere differentiation through the integration of different types of repeated sequences, including rDNA tandem repeats. This speciation process may have been favoured by reproductive isolation related to the particular context of climate and land connectivity fluctuations in the Southeast Asian region.Item Metabolomics: V1 data processing pipeline(Brief, 2025-01-28) Chien, Chi-Ming; Yu, Bruce; Watkins, Steve; Brinkley, SarahThe Periodic Table of Food Initiative has developed distributable standardized protocols for sample preparation and nontargeted metabolomics data acquisition. Following data acquisition, laboratories upload their raw data to a data portal for standardized processing and annotation. This document describes the first generation (V1) of the data analysis method.Item Cacao grafting increases crop yield without compromising biodiversity(Journal Article, 2025-01-19) Ocampo-Ariza, Carolina; Müller, Sophie; Yovera, Fredy; Thomas, Evert; Vansynghel, Justine; Maas, Bea; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Tscharntke, TejaYields of tropical tree crops decline with time, often forcing smallholders to establish new deforestation‐derived plantations. Consequently, alternative strategies reconciling crop yield and biodiversity conservation are essential. Grafting is a common propagation method to boost yield in crops as cacao, but it alters tree structure potentially affecting associated insect diversity. We investigated how grafting affects cacao yield and biodiversity, modulated by local management and landscape, that is shade‐tree cover and distance to nearest forest. Within nine organic agroforests in Peru, we monitored the number of pods yielded over 2 years by ~190 trees per plot, and compared production levels with non‐grafted trees. We collected arthropods on 54 trees shortly after grafting and replicated surveys in the dry and rainy season, with standardized diurnal and nocturnal inspection of tree branches. We expected grafting would increase yield after a brief gap, while the arthropod community associated with freshly grafted cacao would differ from that of full‐grown cacao trees. Cacao grafting increased yields after 2 years by an average of 45% more than adjacent non‐grafted trees. Compared to non‐grafted trees, arthropod abundance was 25% lower 3 months after grafting and 12% lower after 6 months, indicating a recovery of arthropod communities shortly after grafting. Similar patterns were observed for species richness (22% and 12%) and Hill–Shannon diversity (18% and 13%). Abundance of phytophagous insects (mainly aphids) was unchanged with grafting. However, we found 46% fewer beetles and 39% fewer predatory arthropods (mainly spiders) on young—but not old—grafted cacao, indicating a possible decrease in pest control services by predatory arthropods at early grafting stages. We observed richer, more diverse, but less abundant arthropods during nocturnal surveys than on diurnal surveys. Arthropods were richer, more abundant and diverse in the rainy season than in the dry season. Increasing shade‐tree cover decreased arthropod diversity but did not affect species richness or abundance. Shorter distances from forest decreased richness and diversity, but not abundance, possibly due to higher pressure from vertebrate predators nearby forests. Synthesis and applications . Grafting is a successful approach for rejuvenating old, unproductive cacao trees, enhancing smallholder income opportunities and thus reducing pressure for new deforestation‐based plantations. Grafting briefly reduced arthropod abundance and diversity, but recovered in a short time. Hence, rejuvenation of cacao trees by grafting should be promoted and implemented as a promising strategy for more sustainable social‐ecological cacao management, with economic and ecological benefits for smallholders.Item Crowdsourcing approach for evaluating durum wheat varieties in central Ethiopia(Report, 2024-12) Mengistu, Dejene Kassahun; Hailemariam, Bogale Nigir; Terefe, Hailu; Tilahun, Mulugeta; Kidane, Yosef GebrehawaryatItem Developing organic protocols for durum wheat production in Ethiopia(Report, 2024-12) Mengistu, Dejene Kassahun; Hailemariam, Bogale Nigir; Tilahun, Mulugeta; Kidane, Yosef GebrehawaryatItem Determination of appropriate rate of inorganic fertilizer for local durum wheat varieties(Report, 2024-12) Hailemariam, Bogale Nigir; Mengistu, Dejene Kassahun; Tilahun, Mulugeta; Kidane, Yosef GebrehawaryatItem Reach to and dissemination of varieties through citizen science approaches(Report, 2024-12) Mengistu, Dejene Kassahun; Kidane, Yosef Gebrehawaryat; Tilahun, Mulugeta; Nigir, Bogale; Fadda, CarloItem Empowering farmers and extension workers through capacity building trainings in North Wollo, North Shewa, East Shewa, and Hadiya zones(Report, 2024-12) Mengistu, Dejene Kassahun; Nigir, Bogale; Terefe, Hailu; Tilahun, Mulugeta; Kidane, Yosef GebrehawaryatItem Upscaling of crowdsourced winner varieties of durum wheat and faba bean in North Wollo, North Shewa, East Shewa, and Hadiya zones(Report, 2024-01) Mengistu, Dejene Kassahun; Terefe, Hailu; Nigir, Bogale; Tilahun, Mulugeta; Kidane, Yosef GebrehawaryatItem Responses of durum wheat varieties to seed rate and sowing date in Gimbichu District, East Shewa Zone, Ethiopia(Report, 2024-01) Hailemariam, Bogale Nigir; Tilahun, Mulugeta; Kidane, Yosef Gebrehawaryat; Mengistu, Dejene KassahunItem Stakeholder engagement strategy for developing integrated food and land use pathways(Report, 2024-12) Lavado, Angela; Navarrete Frias, Carolina; Declerck, Fabrice; Jones, SarahItem Utilizing crowdsourcing approach for Faba Bean enrichment in North Shewa, Ethiopia(Report, 2024-12) Hailemariam, Bogale Nigir; Mengistu, Dejene K.; Hailu, Terefe; Mulugeta, Tilahun; Kidane, Yosef G.Item Rapport d'atelier sur l'activité 3.4 "Renforcement du dialogue inter-pays et international, mise A l'echelle et creation de synergies" du Projet Sustlives(Report, 2024-07) Bankole, Malikath; Bodjrenou, Sam; Grazioli, Francesca; Otieno, Gloria; Rokka, Susanna; Dambo, Lawali; Nanema, Jaques; El Bilali, Hamid; Acasta, Filippo