Introduction to the Special Issue: Challenges and Opportunities for African Agriculture and Food Systems

Globally, gender inequalities constrain food security, with women often disproportionately affected. Women play a fundamental role in household food and nutrition security. The multiple roles women play in various areas of the food system are not always recognised. This oversight emerges from an overemphasis on one aspect of the food system, without considering how this area might affect or be affected by another aspect. This study aimed to draw on international commitments and treaties using content analysis to enhance the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Security food systems framework by integrating a gender perspective. The study found that generally, there is a consensus on specific actions that can be taken to advance gender equality at specific stages of the food system. However, governance and social systems constraints that are not necessarily part of the food system, but have a significant bearing on men and women’s capacity to effectively participate in the food system, need to be addressed. While the proposed conceptual framework has some limitations, it offers a foundation on which researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders can begin conceptualising the interconnectedness of gender barriers in the food system.

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Challenges and opportunities to the African agriculture and food system

African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development ◽

10.18697/ajfand.84.blfb2000 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (01) ◽

pp. 14190-14217 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Dawd Gashu ◽

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Montague W. Demment ◽

Barbara J. Stoecker ◽

◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food System ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

African Agriculture ◽

Agriculture And Food

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Land and Water Systems: Looking to the future and a more resilient and sustainable society and environment

10.31235/osf.io/ajs6q ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elisabetta Gotor ◽

Swamikannu Nedumaran ◽

Nicola Cenacchi ◽

Nhuong Tran ◽

Shahnila Dunston ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rural Communities ◽

Food Systems ◽

Water Systems ◽

Working Paper ◽

Food And Agriculture ◽

The Future ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

Time Changes ◽

Agriculture And Food ◽

Inform Decision Making

Food, land, and water systems are facing unprecedented change. The world’s population is projected to grow to approximately 10 billion people by 2050, while aging and declining in some regions. Global average incomes are expected to keep increasing at a slow but steady pace. With increasing incomes and the ability of consumers to purchase more and better food in combination with population growth, food demand is projected to grow substantially over the next three decades. Meanwhile, demographic changes and economic development also drive urbanization, migration, and structural transformation of rural communities. At the same time changes to precipitation and temperature as well as the occurrence of extreme events driven by climate change are becoming more prevalent and impacting society and the environment. Currently, humanity is approaching or exceeding planetary boundaries in some areas, with over-use of limited productive natural resources such as water and phosphate, net emissions of greenhouse gases, and decreases in biodiversityMuch is published about food and agriculture and the supporting/underpinning land and water systems, but no single source focuses regularly and systematically on the future of agriculture and food systems, particularly on the challenges and opportunities faced by developing countries. This working paper is part of an effort by the CGIAR foresight team to help fill that gap. The effort recognizes that there is much to learn from past experience, and there are clearly many urgent and immediate challenges, but given the pace and complexity of change we are currently experiencing, there is also an increasing need to look carefully into the future of food, land, and water systems to inform decision making today.

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Making African agriculture and food systems work for nutrition: What has been done, and what needs to be done?

10.2499/9780896295933_05 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

African Agriculture ◽

Agriculture And Food

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The ENIGMA Brain Injury Working Group: Approach, Challenges, and Potential Benefits

10.31234/osf.io/t96xb ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Elisabeth A. Wilde ◽

Emily L. Dennis ◽

David F Tate

Keyword(s):

Brain Injury ◽

Working Group ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Special Issue ◽

Group Approach ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

Brain Structure And Function ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

And Function ◽

Neuroimaging Genetics

The Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) consortium brings together researchers from around the world to try to identify the genetic underpinnings of brain structure and function, along with robust, generalizable effects of neurological and psychiatric disorders. The recently-formed ENIGMA Brain Injury working group includes 8 subgroups, based largely on injury mechanism and patient population. This introduction to the special issue summarizes the history, organization, and objectives of ENIGMA Brain Injury, and includes a discussion of strategies, challenges, opportunities and goals common across 6 of the subgroups under the umbrella of ENIGMA Brain Injury. The following articles in this special issue, including 6 articles from different subgroups, will detail the challenges and opportunities specific to each subgroup.

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The Defining Characteristics of Agroecosystem Living Labs

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13041718 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 1718

Author(s):

Chris McPhee ◽

Margaret Bancerz ◽

Muriel Mambrini-Doudet ◽

François Chrétien ◽

Christian Huyghe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Systems ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

External Factors ◽

Social Challenges ◽

Rural Living ◽

Living Lab ◽

Challenges And Opportunities ◽

Unique Nature ◽

Living Labs ◽

High Uncertainty

In response to environmental, economic, and social challenges, the living labs approach to innovation is receiving increasing attention within the agricultural sector. In this paper, we propose a set of defining characteristics for an emerging type of living lab intended to increase the sustainability and resilience of agriculture and agri-food systems: the “agroecosystem living lab”. Drawing on first-hand knowledge of case studies of large initiatives from Canada and France and supported by eight other cases from the literature, we highlight the unique nature of agroecosystem living labs and their distinct challenges with respect to their aims, activities, participants, and context. In particular, these living labs are characterized by exceptionally high levels of scientific research; long innovation cycles with high uncertainty due to external factors; and the high number and diversity of stakeholders involved. Both procedurally and conceptually, we link to earlier efforts undertaken by researchers seeking to identify urban living labs and rural living labs as distinct, new types of living labs. By highlighting what makes agroecosystem living labs unique and their commonalities with other types of living labs, we hope to encourage their further study and help practitioners better understand their implementation and operational challenges and opportunities.

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Application of Novel Non-Thermal Physical Technologies to Degrade Mycotoxins

Journal of Fungi ◽

10.3390/jof7050395 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

pp. 395

Author(s):

Mohammad Yousefi ◽

Masoud Aman Mohammadi ◽

Maryam Zabihzadeh Khajavi ◽

Ali Ehsani ◽

Vladimír Scholtz

Keyword(s):

Electron Beam ◽

Food Systems ◽

Large Scale ◽

Plasma Electron ◽

Pulsed Light ◽

Beam Radiation ◽

Practical Applications ◽

Electron Beam Radiation ◽

Non Thermal Plasma ◽

Agriculture And Food

Mycotoxins cause adverse effects on human health. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to confront them, particularly in agriculture and food systems. Non-thermal plasma, electron beam radiation, and pulsed light are possible novel non-thermal technologies offering promising results in degrading mycotoxins with potential for practical applications. In this paper, the available publications are reviewed—some of them report efficiency of more than 90%, sometimes almost 100%. The mechanisms of action, advantages, efficacy, limitations, and undesirable effects are reviewed and discussed. The first foretastes of plasma and electron beam application in the industry are in the developing stages, while pulsed light has not been employed in large-scale application yet.

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Special Issue “Levering Sustainable Food Systems to Address Climate Change (Pandemics and Other Shocks and Hazards): Possible Transformations”

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13158206 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 8206

Author(s):

Andrew Spring ◽

Erin Nelson ◽

Irena Knezevic ◽

Patricia Ballamingie ◽

Alison Blay-Palmer

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Systems ◽

Special Issue ◽

Sustainable Food Systems ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

Address Climate Change ◽

The World

Since we first conceived of this Special Issue, “Levering Sustainable Food Systems to Address Climate Change—Possible Transformations”, COVID-19 has turned the world upside down [...]

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