East and Southern Africa
About
CGIAR’s East and Southern Africa (ESA) region encompasses 19 countries from South Africa to Ethiopia. ESA is a culturally, geographically, and economically diverse region home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and some of the most fragile. CGIAR Centers have a long and successful partnerships with regional and national agricultural research institutes since the 1970s, and continue to hold deep relationships with government agencies, civil society, farmer organizations, and the private sector. Collaborative efforts have contributed immensely to enhancing food and nutrition security in the ESA region.
The ESA region has the greatest number of projects, initiatives, and funding within the CGIAR portfolio. CGIAR Centers are home to world-class science facilities that are not found elsewhere in Africa, offering a source of training and capacity development for young African scientists to ensure science stays in Africa. These facilities include the only environmental lab testing greenhouse gas emissions of livestock in Africa, bio-secure facilities carrying out research on zoonotic disease, and genebanks for forages, rice, potatoes, and other key products. There is also a 13,000-hectare ranch that carries out research on livestock, wildlife ecosystems, climate change, and zoonotic disease.
Our collaborative work in the ESA region contributes to a vision for land, water, and energy to be sustainably managed to ensure food security for the most vulnerable, enable adaptation to climate stress, and contribute to economic growth.
Work in this region is further coordinated by the Regional Director for Continental Africa.
Challenges and Opportunities
- Food systems challenges in ESA are complex, with high levels of vulnerability, malnutrition, and food insecurity in the region. Though it is home to only 25% of Africa’s total population, the region accounts for more than 50% of the continent’s chronically undernourished people.
- The region suffers from a lack of diversity in diets, and obstacles for the most vulnerable to access healthy and nutritious food.
- It also faces a geographic patchwork of climate challenges, most commonly shorter and more unreliable growing seasons, particularly in the more arid south.
- Agriculture has great potential as a driver of economic growth in the ESA region, which is home to some of the fastest growing economies in Africa, and has the potential to feed much of Africa.
Research and Action
- Deliver scalable and investment-worthy, climate-smart sustainable intensification solutions.
- Collaborate on integrated economic, production, food safety, and nutrition enhancing interventions.
- Enhance vision-led intersectoral capacity strengthening, coordination, and policy coherence.
- Support multi-stakeholder coordination, blended finance, and empowerment of women and youth.
Initiatives
Explore CGIAR Initiatives in East and Southern Africa
Innovations
Explore 50 years of CGIAR Innovations in East and Southern Africa
Partners
Partnerships will be essential to address the complex challenges facing the ESA region. CGIAR Centers have held a diverse range of partnerships with the African Union and its associated departments, governments, civil society organizations, donor agencies, farmer organizations, private sector actors, regional and sub-regional agricultural research organizations, and national agricultural research institutes since the 1970s. The ESA region will continue to leverage this strong foundation, working closely with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA), and the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS), while building new innovative partnerships with the private sector, new financial institutions, and local African start-ups, to ensure research and innovation delivers impact at scale.
Publications
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Catalyzing farmer-led irrigation development in Africa: vision and pathways drawing from business, research and development practices
International Water Management Institute (IWMI)20.07.24 -
Evidence for Resilient Agriculture Dataset v1.0.1
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)05.07.24 -
Implementation of One Health approach in Tanzania: Strengths and challenges
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)05.07.24-
Health
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Nutrition, health & food security
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Smart farming technologies for sustainable agriculture: A review of the promotion and adoption strategies by smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)03.07.24-
Climate adaptation & mitigation
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Socio-economic assessment and genetically engineered crops in Africa: Building knowledge for development?
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)03.07.24 -
EiA Regional Climate Prioritization Exercise: PAiCE Supporting Data
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)27.06.24
News
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Adaptation and Mitigation for Livestock: A Multidisciplinary Approach in Response to Climate Change
CGIAR Initiative on Livestock and Climate19.07.24-
Climate adaptation & mitigation
Debre Birhan University is a partner of ILRI and the CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock…
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Foreign direct investments may fuel tropical deforestation
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)18.07.24-
Environmental health & biodiversity
Foreign direct investments (FDI) in tropical countries in extractive industries like mining, logging…
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The Alliance and icipe solidify longstanding relationship, creating major framework for research and development in Africa and beyond
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)15.07.24-
Nutrition, health & food security
This milestone creates a framework to capitalize on the comparative advantages of the organizations …
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A Ripple of Change: How One Farm's Success Can Inspire a Community
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)09.07.24-
Nutrition, health & food security
Smallholder farmers in Africa under semi-arid conditions grapple with harsh conditions that undermin…
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Digital Twin of the Limpopo Basin advances with new prototype
CGIAR Initiative on Digital Innovation05.07.24-
Environmental health & biodiversity
The idea of creating a complete virtual representation, or Digital Twin, of a natural system…
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SAPLING Initiatives Pause and Reflect moment for the year 2024
Judy Kimani05.07.24In February 2024, the Sustainable Animal Productivity for Livelihoods, Nutrition, and Gender Inclusi…
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