CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes

30/04/2026

The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists is an opportunity to bring rangelands and pastoral systems into sharper focus, particularly in the context of climate change.

For this month’s climate and resilience theme, this piece curates work from across CGIAR centres, alongside research from the CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program. Highlighting how different approaches are strengthening pastoral systems under increasing climate pressure.

From early warning systems developed by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, to rangeland restoration work led by International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, and participatory rangeland management advanced by International Livestock Research Institute, the blog brings together ongoing efforts across regions.

With droughts becoming more frequent and severe, affecting pasture, water availability, and livestock systems, these examples show how science and practice are supporting more anticipatory and coordinated responses.

Read the blog: https://on.cgiar.org/48Qh6Kb



Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT | International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDA | ILRI

27/04/2026

The three Rio Conventions were established at the 1992 Earth Summit to address interconnected global challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation.

They are implemented through the UNFCCC, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.

A new CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes white paper examines how these agendas intersect through food, land, and water systems, often described as the Rio Nexus, and how more coordinated action can strengthen outcomes across all three.

The paper highlights that food systems are central to these challenges. They contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, drive land use change, and affect biodiversity and water systems. Current estimates indicate that food systems contribute about one-third of global emissions and remain a major driver of environmental pressures.

Drawing on evidence and case studies, the paper shows that integrated approaches to managing food, land, and water systems can support climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and land restoration within the same landscapes.

It also highlights that coordinated action can improve efficiency. In Rwanda, aligning land restoration efforts across these areas reduced transaction costs by 56%, with estimated savings of USD 45.6 million annually.

The findings emphasize the importance of policy coherence, coordinated governance, and investment approaches that reflect the interconnected nature of these systems.

📄 Read the full white paper: https://cgspace.cgiar.org/items/54393e4e-16ca-40dc-a74d-07ba06e2a22b



Pauliina Upla | MAHA Al-ZU'BI, Ph.D. | Véronique Alary | Dr. Alok Sikka | Augusto Castro-Nuñez, PhD | Lulseged Tamene | Natalia Estrada Carmona | Fiona Flintan | Aymen Frija | Birgit Habermann | Manoj Kaushal | Gopal Kumar | Sudharsan Malaiappan | Ruth Meinzen-Dick | An Notenbaert | David Ramirez Collantes | Leonard Rusinamhodzi 🇿🇼 | Dr. Ayan Samaddar (Ph.D) | Ramesh Singh | Cargele Nduwamungu Masso

Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, ILRI, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Cirad - La recherche agronomique pour le développement, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDA, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), International Potato Center, WorldFish, ICRISAT

24/04/2026

Livestock systems are central to food systems in low- and middle-income countries, supporting livelihoods, nutrition, and landscape management at scale.

Globally, they account for about 40% of the value of agricultural systems and support over a billion people.

A new CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes white paper examines how agroecology can strengthen these systems by improving how they function in practice.

The paper shows that agroecological livestock systems can:

• improve soil health and biodiversity
• strengthen animal health and productivity
• reduce reliance on external inputs
• enhance resilience to climate variability

Across different contexts, integrated approaches are already showing results, including more efficient water use, improved nutrient cycling, and diversified livelihoods.

These outcomes are grounded in 13 interconnected agroecological principles, applied together to manage synergies and trade-offs across production systems, ecosystems, and communities.

The paper also highlights what is needed to scale these approaches, including stronger policy alignment, investment in local innovation, inclusive governance, and better integration of science and practice.

This work focuses on designing livestock systems that deliver for people, landscapes, and food systems together.

