The gender capacity assessment in Ethiopia, which took place in December 2016, analysed the current gender capacities against desired future gender capacities of the African Chicken Genetic Gains (ACGG) partners. It measured six core gender capacities at organizational and at individual (staff) levels of all six engaged national and regional research institutes. These capacities are assessed in relation to the environmental (contextual) level; the institutional and policy environment that enables or disables the other capacities.

This guide is developed by synthesizing successful field experiences within a project known as Improving Productivity & Market Success of Ethiopian Farmers Project or IPMS Project. The main purpose of the IPMS project was to test methods, approaches, and processes that can help transform Ethiopian smallholder agriculture from subsistence to a market‐oriented agriculture.

In sub-Saharan Africa, pastoralism is usually practiced especially in the arid lands where the climate is hot and dry with low and erratic rainfall and rugged terrain. The pastoralists are characterized by varying aspects of socio-cultural set ups, production forms and strategies of survival which include mobility. The pastoralists’ main mode of livelihood is livestock keeping where varied species are kept according to desire but the main species being camel, sheep, goats and cattle. Pastoralists have the highest incidence of poverty and the least access to basic services.

This Guideline addresses the Key Principles of FFS, Key elements of FFS, Conditions for successful FFS, Roles, and responsibilities of different stakeholders at all levels & master facilitators, standards to implement FFS, facilitator's guide with different Phases and steps for implementation of Field school (preparation, establishment & implementation), strategy for sustaining of FFS and Monitoring, evaluation and learning.

This paper illustrates the Small Stock Innovation Platform, an initiative which is one of the key tangible outcomes of the Strengthening Capacity in Agricultural Research for Development in Africa (SCARDA) program, focused on strengthening capacity in agricultural research systems in selected countries and institutions in all three sub-regions of Sub Saharan Africa.

The contributions and dynamic interaction of thousands of stakeholders from all sectors have created the GCARD (Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development) Roadmap, providing a clear path forward for all involved. The Roadmap highlights the urgent changes required in Agricultural Research for Development (AR4D) systems globally, to address worldwide goals of reducing hunger and poverty, creating opportunity for income growth while ensuring environmental sustainability and particularly meeting the needs of resource-poor farmers and consumer.

The Foresight project Global Food and Farming Futures final report  provides an overview of the evidence and discusses the challenges and choices for policy makers and others whose interests relate to all areas that interact with the food system.

In comparison with the other EU (27) countries Innovation capacity indicators in Latvia remain low and considerably underperform. Problems and solutions are illustrated to represent innovation capacity in Latvia. The article consists of the following parts: first - theoretical aspects are selected to describe the essential definition of the analyzed subject. In the second part, experience from abroad is described, at the end – Latvian innovation policy and situation is analyzed and suggestions for further needs are formulated.

Innovation in Vidzeme Planning Region is realized in the frame of National innovation system, the elements of which correspond to innovation and innovation system theories, and the best practices of which are applied in the most innovative countries of the world. Nevertheless, innovation in Vidzeme Planning Region is fragmented and is being introduced slowly, and its impact on economic development is faintly visible. It witnesses a problem, which was identified, analysed and its solutions searched by the authors.

The slow rate of agricultural development in Africa can largely be blamed on lack of functional relationships between technology/innovation generation centers, local farming communities, financial institutions and markets. The result has been low penetration of promising innovations/technologies thus, low adoption levels and/ or partial adoption; and limited or no access to markets and financial services by farmers. In general, most of the innovation/technologies developed have not been extensively out-scaled; some of which are not even packaged in user friendly formats.