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May 3, 2024 In the media Atal Bhujal Yojana: Bridging ambition with reality Archisman Mitra, Suchiradipta Bhattacharjee and Garima Taneja discuss community engagement in the ABY groundwater management scheme. May 12, 2024 Upcoming events Convention on Biological Diversity: SBSTTA-26 May 13, 2024 - May 18, 2024 Mediterranean Green Week 2024 May 14, 2024 - May 16, 2024 Istanbul, Turkey Human Geographies of Climate Change Adaptation Conference 2024 May 15, 2024 - May 16, 2024 Bergen, Norway Nexus Gains Talks: Water-energy-food-ecosystems dynamics in a climate crisis May 15, 2024 Register here All events Latest journal articles Future shifting of annual extreme flows under climate change in the Volta River Basin. Understanding water governance in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia: governance framework, coherence and practices. Polycentric groundwater governance: insights from the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area. View More… Latest publications Working / Discussion Paper Investment and cultivation strategies for women and youth inclusion: cases from on-farm, off-farm and non-farm activities in Ethiopia and Mali More... | Fulltext [DOI] Africaapos;s agriculture sector is vital for food security, employment, and economic growth. Women and young people, who contribute to innovation, diversification, and income, face limited opportunities in the sector due to social and economic power imbalances. This disparity wastes resources and impedes agricultural value chain development (VCD). Inclusive VCD aims to empower women, men and youth from diverse social groups and strengthen the agriculture sector. However, the literature on inclusive VCD in Africa is limited due to urban biases, and the lack of a framework to address gender inequality and poverty. This study explores how livelihood assets, strategies for accessing the assets, and enabling and discouraging factors in the value chain shapes the inclusion of women and youth in on-farm, off-farm and non-farm activities. It is based on the Safeguarding Sahelian Wetlands for Food Security (SaWeL) program that aims to make the market work for the poor through inclusive VCD in the Ziway-Shalla Sub-basin of Ethiopia, and Wegnia and Sourou basins in Mali. A qualitative dataset of 32 focus group discussions, 48 key informant interviews and 40 in-depth interviews were analyzed. We identified investment and cultivation inclusion strategies that demonstrates how women and youth from diverse social groups actualize business opportunities, overcome challenges and create new opportunities for inclusion. Investment strategies involve women and youth from better-off households with good access to natural, social, political and physical capital for capital-intensive roles. On the other hand, cultivation strategies involve women and youth from resource-poor households who can harness natural, social and political capital to participate in off-farm and non-farm activities. Our results show that women and youth who adopt either one of the strategies are encouraged by good support from social networks, cooperatives, Government Organizations, Nongovernmental Organizations and private sector actors. However, access to productive resources and services for women and youth adopting any strategies is hampered by gender and intergenerational norms, poverty and insufficient institutional capacity. We argue that it is essential to understand how social disparities and local environments interact to inform the design and implementation of inclusive value chains. Additionally, inclusive value chains necessitate building capacities of institutions at different scales. Case studies / Private sector / Nongovernmental organizations / Governmental organizations / Policies / Capacity development / Institutions / Access to finance / Cooperatives / Poverty / Households / Food security / Small-scale farming / Agribusiness / Markets / Social groups / Farmers / Social norms / Gender / Cultural capital / Social capital / Human capital / Natural capital / Assets / Livelihoods / Agricultural value chains / Surpluses / Agricultural production / Social inclusion / Youth / s participation / Womenapos / Strategies / Cultivation / Investment Record No:H052838 Report A landscape analysis of youth engagement in agripreneurship in Malawi More... | Fulltext This report aims to explore the multidimensional challenges and opportunities for youth in agripreneurship in Malawi for a better understanding of interventions for youth in agribusiness. It examines the enabling and disenabling environment for young agripreneurs and how best to engage youth within the agribusiness sector. The report draws on in-depth interviews, workshops, and secondary literature to highlight key issues and strategies to engage youth agripreneurs in Malawi. It also offers recommendations for actors, practitioners, and policymakers to enhance transformative interventions for youth participation in agribusiness. Suggested measures include improving access to input, market, and equipment, setting up quota systems targeting youth agripreneurs, and better coordinating youth programs between ministries and the private sectors. The report also emphasized that these strategies are not just to achieve youth inclusion in agribusiness but also for the sustainability of youth programs which contribute to building resilient societies. Non-governmental organizations / Private sector / Land access / Agricultural value chains / Policies / Strategies / Intervention / Market access / Loans / Finance / Sustainability / Agribusiness / Entrepreneurship / Agriculture / Participation / Youth Record No:H052710 Journal Article Development of a composite drought indicator for operational drought monitoring in the MENA Region More... | Fulltext [DOI] This paper presents the composite drought indicator (CDI) that Jordanian, Lebanese, Moroccan, and Tunisian government agencies now produce monthly to support operational drought management decision making, and it describes their iterative co-development processes. The CDI is primarily intended to monitor agricultural and ecological drought on a seasonal time scale. It uses remote sensing and modelled data inputs, and it reflects anomalies in precipitation, vegetation, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration. Following quantitative and qualitative validation assessments, engagements with policymakers, and consideration of agencies’ technical and institutional capabilities and constraints, we made changes to CDI input data, modelling procedures, and integration to tailor the system for each national context. We summarize validation results, drought modelling challenges and how we overcame them through CDI improvements, and we describe the monthly CDI production process and outputs. Finally, we synthesize procedural and technical aspects of CDI development and reflect on the constraints we faced as well as trade-offs made to optimize the CDI for operational monitoring to support policy decision-making—including aspects of salience,...