📄 Read the full white paper: https://lnkd.in/dWsKZbgT



Cargele Nduwamungu Masso | Burkart Stefan | Alexandre Caron | Oluchi Ezekannagha | Fiona Flintan | Aymen Frija | Matthias Geck | Birgit Habermann | Gopal Kumar | Shalander Kumar | Sudharsan Maliappan | An Notenbaert | Frank Rasche | Pauliina Upla | Eric Vall | Abdrahmane Wane | Anthony Whitbread

ILRI | Cirad - La recherche agronomique pour le développement | International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDA | CIFOR-ICRAF | International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) | International Water Management Institute (IWMI) | ICRISAT | Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT

22/04/2026

Geopolitical tensions are exposing a critical vulnerability in global food systems.

A new op-ed from the CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program, authored by Lulseged Tamene, Jonathan Mockshell, Francisco Hidalgo, Ryan Nehring, and WEI ZHANG, examines how disruptions linked to the Strait of Hormuz are driving spikes in fuel, fertiliser, and food prices.

The implications are significant. This corridor alone handles around 20% of global oil exports and up to 30% of internationally traded fertilisers, meaning shocks here ripple quickly across food systems.

The analysis highlights a deeper structural issue: modern food systems remain heavily dependent on fossil fuels, from fertiliser production to processing, transport, and storage. This dependence increases exposure to geopolitical and economic shocks, with disproportionate impacts on smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries.

At the same time, the authors point to a growing body of evidence showing that agroecological and nature-positive approaches can reduce reliance on external inputs while strengthening resilience, improving soil health, and supporting livelihoods.

Examples from Ethiopia, India, Vietnam, and Peru illustrate how diversified systems, crop rotations, and agroforestry can maintain or even improve productivity under changing conditions.

The piece calls for coordinated action across scales: stabilising input access in the short term, reforming subsidies and incentives in the medium term, and transitioning toward more regenerative and locally embedded food systems over the long term.

This is not only about responding to current disruptions, but about rethinking how food systems are structured in an increasingly uncertain world.

Read the full op-ed here: https://on.cgiar.org/3QqAgzJ



International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) | Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT

Sharp surges in energy, fertiliser, and food prices triggered by the ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf strikingly illustrate the deep interconnections between geopolitical conflicts, food insecurity and the fragility of fossil fuel-dependent food systems. Our authors are calling for a shift towar...

11/04/2026

A major milestone for food systems transformation in Ethiopia.

The National Agroecology Strategy for Food System Transformation (2026–2040) is now available on CGIAR’s CGSpace.

Developed through a national, multi-stakeholder process led by the Ministry of Agriculture, the strategy sets out a long-term framework to transition Ethiopia’s food systems toward greater resilience, sustainability, and inclusiveness. It responds directly to the challenges facing smallholder, rain-fed systems — from climate variability and land degradation to biodiversity loss and declining soil fertility.

The strategy positions agroecology as a pathway to align productivity with environmental stewardship, integrating ecological principles, local knowledge, and innovation to deliver outcomes across food security, livelihoods, and landscape restoration.

This milestone reflects strong collaboration across partners, including Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and CIFOR-ICRAF, alongside contributions from the CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes (MFL) Science Program. Through its work on integrated landscape approaches, MFL supports the kind of cross-sectoral, evidence-based planning and implementation that this strategy advances.

Launched in Addis Ababa on 14 March, the strategy provides a coordinated national framework to guide investment, strengthen institutions, and scale agroecological approaches across Ethiopia’s diverse production systems.

📄 Read the full strategy: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/182055

10/04/2026

Food systems are under increasing pressure, from climate change and land degradation to biodiversity loss and fragile livelihoods.

The CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes (MFL) Science Program responds by working at landscape level, where production systems, ecosystems, and communities intersect.

In this first newsletter edition, we introduce the programme and share how this approach is being applied across regions.

We also highlight Stories from the field: Progress Toward 2030, showing how we work with partners to deliver integrated landscape solutions that support restoration, resilience, and livelihoods in practice.

Read more: https://landscapes-cgiar.eu.mautic.net/email/view/69bab0003275c834683873

International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas - ICARDA ICRISAT ILRI Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Africa Rice Center International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) CIFOR-ICRAF WorldFish

09/04/2026

Behind every national strategy is a process of alignment, evidence, and partnership.

