For farmers in Nepal, climate change is not an abstract fear, it’s a daily reality. Inconsistent weather, inadequate water resources, rising temperatures and shifting seasons mean that farmers are having to adapt their systems to keep producing, while at the same time meeting the growing population’s demand for food.

Now is a critical time to address the needs of farmers who the World Bank estimates, with others along the agricultural value chain, make up more than 65% of the total population. Mitigating the impacts of climate change could not only increase agricultural production, but also improve livelihoods of this large population. Continue reading >

This quarter marks a new chapter for InnovATE. Moving into year three, consortium partners are prioritizing the “Train” objective of the “Learn, Design, Train” framework, by planning training activities for agricultural education stakeholders. Starting the year off strong, the team collaborated with FHI 360 and USAID to offer a three-day training on workforce development programming for rural economies. Continue reading >

October 20-21, 2014, Center for African Studies, Ohio State University

View InnovATE Director Tom Hammett’s presentation on InnovATE in Africa here.

For more information on the Center for African Studies or the Conference, view their website here.

“What is gender?” “Why do we care about gender?” Batamaka Somé, of the World Food Programme, posed these questions as keynote speaker and opening presenter at the ‘Strategies and Tools for Integrating Gender into Agriculture and Nutrition Curriculum’ Symposium jointly organized by USAID/Senegal Education and Research in Agriculture (ERA) and innovATE.  Continue reading >

June 17-18, 2014

The ‘Strategies and tools for integrating gender in the agriculture and nutrition curriculum workshop’, held in Mbour, Senegal, brought together educators, development practitioners, government agents and members of the private sector for the purpose of sharing opportunities, needs, and challenges for incorporating gender into agricultural and nutrition education and research.

• Agenda
• Presentations, Proceedings and Notes

Article by Laina Schneider and Wangui Gichane

Increasing food prices, climate change, water scarcity, and ecosystem degradation have significantly affected agricultural sustainability around the world. These impacts have hit especially hard in Cambodia, where agricultural production constitutes 90 percent of GDP. In a search for solutions to these challenges, development experts have suggested conservation agriculture as a viable option for producing desirable yields sustainably, while benefitting the environment. Continue reading >

Article by Edin Simms

When the average American is asked what they think are the causes of food insecurity around the globe, they might cite drought, pests, war, or poor government. What they may not realize is that the lack of an adequately trained agricultural workforce is one of the biggest constraints to achieving food security in developing countries. A Virginia Tech-led program working to improve education and training for agricultural professionals addressed this problem at an international symposium at the George Mason Inn in Fairfax, Virginia September 18-20. Continue reading >