Conference Agenda

Global food systems are dominated by a few widely-grown crops, such as wheat, rice, maize, and soya. It is often argued that growing more neglected and underutilized crops (NUCs) could make food supplies more resilient and nutritious, as NUCs tend to be more stress-tolerant and nutrient-dense than conventional crops. Here, we analyze to what extent the expansion of NUCs could indeed have positive effects on nutrient supplies, using data from 181 countries. We assess the nutrient contents of ten conventional crops and 16 NUCs and adjust these for average yields. Due to yield differences, conventional crops supply up to three times more nutrients per unit of land than NUCs. Switching 10 percent of the cropland to NUCs would reduce energy, protein and micronutrient supplies by 4.5, 3.6 and 2.5 percent globally, with variations by type of crops and countries. Negative nutrition effects could only be avoided through substantial yield improvements in NUCs.

Transforming food systems in Sub-Saharan Africa requires embedding agroecological principles, indigenous knowledge, and diversified value chains. This study presents a multi-county Agroecology Capacity Needs Assessment across five Kenyan zones: Bomet, Homa Bay, Kilifi, Marsabit, and Vihiga, using surveys, focus groups, and key informant interviews. The FAO Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE) was applied to assess transitions across the thirteen Agroecology principles, including soil health, biodiversity, diversification, participation, and resilience. The study findings showed low-to-moderate transitions, with pronounced inter- and intra-county variability shaped by climatic stress, land governance, livelihood specialization, and uneven access to extension services. While most counties occupy an 'acceptable but incomplete' transition range, arid pastoral systems face entrenched barriers linked to soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and weak ecological recycling. Critical gaps persist in knowledge co-creation, animal health, recycling, and market-oriented diversification—constraints that hinder scaling of indigenous and underutilized crops. The study underscores that agroecological transformation is non-linear and context-specific, demanding modular, regionally tailored extension strategies that integrate indigenous crops, diversified enterprises, and climate-adaptive practices. Strengthening participatory knowledge systems, reducing inputs, and advancing inclusive governance are essential to resilient food futures. A potentially effective approach is the implementation of participatory budgeting, which allows local communities to be directly involved in budget allocation for agroecological initiatives. Additionally, establishing co-managed extension boards could facilitate collaborative decision-making processes, ensuring that local needs and knowledge are incorporated into policy actions. By situating capacity gaps within place-based transition pathways, this paper contributes empirical evidence to global agroecology debates, demonstrating how context-driven strategies can unlock the resilience and nutritional potential of indigenous crop systems in African smallholder landscapes.

The potential of indigenous and traditional crops for food security and income generation in regions of Sub-Saharan African has historically been overlooked. This study maps the agroecological suitability of nine key indigenous and traditional crops in Tanzania by integrating remote sensing-based climate and environmental datasets (i.e., temperature, rainfall, elevation, and soil pH) and pairs them with field data from 587 farming households. Suitability thresholds were derived from ECOCROP and MARI and compared with national-scale crop presence data to systematically identify spatial mismatches between modelled biophysical potential and observed farmer cultivation. Results show extensive unexploited suitability for pigeonpea, cowpea, and groundnut, each suitable across 40–65% of agricultural land, but cultivated in a smaller geographic extent than feasible. Meanwhile, cassava and sweet potato are widely grown in zones classified as biophysically “not suitable,” indicating resilience to conditions beyond current parameter ranges or probable lowered yield potential. By linking household-level production data with spatially continuous suitability mapping, this study advances existing suitability assessments by grounding biophysical models in observed farmer practice, thereby providing an actionable evidence base for scaling indigenous and traditional crops across Tanzania. The study highlights the untapped potential of indigenous and traditional crops to enhance food security, biodiversity, and resilience in Tanzania. By identifying optimal production areas, it offers a roadmap for leveraging agroecological advantages and addressing food system challenges sustainably. The findings highlight opportunities for targeted promotion, value chain strengthening, and climate-resilient agricultural planning.

Increasing climate vulnerability and maize-centric policies create pressing needs for agricultural diversification in the Zambian food system. This study aims to understand how Cowpea and Sorghum, as indigenous opportunity crops, can be leveraged to build a more resilient and inclusive food system, and what key constraints must be addressed to contribute to this transformation.

Using a mixed-methods approach, the research draws on Participatory Food System Mapping and Participatory Hotspot Analysis, including 18 focus group discussions with farmers across Zambia's Southern and Eastern Provinces, as well as 24 expert and key informant interviews. Findings were validated and interventions co-designed through a national stakeholder workshop.

The research identifies uncertain input and output markets for smallholder farmers and critical service and infrastructure deficits as key constraints for both value chains. Within this shared context, cowpea faces particular challenges around weak seed systems, limited processing infrastructure, and market demand largely restricted to home consumption. Sorghum, on the other hand, is constrained by intensive labour requirements, a thin certified seed supply, and market dependence on volatile industrial brewing demand.

In response, the study proposes three evidence-based interventions. The first strengthens community seed banks and multiplication systems to improve quality seed access while protecting seed sovereignty, with particular support for linking women farmer groups to these systems. Building on this, youth-led service enterprises are supported in co-creating appropriate equipment and technologies, reducing labour intensity and building community-based service capacity. Finally, facilitating direct value chain linkages between organised farmer groups and actors across the value chain improves access to both seed and grain markets.

These interventions strengthen seed and service ecosystems, reduce demand risk, and embed gender and youth inclusion. In doing so, they aim to transform cowpea and sorghum from underutilised crops into strategic pillars of a climate-resilient, nutritionally diverse, and socially equitable food system.

Climate models foresee a drastic change in agroecological conditions in Bavaria by the year 2080. The Bavarian Forestry Institute developed maps with climate analogue regions for most areas in Bavaria. They show that by 2080 large parts of Bavaria will have a similar climate like in Balkan and Mediterranean countries. This development will not only result in changes in Bavarian biodiversity but will also result in consequences for Bavarian agricultural ecosystems. The project FutureCrop of Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture aims at the introduction of new crop species from warm and semiarid climatic zones to mitigate the effects of climate change for Bavarian famers. In the first phase the project investigated the agroecological feasibility of the cultivation of cowpea, groundnut, sesame, black cumin, rice and millets in Bavaria. In central Europe these crops are currently still underutilized and some of them, like cowpea, are called orphan crops. Through field trials and a participatory and value chain-oriented approach FutureCrop has identified opportunities and challenges, which are encountered with the introduction of these new crop varieties.