The policy brief “Forging Ethiopia’s Food Future through its Groundbreaking National Agroecology Strategy” captures the thinking and collaboration that shaped Ethiopia’s agroecological transition.

Developed in support of the Ministry of Agriculture and in collaboration with Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and CIFOR-ICRAF, the brief outlines how the Ethiopian National Agroecology Strategy was co-created through extensive stakeholder engagement and grounded in national priorities.

It highlights the ambition of the strategy built around six strategic objectives and 26 focus areas to address interconnected challenges, including climate vulnerability, land degradation, and food insecurity.

Importantly, it shows how agroecology is being positioned not only as a set of practices, but as a national movement to restore ecosystems, strengthen livelihoods, and build a climate-resilient food future.

With contributions from CGIAR programs, including the Multifunctional Landscapes (MFL) Science Program, the brief reflects the role of integrated, landscape-level approaches in shaping coherent and scalable policy frameworks.

Together with the full strategy, this provides both the evidence base and the pathway for Ethiopia’s food system transformation.📘 Read the policy brief: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/180444

20/03/2026

In Mandla, central India, small homestead plots are being transformed through agroecological practices.

In this piece, Tanmoy Bhaduri, Gulshan Borah and Sudharsan Malaiappan from International Water Management Institute (IWMI) share how indigenous women are reshaping farming systems in their communities.

The story is part of work under the CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes (MFL) Science Program, where homestead farming is being used to address nutrition, income, and resource challenges in upland areas.

What were once low-yield plots are now supporting more diverse production and new roles for women in decision-making.

Read the full story: dialogue.earth/en/food/homestead-farming-is-empowering-indigenous-women-in-central-india/

19/03/2026

Managing landscapes involves more than technical solutions. Institutional arrangements shape how decisions are made, coordinated, and sustained over time.

In this new piece from CGIAR MFL, Wei Zhang and Ruth Meinzen-Dick of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) outline a practical way to diagnose these institutional needs.

Using a simple lens of scale and time, the blog highlights where tenure security and coordination mechanisms become most relevant across landscapes.

Read more: https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/diagnosing-institutional-needs-landscape-management-practica…

17/03/2026

What does it take to connect landscape-level innovation with policy?
In this blog, CGIAR’s Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program reflects on its engagement at IF-ALL 2025 and what it means for advancing agroecological transitions.

The blog draws on presentations and discussions that explored governance of agroecological transitions, participatory co-design methods, and the role of living labs as a science, society, and policy interface.

It also highlights how living labs can support experimentation, generate evidence at relevant scales, and create space for policy dialogue and alignment.

As CGIAR prepares to host IF-ALL in 2028, this work positions the program to bring Global South perspectives more strongly into global conversations on food systems and landscape transformation.

Read more: https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/cgiar-multifunctional-landscapes-if-all-2025-linking-local-innovations-global

27/02/2026

How can communities strengthen resilience to climate shocks while restoring degraded ecosystems?

A new blog from CGIAR MFL explores how a series of recent field activities of the CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes Programme B-REAL project (Biodiversity for Resilient Ecosystems in Agricultural Landscapes has exemplified how community-led initiatives can weave together education, agroecology, women’s leadership, and seed sovereignty in the Indigenous Reserve of Gran Cumbal of Nariño in southern Colombia.

From implementing ecosystem-based adaptation strategies that integrate traditional knowledge with scientific innovation to restoring degraded lands, diversifying crops, and improving soil and water management, these rural communities are enhancing productivity and climate resilience in the face of increasing climate variability.

Working with local organisations and producers to co-design interventions that support sustainable landscapes, reduce vulnerability, and foster socio-ecological stability, this collaborative approach demonstrates the role of context-specific science in advancing resilient food systems.

👉 Read more: https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/cultivating-resilience-gran-cumbal



Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa - AICCRA Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT Coady Institute CIFOR-ICRAF