Environmental Defense Fund’s latest blog post examines why reducing livestock methane is considered one of the most significant near-term opportunities for climate action. The article discusses available methane-reduction solutions, the need for approaches tailored to different farming systems, and the support farmers need to adopt these practices successfully.
We are excited to announce the Round 7 recipients of Climate, Food and Farming – Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Development Scholarships (CLIFF-GRADS). These PhD candidates from low- and middle-income countries have been selected from a large and highly competitive applicant pool, reflecting their outstanding qualifications and strong potential to advance agricultural climate research.
During 2026 and 2027, these fellows will undertake applied research focused on quantifying and mitigating agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to more sustainable food systems.
The 40 Round 7 CLIFF-GRADS fellows represent 21 countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. They will carry out research placements at 33 host institutions worldwide.
CLIFF-GRADS offers short-term research placements of 4 to 6 months. These placements give early-career scientists access to specialized equipment, software, and international expertise not available at their home institutions. Fellows contribute to cutting-edge research in areas such as enteric methane, rice systems, soil emissions, and blue carbon ecosystems.
Please follow this LINK to learn about the scholars and research projects they’ll be part of.
One Health in agrifood systems: Recognition for good practices, success stories and innovations in applying the One Health approach
As part of this year’s Global Conference for Actions on One Health in Agrifood Systems, FAO will celebrate best practices and outstanding innovations advancing the One Health approach across agrifood systems. Through this recognition, we will shine a spotlight on pioneering efforts from stakeholders across agrifood systems – showcasing impactful solutions and inspiring future action toward integrated, inclusive, sustainable, and health-oriented agrifood systems.
Objectives
This recognition aims to promote successfully implemented good practices and outstanding innovations in One Health in agrifood systems that have demonstrated significant measurable impact, and to inspire continued innovation through global stakeholder collaboration.
Scope
The Global Conference will recognize practices, success stories and solutions that represent significant advancements or innovations in One Health approaches and sustainable livestock transformation across the entire value chain, successfully implemented at scale in villages, communities, and cities across the world.
These may include new technologies, systems, practices, or solutions that improve efficiency and support action on One Health in agrifood systems and the sustainable transformation of the livestock value chain, encompassing food security, greenhouse gas mitigation, animal health and welfare, antimicrobial resistance, sustainable livestock farming systems, Indigenous Peoples and pastoralist knowledge systems, women and girls empowerment, capacity development for small-scale producers, finance, post-processing, and policy support.
Eligibility
The conference welcomes applications from institutions, international and regional organizations, academic or research entities, civil society groups, and private sector entities. Applications from women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples are particularly encouraged. FAO employees are not eligible to apply.
Selection process
An international panel of experts nominated by FAO will assess the applications, with attention to inclusive and balanced representation across regions, genders, expertise fields, disciplines, and stakeholder groups.
Evaluations will be based on the following criteria:
Impact and practical application: Demonstrated real-world results and effectiveness.
Innovation and originality: Novelty and uniqueness of the proposed approach.
Inclusivity and social impact: Contribution to gender equality, youth engagement, Indigenous communities’ involvement.
Scalability and replicability: Potential for adoption and implementation across diverse contexts and regions.
Sustainability: Contribution to long-term resilience in agrifood systems.
Recognition, demonstration and ceremony
Recipients will receive official recognition at the FAO Global Conference for Actions on One Health in Agrifood Systems, to be held from 21–23 September 2026 at FAO headquarters. A dedicated technical presentation session and innovation pitch talk will be organized as a special event.
The Global Research Alliance (GRA), the African Climate Action Partnership (AfCAP), and the Government of New Zealand co-hosted this webinar to showcase the achievements of the New Zealand Climate Smart Agriculture (NZCSA) Initiative. The session highlights the initiatives key capability-building efforts across Africa focused on improving agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, and the important role of the AfCAP Livestock Community of Practice. Through the NZCSA Initiative, technical work in ten countries has progressed beyond default emissions estimates to more advanced Tier 2 methodologies, enabling more accurate and country-specific data.
The Speakers
Moderator: Sinead Leahy (Livestock Research Group Co-Chair, GRA) Opening remarks and Context setting
Speaker 1: Andreas Wilkes (Independent consultant, Values for Development Ltd) NZCSA inventory improvement approach and impact across 10 countries
Speaker 2: Walter Svinurai (University of Zimbabwe) Zimbabwe’s progress, policy relevance and regional connections
Speaker 3: Séga Ndao (Director of ISRA/CRZ Dahra – AfCAP/Livestock CoP) Regional Inventory improvement and bilateral exchanges in West Africa
Speaker 4: Roy Bouwer (Programme Lead, South South North) Regional collaboration in Southern and Eastern Africa and the AfCAP Livestock CoP
A video recording of the webinar are now available to view HERE
We’re proud to share the session recordings from the 2026 New Zealand Agriculture and Climate Change Conference!
The recordings cover a wide range of topics, from the latest research and innovation to practical conversations about the opportunities and challenges ahead for reducing agricultural emissions in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Global Research Alliance (GRA) & the African Climate Action Partnership (AfCAP) cordially invite you to register for our upcoming webinar on “Strengthening livestock GHG inventories in Africa: Lessons from the NZ CSA Initiative”. This engaging session will bring together inventory and livestock experts, national inventory compilers, researchers, government officials, and development partners involved in agricultural GHG measurement and reporting to gain practical insights into how African countries are strengthening agricultural GHG inventories through Tier 2 approaches. Attendees will also learn about the benefits and challenges of these transitions, their policy relevance, the value of regional collaboration, and hear directly from Zimbabwe’s experience.
