CGIAR Sustainable Farming Science Program (SFSP)

Let's talk data 👇 What is your biggest challenge when working with agricultural data? 🔍 Finding the right datasets 🔗 Bringing data together across different sources 📊 Ensuring data quality ⚙️ Analysing large datasets Tell us in the comments. Understanding where the biggest barriers exist can help shape better tools and approaches for agricultural research. 👉 Explore GARDIAN: gardian.cgiar.org #DataChallenges #AgTech #OpenScience #CGIAR @CGIAR_Data

How do you improve a farm that's really a system? Smallholder farms in South Asia combine crops, livestock, labor and income, all under pressure from climate change and volatile markets. Changing one part affects all the others. From 14 to 16 September in Jaipur, 35 scientists, postgraduate students and development practitioners from India and Nepal trained in systems approaches for integrated analysis of agricultural systems. Over three days, they practiced how to: 🔹 Characterize farming systems and build farm typologies in RStudio 🔹 Measure sustainability with indicators and KPIs 🔹 Compare options and trade-offs using the FarmDesign model 🔹 Target technologies to the places and farm types where they are most likely to succeed A field visit to RARI's integrated farming systems prototype showed how crop and livestock components work together in practice. Participants valued the hands-on exercises most. Their main request was for more time, plus advanced training in machine learning for systems design. Building this kind of analytical capacity helps turn research into farm solutions that fit their context. That is what the CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program is working towards. Thank you to our partners @ICAR, @IIFSR, @RARI and @SKNAU, and to the facilitators who made the course so practical. #SustainableFarming #FarmingSystems #CapacityBuilding #CGIAR #SystemsThinking #India #Nepal

How does better data infrastructure support sustainable farming? CGIAR's Sustainable Farming Program works to help move agricultural science into solutions that can be scaled and used. Within the Program, Area of Work 5 focuses on the partnerships, policy and data needed to support that scaling. A key part of that work is data infrastructure: making agricultural research easier to find, access and reuse. GARDIAN supports this by bringing agricultural datasets, publications and metadata together in one searchable platform. For researchers, data scientists and development practitioners, that means easier access to the evidence needed to support research and decision-making. 👉 Explore GARDIAN: gardian.cgiar.org #CGIAR #SustainableFarming #OpenData #FAIRData #DataInfrastructure @CGIAR_Data

Who is GARDIAN for? 👩‍🔬 Researchers looking for reliable, standardised datasets 📊 Data scientists building models and working across multiple data sources 🏛️ Policymakers looking for evidence to inform agricultural strategies 🌱 Development organisations working across agriculture and food systems If you work with agricultural research and data, GARDIAN gives you one place to start your search. 👉 Explore GARDIAN: gardian.cgiar.org #DataCommunity #AgResearch #Innovation #CGIAR @CGIAR_Data

🔎 Powerful search. Smarter discovery. GARDIAN doesn't just help you find data. It helps you connect research and information from across different sources. Through one platform, users can: ✔️ Search across 26,000+ datasets ✔️ Access publications and metadata ✔️ Query 570,000 standardised data points Explore datasets, publications and metadata across CGIAR Centers and partners in one seamless experience. 👉 Try it yourself: gardian.cgiar.org #DataDiscovery #Research #CGIAR #FAIRData @CGIAR_Data

How do you improve a farm that's really a system? Smallholder farms in South Asia combine crops, livestock, labor and income, all under pressure from climate change and volatile markets. Changing one part affects all the others. From 14 to 16 September in Jaipur, 35 scientists, postgraduate students and development practitioners from India and Nepal trained in systems approaches for integrated analysis of agricultural systems. Over three days, they practiced how to: 🔹 Characterize farming systems and build farm typologies in RStudio 🔹 Measure sustainability with indicators and KPIs 🔹 Compare options and trade-offs using the FarmDesign model 🔹 Target technologies to the places and farm types where they are most likely to succeed A field visit to RARI's integrated farming systems prototype showed how crop and livestock components work together in practice. Participants valued the hands-on exercises most. Their main request was for more time, plus advanced training in machine learning for systems design. Building this kind of analytical capacity helps turn research into farm solutions that fit their context. That is what the CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program is working towards. Thank you to our partners @ICAR, @IIFSR, @RARI and @SKNAU, and to the facilitators who made the course so practical. #SustainableFarming #FarmingSystems #CapacityBuilding #CGIAR #SystemsThinking #India #Nepal

Every plate begins with a farming system. 🌍🌱 On #WorldFoodDay, we look at what it takes to produce food in a world where farmers are navigating climate variability, pests and diseases, pressure on soils and natural resources, and changing demands on our food systems. The answer starts with how we farm. The CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program brings together science, innovation and partnerships to help build farming systems that can produce food while strengthening resilience and using natural resources more sustainably. From healthier soils and safer seed to better crop protection, climate-informed decision-making and sustainable production practices, the work happening on farms today will shape how food is produced tomorrow. This World Food Day, we celebrate the farmers, researchers and partners working across food systems to turn agricultural innovation into practical solutions. #WorldFoodDay #CGIAR #SustainableFarming #FoodSecurity #ClimateResilience #SustainableAgriculture #FoodSystems

Not all data is created equal. For data to drive impact, it needs to be: 🔍 Findable 🔓 Accessible 🔗 Interoperable ♻️ Reusable These are the FAIR data principles, and they are at the core of GARDIAN. Because agricultural data becomes more useful when people can find it, access it and put it to work. 👉 Explore GARDIAN: gardian.cgiar.org #FAIRData #OpenData #DataGovernance #CGIAR @CGIAR_Data

