Cameroon’s ambition to produce 600,000 metric tons of cocoa by 2025 and double this target by 2030 is often interpreted as a threat to remaining forests because Cameroon cocoa is traditionally established on forest land. Signing the Roadmap to Deforestation-free Cocoa can be considered a major policy milestone in the cocoa sector in Cameroon, and thus provides a case to use the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) to understand actors’ beliefs and links to policy change. The case study is useful because the Roadmap is intended to enhance sustainable cocoa production in the country, but it is entangled by positive and opposing objectives of government, farmers, the private sector, and other stakeholders. Specifically, this chapter uses the ACF lens to identify and map actors in the deforestation-free cocoa policy subsystem and processes, analyze the drivers of policy change, and assess actors’ perceptions, motivations, and beliefs that desired changes can be achieved through the proposed policy instrument.
Tag: agricultural policies
Multistakeholder Platforms (MSPs) for transforming land investments
This guide presents the Transformative Land Investment (TLI) framework as a systems-based approach to improving the sustainability, inclusiveness, and resilience of land-based investments in agriculture and forestry. Recognizing that investments often operate in fragile landscapes and socially complex environments, TLI promotes continuous stakeholder engagement, evidence-based decision-making, and co-creation processes to align business practices with sustainable food system principles. Through the combined use of Multi-Stakeholder Platforms (MSPs), Communities of Practice (CoPs), and Business Transformation Labs (BTLs), the programme supports governments, investors, civil society organizations, and communities in addressing governance challenges, reducing investment risks, and improving social, environmental, and economic outcomes. MSPs play a strategic role in shaping policies and enabling conditions that encourage responsible investment and support transformative agrifood system development.
Collecting holistic evidence on agroecology performance to accelerate sustainable food system transitions
A growing body of research shows the potential of agroecology for enabling a shift to planet-friendly and socially just agrifood systems through context-specific transition pathways. We conduct a scoping review to identify and evaluate the potential of 42 existing agroecology adherence and/or agricultural performance assessment tools to generate credible, legitimate, salient and transferable evidence to inform these transitions. Results show that while multiple relevant tools exist, each of them can be strengthened in at least one area. While most tools are transferable (low time and resource requirements) and have legitimacy (open access with transparent methods), tools have variable saliency (holistic scope inclusive of local priorities) and credibility (use scientific design principles and quality assurance processes). For a subset of 11 tools collecting multidimensional performance data, analysis of 263 identified indicators showed there is a bias towards economic measures (notably income, yield, and resilience), while certain social (e.g. land tenure, traditional knowledge retention) and environmental (e.g. climate mitigation) aspects are regularly overlooked. Through a multidisciplinary process engaging experts across 8 countries, we develop a Holistic Localized Performance Assessment for agroecology (HOLPA) framework that integrates and builds on positive features of existing multidimensional agroecology performance assessments tools and overcomes key limitations. The HOLPA framework for analysis, agroecology indicators, key performance indicators, and low-cost localization process can be used to strengthen agroecology performance assessments, empowering landscape actors to identify evidence-based pathways towards agrifood systems where both people and nature can thrive.
Predicting people’s priorities for reconciling food security and biodiversity conservation in Kasungu, Malawi
Balancing agricultural productivity with biodiversity conservation is a critical challenge in rural Africa, where food insecurity and poverty intersect with growing ecological pressures. Understanding how communities anticipate and respond to socio-ecological change is essential for designing interventions that sustain livelihoods while safeguarding biodiversity. Using scenario-based methods with 317 household interviews near Kasungu National Park, Malawi, we explored how plausible futures, spanning conservation strategies, agricultural policies, and public interventions, might influence food security, natural resource use, people-park relations, and wellbeing. Scenarios involving increased farm input prices and wildlife translocations were widely expected to reduce food security and wellbeing and were perceived as unfair. In contrast, universal input subsidies and wildlife damage compensation were seen as fair and beneficial, though questions remain about their sustainability and governance. Buffer zone restoration generated geographically divergent responses: generally accepted in fenced communities but strongly opposed in unfenced areas due to expected restrictions on farmland and resource access. These findings demonstrate that interventions are experienced unevenly, shaped by geography, history, and social context. Policies that apply blanket approaches risk reinforcing inequities and undermining legitimacy. More effective strategies should integrate local perspectives, anticipate trade-offs, and align biodiversity goals with food security and human wellbeing.
