At the onset of COVID‐19, researchers quickly recognized the need for research on the consequences of the pandemic for agricultural and food systems, both in terms of immediate impacts on access to inputs and labor, disruptions in transportation and markets, and the longer‐term implications on crop productivity, income, and livelihoods. Vegetable production and supply chains are particularly vulnerable due to the perishable nature of the products and labor‐intensive production practices. The purpose of this study was to understand the impacts of COVID‐19 on vegetable production in Burkina Faso in terms of both the biophysical aspects such as yields and access to inputs and socioeconomic aspects such as access to labor, markets, and social services. A survey was developed to better understand smallholder farmer experiences regarding the impacts of COVID‐19 on their vegetable production systems and social well‐being. The survey was administered (between August and October 2020) with smallholder farmers (n= 605) in 13 administrative regions covering all agroecological zones of Burkina Faso. The survey results clearly show impacts of COVID‐19 on vegetable systems, including a reduction in access to inputs, a reduction in yields, a loss of income, reduced access to local and urban markets, reduced access to transportation, and an increase in post‐harvest loss. Market access, distribution, and disruptions were a major shock to the system. Results also showed an increase in women's labor in the household, and for youth, an increase in unemployment, job loss, and concerns of poverty. Finally, food security and social supports were highlighted as major issues for resilience and livelihoods. The results from this survey should be helpful to policymakers and researchers to develop policies and strategies to minimize the negative impacts of this ongoing pandemic on the agri‐food systems and support smallholder farmers to overcome stress caused by COVID‐19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had immediate and cascading impacts on global agricultural systems. In Senegal, the immediate impacts include inaccessibility of inputs due to disruption in markets and supply chains, availability of labor, and changes in crop and livestock management practices. To understand the range of impacts on the biophysical and socioeconomic dimensions of smallholder farming systems, a survey was designed to identify the risk factors, assess the impacts, and explore appropriate mitigation strategies. The survey was administered to 917 smallholder farmers in 14 regions of Senegal in collaboration with a national farmer’s organization and the Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research (ISRA). The sample was comprised of farmers (men and women) and was stratified in each region to ensure representation from all agroecological zones of the country. The survey examined variables such as access to inputs, ability to plant, impacts on yields, markets, labor, the gendered division of labor, food security, and community well-being. The survey response indicated that 77.7% of respondents experienced a reduction in access to inputs, 70.3% experienced a reduction in ability to plant crops during the planting season, 57.1% experienced a reduction in ability to rent farm machinery, and 69.2% reported a reduction in yields. Similar findings were observed for labor, market conditions, and adaptation measures to reduce the impacts on farming systems and household livelihoods. This study advances the research on characterizing risk factors, assessing the impacts, and designing mitigation strategies for strengthening smallholder farming systems resilience to future shocks.

As the expected cost of conservation agriculture (CA) inputs becomes an issue for farmers, financial institutions (FIs) play an essential role in promoting CA, a set of agricultural management practices with multiple positive effects. This research aimed to determine influencing factors, to rank challenges, and identify mechanisms for farmers to access agricultural credit for adoption of CA management practices in Cambodia. It was administered by conducting a survey of 242 randomly selected households for face-to-face interviews and conducting key informant interviews from purposive samples of 28 participants in Battambang and Preah Vihear provinces. The results indicated that influencing factors, including the family, adult labor and total farm size, had a positive relationship with farmers’ accessibility to agricultural credit, whereas age was negative. However, education year, farm size for main crops, on-farm income and farm experience were not significantly associated. High interest rates were the significant first-order challenge ranked, followed by document process complication, limited agricultural credit information, limited collateral security and a few other challenges. Support and improved process mechanisms to enhance credit accessibility are required to engage with multiple stakeholders, including farmers, FIs, non-government organizations (NGOs) and government officers. There has been a reduction in agricultural credit interest rates and incentives for importing CA inputs by the government, while provision of information support for agribusiness plans by NGOs which have implemented development project activities were considered as the main support mechanism. An improved process mechanism at the farmers’ level needs to include access to credit with low interest rates and a straightforward documentation process, whereas the FI level requires a business plan for lending decisions. It is evident that high lending rates hinder access to agricultural credit and the improvement of support and improved process mechanisms are necessary to better promote CA practices among farmers in Cambodia.

Just and fair transitions to low-carbon and nature-positive ways of living need to occur fast enough to limit and reverse the climate and nature crises, but not so fast that the public is left behind. We propose the concept of “Regenerative Good Growth” (RGG) to replace the language and practice of extractive, bad GDP growth. RGG centres on the services provided by five renewable capitals: natural, social, human, cultural, and sustainable physical. The term “growth” tends to divide rather than unite, and so here we seek language and storylines that appeal to a newly emergent climate-concerned majority. Creative forms of public engagement that lead to response diversity will be essential to fostering action: when people feel coerced into adopting single options at pace, there is a danger of backlash or climate authoritarianism. Policy centred around storytelling can help create diverse public responses and institutional frameworks. The practises underpinning RGG have already created business opportunities, while delivering sharp falls in unit costs. Fast transitions and social tipping points are emerging in the agricultural, energy, and city sectors. Though further risks will emerge related to rebound effects and lack of decoupling of material consumption from GDP, RGG will help cut the externalities of economies.

Weed management represents a critical challenge in Sudano-Sahelian agriculture, where environmental constraints and soil fertility limitations create complex weed–crop competition dynamics. This study determined the effects of cropping systems, fertilization modes, and weeding periods on weed diversity, biomass, and ground cover using data from 2018 to 2019. The experiment is being conducted at the Saria Research Station, specifically in Burkina Faso’s only long-term trial (a unique 60-year continuous experiment: 1960–2019). This study used a split-plot design with six fertilization treatments (control, low/high mineral fertilization, organic amendments, and residue incorporation) combined with three crop rotation systems (continuous cropping of sorghum, sorghum–cotton rotation, and sorghum–cowpea rotation). Weed floristic surveys, biomass and ground cover assessments were conducted before and after weeding operations from 2018 to 2019. The study identified 61 weed species across 19 families, with therophytes dominating 75–79% of the flora. Poaceae represented the most diverse family (21 species), followed by Fabaceae (7 species). Species richness varied significantly between years and after weeding (from 7.75 ± 0.41 species per plot to 15.60 ± 0.72 species; p < 0.001). The Shannon index follows the same logic as species richness. In addition, pielou index values were high reflecting sustainable management practices such as crop rotation. Sorghum-cowpea rotation decreased weed cover rate (16.4 ± 2.90%; p < 0.001). After the study, we can state that crop rotation contributes to reducing weed cover rate.