Webinar Overview:
This session will showcase key capability-building activities in Africa, centred on improving agricultural GHG inventories, and the role of the AFCAP Livestock Community of Practice. Under the NZ Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Initiative, technical work in ten countries has moved beyond default emissions estimates to full Tier 2 approaches. The webinar will highlight the practical benefits and challenges of Tier upgrades, their policy relevance, the value of regional collaboration through AFCAP, and insights from the Zimbabwean government.
Event Details
Title: Strengthening livestock GHG inventories in Africa: Lessons from the NZ CSA Initiative
Join Wetlands International and their collaborators for the 2nd session in their webinar series on peatlands and climate commitments. The webinar will discuss how to implement peatland-related climate commitments (including those contained in NDCs and LTS), empowering countries to implement climate action in peatland landscapes, taking into account the many tools and resources available, good practices and lessons learned. Case examples from different regions will be presented. There will also be an ‘Ask the Expert’ space allocated, where you will…
Join the international “4 per 1000” Initiative and their partners from Soil4Climate for their upcoming webinar titled “ReGenerative Grazing as a Soil, Climate, and Livelihoods Solution: The Science, Practice and Policy” on Wednesday 14 December at 17:00 UTC. The event will look at the science, practices and policies of regenerative grazing as a soil, climate, and livelihoods solution. Particular attention will be given to grasslands, soils, and pastoral people and agriculturally dependent communities. You can find the Zoom link and…
The GRA Croplands and Integrative Research Group are holding a joint meeting in Seville, Spain on the 17th and 18th of January 2023. The joint meeting will be held before the IX Congreso Internacional de Agroecología in Seville, Spain, which runs from 19-21 January 2023. The abstract submission deadline is 15 October 2022. The IX Congreso Internacional de Agroecología will have sessions in any of the following languages: English, Portuguese and Spanish, but without simultaneous translation. This is an invitation…
The GRA Farm to Regional Scale Integration Network are very happy to invite you to their upcoming webinar on the topic “Rethinking Tools To Assess Impacts From Dairy Farms Beyond Greenhouse Gas Emissions”: Date: Thursday, 9th February 2023 Hours: 15.00 – 16.00 CET (GMT+1) Registration link: https://thuenen.webex.com/weblink/register/r5f531793c543000711c641cda7d2a586 Agenda: After the webinar, we are offering an optional 30 minutes Deep Dive Session (16.00 – 16.30 CET) with some of the speakers to discuss further open questions. We are very much looking forward to welcoming many…
The programme for the 2023 CaSSECS annual meeting (to be held in Niamey, Niger) can be found below. If you would like to attend the meeting, or would like further information, please contact Anaïs Boury-Esnault.
In this webinar, Anne Mottet (FAO), Dong Hongmin (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences) and Andrew Vanderzaag (Agriculture & AgriFood Canada) will first present global trends in livestock production and methane emissions, and discuss methods of monitoring, mitigation and accounting. A new approach for estimation of methane emissions from manure management via measurements and an empirical model will then be introduced. This methodology was investigated in the ERA-Net project M4Models and will be presented by Søren O. Petersen and Paria Seefedpari.
The New Zealand Agricultural Climate Change Conference and associated meetings will be held from 28 February thru 2 March 2023 at Te Papa, Wellington. The two-day conference will showcase the latest research and policy developments and implementation actions being undertaken to reduce agricultural greenhouse gases in New Zealand. The conference is aimed at primary sector, science and government leaders and practitioners interested in agricultural greenhouse gas and climate change developments and the latest research on reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Updates will be posted on the NZAGRC website.
ICAT and GHGMI invite you to a webinar on the ICAT Agriculture Methodology: Assessing the Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Agriculture Policies When: 16 March 2023 Time: 08:00-09:30 Eastern Standard / 14:00-15:30 Central European /16:00-17:30 East African / 21:00-22:30 China Standard Time Open to all interested persons, including representatives of governments and their partners involved in planning, implementing, and/or assessing greenhouse gas emissions in the context of producing national low-carbon strategies or meeting their commitments to the Paris Agreement. Registration now…
Information shared on behalf of GRA Partner, Environmental Defense Fund: Smallholder farmers represent 80% of farmers in North Africa. They have a fundamental role in delivering sustainable food systems, but as underscored by the Food and Agriculture Organization, many experience poverty, food insecurity, and limited access to markets and services. In this webinar hosted by Danone Ecosystem, we will provide you with concrete examples of North African projects, including H’lib Bladi in Morocco, Alban Baladna in Egypt, and H'lib Dzair…
A FAO webinar on "Assessing Soil Carbon in Global Grasslands: The Importance of Sustainable Livestock Practices" will be held on Wednesday, 29 March from 14.00 to 15.30 (Rome time). The event presents the key findings of the first FAO Global Assessment of Soil Carbon in Grasslands and shares insights on the state of soil carbon stocks in grassland systems in the world. Register here: https://fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_srZvc-1fQyWrDh0WHQRDDw
This hybrid event will be held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Manila, Philippines and livestreamed via Zoom and Facebook.SEARCA and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) are jointly organizing the RTD Series, which will discuss the current state of digital economies in agriculture, the status of carbon farming in Southeast Asia, the challenges and opportunities in the field, and the role that technology and innovation can play in creating a more sustainable future. The onsite participants are by invitation only. Virtual participants are invited to register…
Regional support to national livestock Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventories in Southern Africa: key lessons from the regional inventory compilation approach FANRPAN, the University of Pretoria, the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, and the Africa LEDS Partnership invite you to a special webinar dedicated to sharing lessons and experiences from their Regional Tier 2 Inventory Compilations from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Mozambique. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries recognize the need for adaptation to climate change and mitigation…
