SPG Coalition Innovation

AGRICULTURAL
INNOVATION
Innovation is key to improving environmental, social, and economic sustainability of agriculture and food systems.
• Innovative and creative solutions are necessary for food

systems to keep pace with evolving needs and challenges,
enhancing the health of the planet and the wellbeing of
current and future generations.
“To be effective our
approaches must be
• Innovation must be supported by sound science and data to
reap meaningful benefits.
innovative,
as innovative as our
• Innovation enhances existing approaches and delivers new farmers and as dynamic
ways to grow and use food and fiber. It is critical to as the shifting context
achieving sustainable food systems.
of the environment in
• By leveraging evidence-based innovation and sound science,
which they operate.”
we can expand the toolbox for food systems stakeholders to
achieve sustainability and resilience. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
Global Food Security Symposium,
May 11, 2021
• Innovation needs to be inclusive, ensuring that small and
underprivileged farmers, fishers and ranchers have
equitable access to all available tools.
• Modern production tools and emerging digital technologies help farmers produce enough to feed a growing
global population while reducing their environmental footprint and building climate resilience.
• Public/private partnerships—especially those that include producers and food systems stakeholders—play
a critical role in developing place-based, scalable solutions.
• Innovative approaches to preventing and reducing food loss and waste are critical to addressing the climate
crisis and improving food security.
• Both the public and private sectors play a critical role in delivering innovations to the marketplace.
Multisectoral partnerships can advance the development and implementation of solutions for meaningful
and lasting benefits.
• With sound science and data to support decision making, farmers, fishers and ranchers can adopt with
confidence production methods that support climate-smart agriculture.
Innovation means applying new processes, introducing new techniques, or establishing successful ideas to
create new value.
Supplemental irrigation.
Across dry regions in West Asia and North Africa,
supplemental irrigation innovation helps farmers use only
the minimum amount of water required to stabilize
rainfed crops and increase yields when rainfall is
insufficient to promote healthy plant growth. The system
locates water sources, fine–tunes when and how much to
irrigate, and promotes best agronomic and diversification
practices for cropping systems. Supplemental irrigation is
responsible for an increase of more than 30 percent for
wheat production in Syria, growing from two to four tons
annually over 10 years. Farmers in Morocco and Turkey
can now plant their crops earlier, doubling water
productivity and yields. In Yemen, supplementary irriga-
tion has helped increase sesame productivity by up to 120
percent. In sub-Saharan Africa, Burkina Faso and Niger
launched supplementary irrigation programs, and the FAO https://www.cgiar.org/innovations/irrigation-for-smallholder-farmers/
Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA) now Photo by ICARDA.
promotes supplemental irrigation.
Drought tolerant maize.

More than 200 drought-tolerant maize varieties have
been developed by CGIAR and released by public and
private sector partners across 13 countries in sub-
Saharan Africa. These varieties can ensure food
security, bolster climate resilience and grow the
livelihoods of resource-constrained farmers. They were
bred through the genetic selection and testing of maize
lines that survive and yield grain under stress of
drought and nitrogen-depleted soils. These varieties
give at least 25-30 percent greater yields than
conventional varieties in drought-prone environments,
especially when water deficit happens at the flowering
stage, and reduce downside risk to farming
communities.
https://www.cgiar.org/innovations/climate-smart-maize/
Photo by P. Lowe/CIMMYT.
AI-powered mobile apps for pests and diseases.

Banana crops are prone to damage by several types of
pests and diseases. Once the pest or disease afflicting a
crop is identified, swift and targeted action can reduce the
extent of outbreaks and potentially save entire harvests.
The smartphone app, called Tumaini – which means
“hope” in Swahili – helps banana farmers scan plants for
signs of five major diseases and one common pest. Farmers
use the app to upload a photo of an affected crop, which is
then scanned for symptoms of pests and diseases using
image-recognition technology, drawing on a dataset of
more than 50,000 images. Tumaini records the data,
including geographic location, and feeds it into the
database. The app then provides a diagnosis and
recommends steps to address the affliction. Tested in
Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India,
Benin, China, and Uganda, the Tumaini app has so far
demonstrated a 90 percent success rate in detecting https://www.cgiar.org/innovations/tumaini-an-ai-powered-mobile-app-for-
pests-and-diseases/
pests and diseases. The work is a step toward creating a Photo by CIAT.
satellite-powered, globally connected network
researchers who developed the technology.

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AGRICULTURAL

• Innovative and creative solutions are necessary for food

promotes supplemental irrigation.

Drought tolerant maize.

AI-powered mobile apps for pests and diseases.

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