Farming is an inherently high-risk activity, and farmers’ livelihoods depend on a set of interlinked environmental factors including weather, soil conditions, disease, pests, and more.

While agricultural value chains are rapidly evolving (Reardon, 2015; Reardon et al., 2021; Barrett et al., 2022), research attention has increasingly taken notice of the important role played by actors in the ag ricultural midstream.

Too often, smallholder farmers suffer severe financial consequences from extreme weather events, pests, and disease; and climate change will increase the frequency at which natural hazards occur.

Globally, policy initiatives have addressed food insecurity and the increasing pressure on available land that has followed from growing populations and changing diets.

Effective policies and programs aiming to reduce poverty require a clear understanding of how people earn their livelihoods.

Tackling food loss and waste can help address hunger and malnutrition without adding to environmental stress.

Background

Climate change has exacerbated the frequency and severity of extreme weather events affecting the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa.

This note summarizes perceptions of COVID-19 impacts and risks from a panel phone survey of rural households in eight districts in rural Malawi.

Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries frequently face financial con-straints undermining their ability to reach their full production potential.

Malawi reported its first case of COVID-19 in April and declared a national emergency.

MGNREGS has shown striking heterogeneity in pro-poor targeting across states. The declining demand for MGNREGS in recent years is due mainly to local imple-mentation failures that discourage workers.

Aflatoxin is a poisonous substance produced by a fungus, Aspergillus flavus, that occurs naturally in soils of cultivated and non-cultivated areas.

Aflatoxin is a poisonous substance produced by a fungus, Aspergillus flavus, that occurs naturally in soils of cultivated and non-cultivated areas.

Measuring yields accurately is critical for evaluating the impact of interventions that aim to increase agricultural productivity.

Smallholder farmers may suffer losses from ex-treme weather events, pests and disease. This is expected to worsen in the face of climate change.

Rapidly growing populations in sub-Saharan Africa have resulted in a focus by both policy-makers and researchers on understanding and creating employment opportunities for youth.

A major goal of social protection programs run by governments and NGOs in the developing world is to provide income support to individual and households living in poverty.

The right to safe food is enshrined in the Kenyan constitution.

Health shocks (unpredictable illnesses and injuries) are an important source of risk for individuals in developing countries.