Getting started with GARDIAN is easier than you think: 1. Go to the platform. 2. Type your topic, for example, "fertilization in Kenya." 3. Explore relevant datasets and publications. That's it. 💡 Your next research insight could be one search away. 👉 Start exploring: gardian.cgiar.org #HowTo #ResearchTools #DataAccess #CGIAR @CGIAR_Data

Climate change doesn't stop at borders. Neither should agricultural data. GARDIAN brings together agricultural research data from multiple repositories into one searchable platform, covering areas such as soil health, crop trials, weather patterns and pest surveillance. Whether you're working in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia or elsewhere, GARDIAN makes it easier to discover agricultural research and data from across the world. 🌍 Explore the platform: gardian.cgiar.org #AgResearch #OpenData #CGIAR #DataForGood @CGIAR_Data

GARDIAN changes that. It connects data across repositories and provides AI-ready datasets, making it easier to discover, access and reuse agricultural research data. Because better data access means better-informed decisions. 👉 Explore GARDIAN: gardian.cgiar.org #DataScience #FoodSystems #OpenScience #CGIAR @CGIAR_Data

🌍 Agricultural challenges are global. Our data should be too. GARDIAN brings together thousands of agricultural datasets and publications into one powerful platform, helping researchers, policymakers and innovators find what they need and build solutions faster. 🔍 One place. Global knowledge. Real impact. 👉 Explore the platform: gardian.cgiar.org #OpenData #Agriculture #CGIAR #DataForImpact @CGIAR_Data

This #WorldCocoaDay, let’s look beyond the chocolate on our shelves to the farmers and soils behind every cocoa bean. 🍫🌱 Across West and Central Africa, cocoa farmers face a critical challenge: increasing productivity and incomes from land already under cultivation, without expanding into forests. Through the CocoaSoils Program, the CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program works with partners in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon to advance Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM). By improving soil fertility, nutrient and cocoa tree management, CocoaSoils is helping develop evidence-based recommendations that support farmers to produce more from existing farms, strengthen livelihoods and reduce pressure on forests. Behind every cocoa bean is a farmer. Behind every productive cocoa farm is healthy soil. Learn more: cocoasoils.org #WorldCocoaDay #CocoaSoils #SoilHealth #SustainableCocoa #SustainableFarming #CGIAR

💧 Today’s the day! Join us as we explore #SWAG and how geospatial data can help turn water availability and crop needs into smarter irrigation decisions. 📅 Today, 16 Sept ⏰ 12:00 GMT / 15:00 EAT 🔗 Join the session: events.cgiar.org/swagsecurin… #WaterSecurity #SustainableAgriculture @OscarOrtizCBS, @IWMI_, @nature_org, @HelmsleyTrust

Protecting crops starts with staying ahead of the threat. 🌱 At #IPSQC2026 in Nairobi, @l_lava shares how @CGIAR and partners are tackling major crop pests and diseases through early detection, diagnostics, AI, resistant varieties and integrated pest management. 🎥 Watch to learn more. #CGIAR #PlantHealth #SeedHealth #SustainableFarming

Yesterday was Day 1 at the International Phytosanitary and Seed Quality Conference 2026 in Nairobi 🌱 CGIAR Sustainable Farming and Genebanks joined partners to share solutions in plant health, seed systems, surveillance and diagnostics, all focused on protecting crops and supporting farmers. 🎥 Highlights from KEPHIS. #CGIAR #PlantHealth #SeedHealth #IPSQC2026

Safe seed. Healthy crops. Resilient farmers. 🌱 From the genebank to the farmer's field, Dr @JanKreuze shares how CGIAR (SFP and Genebanks) is using surveillance, diagnostics, clean planting material and digital tools to tackle crop pests and diseases. 🎥 Watch from #IPSQC2026 in Nairobi.

💧 2 days to go! Can better data help us make better use of the water already available for agriculture? Join us on 16 Sept to explore #SWAG, a geospatial decision-support tool for smarter irrigation, water reallocation and storage decisions. 🔗 events.cgiar.org/swagsecurin… #WaterSecurity #SustainableAgriculture @OscarOrtizCBS, @IWMI_, @nature_org, @HelmsleyTrust

We’re in Nairobi for the International Phytosanitary and Seed Quality Conference 2026. This week, researchers, policymakers and practitioners are coming together around a shared question: how can stronger plant health and seed systems support climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture? For the Sustainable Farming Program and Genebanks Program, these conversations connect closely with our work to strengthen farming systems through research, innovation and practical solutions. We’ll be sharing insights and conversations from the conference throughout the week. #SustainableAgriculture #PlantHealth #SeedSystems #ClimateResilience #CGIAR

The CGIAR Sustainable Farming Program will be represented at the 19th Congress of the European Society for Agronomy (ESA 2026) in Tartu, Estonia, on 25 August. Mina Devkota will present research from Area of Work 3 (AoW3) on the integrated use of mineral and organic fertilizers to improve wheat productivity, water productivity and nutrient-use efficiency in semi-arid drylands. Her presentation, “Integrated Use of Mineral and Organic Fertilizers Enhances Wheat Productivity, Water Productivity, and Nutrient-use Efficiency in Semi-arid Drylands,” contributes to ongoing work on practical approaches for more productive and resource-efficient cropping systems. 📍 Tartu, Estonia 📅 25 August 2026