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
FAO’s Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM) provides a wealth of high-resolution greenhouse gas (GHG) emission data relating to livestock systems globally. These estimates are used by diverse stakeholders – including the private sector, countries and international organizations – to understand the nature and origins of GHG emissions from livestock systems, and so to help design and plan effective climate action in the sector. This FAO Science and Innovation Forum's side event will mark the release of the latest estimates…
The Livestock Research Group of the Global Research Alliance is delighted to present the next Livestock Research Group Annual Meeting! The agenda can be found HERE. Registrations are open NOW! Please register by clicking HERE. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
The Livestock Research Group of the Global Research Alliance is delighted to present the next Livestock Research Group Annual Meeting! The agenda can be found HERE. Registrations are open NOW! Please register by clicking HERE. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
The Livestock Research Group of the Global Research Alliance is delighted to present the next Livestock Research Group Annual Meeting! The agenda can be found HERE. Registrations are open NOW! Please register by clicking HERE. If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
Agro-food systems are fuelled by nitrogen. About 80% of this valuable resource is lost to the environment before reaching our plates. We refer to this loss as nitrogen waste. The ambitious goal of halving nitrogen waste by 2030 requires important coordination of many actors: multidisciplinary scientists, farmers, industry, policy-makers, NGOs, and consumers. The XXI International N Workshop will contribute to this challenge by welcoming contributions dealing with different spatial scales (from the plot to global) and system scopes (crop, livestock,…
The 4th International Scientific Conference AgroEco2022: 'Agroecosystem Sustainability: Links between Carbon Sequestration in Soils, Food Security and Climate Change' will be held at Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy (VMU AA), Lithuania, on October 26–27th, 2022. Main scientific topics of the Conference: Soil health and carbon sequestration for sustainabilitySoil and crop management towards a chemical pesticide-free agricultureBiodiversity, crop and production diversificationPrecision farming and digital technologiesFood quality and safetyClimate change mitigation Learn more HERE. REGISTRATION until September 30th. Late registration until October…
This event is part of the OECD COP27 Virtual Pavilion. The agriculture and food sector (agri-food sector) is vulnerable to climate change and at the same time also a significant sources of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing GHG emissions from the agri-food sector will be important in moving towards net-zero targets. There are various opportunities for the agri-food sector to reduce GHG emissions, yet the sector faces many complex challenges and lags behind others on climate change commitments and…
Join the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA) on Thursday 3 November at 10am UTC for the second session in our Flagship Project webinar series. Learn more about two of the current GRA Flagship Projects, their key partners and how YOU could get involved. GRA Flagship Projects develop new knowledge to better understand agricultural greenhouse gases, have global relevance and applicability and generate high scientific impact. This session will introduce the following two Flagship Projects: Development of context-specific…
The organisation of this event is being led by Wetlands International. The panelists and speakers will discuss the inclusion of wetlands, in particular peatlands and mangroves in climate commitments, such as the Nationally Determined Contributions, NDCs. The event will: highlight the crucial role of wetlands, in particular peatlands and mangroves, in achieving national climate goals,share insights and lessons learned on countries’ inclusion of wetlands into their climate commitments, including with the Global Peatlands Initiative,launch a summary brief and share the…
Join the NZAGRC for the next of their State of Science webinars, this time focused on their research into options for mitigating agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Topic: Future Farm Systems Programme - shaping a low-emissions future for agriculture Presenter: Erica van Reenen (AgFirst) and Lee Matheson (Perrin Ag) Chair: Nicky Hyslop (Farmer Director, Beef + Lamb New Zealand Board and member of the NZAGRC’s Stakeholder Advisory Group) In mid-2022, after a year-long scoping phase, the NZAGRC launched a new ‘Future…
Join the GRA Croplands Research Group for their next webinar titled "Predicting Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics in Long-term Agricultural Experiments Using the CQESTR Model" presented by Dr Hero Gollany (USDA). Register HERE.
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) in Partnership with the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) is putting together the “Training of Trainers on Digital Climate Advisory Services (DCSA) in West Africa”. The training is scheduled as follows:- Date: December 8th and 9th 2022- Time: 09:00 am Greenwich Mean Time Kindly register for this training using the zoom link HERE. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the training. Training Conditions: 1. The trainee…