Towards low-emission food systems in Guinea: A country profile
Food systems—spanning agriculture, land use and land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), energy, industrial processes and product use (IPPU), and waste—account for about one third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, yet they remain an often underreported component of the climate challenge. This country profile on Guinea is part of a broader series that applies a food-system lens to national emissions by combining international datasets with official country reporting. It provides an integrated overview of land use, forests and agriculture, food security and diets, and food system emissions in Guinea, where agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and food processing and distribution are central to livelihoods, and where waste management is an increasingly important urban activity. Drawing on FAOSTAT data and Guinea’s 2024 Biennial Update Report, the profile compares international and national estimates to identify the main sources of food system emissions and areas of convergence between datasets. The analysis shows that Guinea’s food system emissions are dominated by farm-gate sources—particularly livestock methane, rice cultivation, and manure-related emissions—followed by land-use change driven largely by shifting cultivation and agricultural expansion, while emissions beyond the farm gate remain smaller but are increasing in urban areas due to waste disposal and energy use. The profile situates these emissions within a context of rapid population growth, persistent poverty, strong reliance on smallholder rainfed agriculture, and diets heavily dependent on rice and starchy staples, with low overall protein intake. It identifies a set of no-regret mitigation priorities that combine emissions reduction with food security and development objectives, including improved livestock productivity, methane-smart rice cultivation and loss reduction, forest regeneration and frontier control, and urban waste management solutions. By making food system emissions more visible and policy-relevant, this publication aims to support policymakers, researchers, and development partners in identifying climate actions aligned with Guinea’s development priorities and future climate commitments.
Opportunities for a low-emission transformation of African food systems
Food systems – spanning agriculture, land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF), energy, industrial processes and product use (IPPU), and waste – account for about one-third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, yet they remain difficult to identify in national reporting because they are dispersed across UNFCCC sectors. This working paper provides a continent-wide overview of food security and diets, economy-wide emissions, and food system emissions in Africa, and identifies no-regret priorities for mitigation action that support food security and sustainable development. It combines FAOSTAT agrifood system emissions with national inventory estimates submitted to the UNFCCC as Common Reporting Tables, analysed through the updated FSE-CRT model, which aligns national sectoral reporting with food-system boundaries while enabling cross-country comparability. The analysis situates mitigation opportunities within Africa’s structural context of rapid demographic growth, persistent poverty and undernutrition, and fast urbanization, while recognizing that the continent has the world’s lowest per-capita emissions and therefore requires context-appropriate mitigation pathways. Across datasets, agriculture and waste emerge as priority sectors for mitigation when excluding LULUCF, with livestock management (enteric fermentation and manure) identified as a leading farm-gate source and unmanaged organic waste as a major urban emissions driver; by contrast, energy- and industry-related food emissions are smaller and often underreported in national inventories. The paper highlights quick-win options—such as improved livestock management, better nutrient-use efficiency, reduced food losses, and enhanced organic waste management—alongside second-tier priorities requiring longer-term investment, including sustainable land-use planning and forest protection, climate-smart intensification, low-carbon food-system infrastructure, and strengthened national GHG inventories to improve targeting and access to climate finance.
Towards low-emission food systems in Cameroon: A country profile
Food systems—spanning agriculture, land use and land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), energy, industrial processes and product use (IPPU), and waste—account for about one third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, yet they remain an often underreported component of the climate challenge. This country profile on Cameroon is part of a broader series that applies a food-system lens to national emissions by combining international datasets with official country reporting. It provides an integrated overview of land use, forests and agriculture, food security and diets, and food system emissions in Cameroon, a country characterized by exceptional biophysical diversity, rapid demographic growth, and persistent development challenges. Drawing on FAOSTAT data and Cameroon’s 2024 Biennial Update Report, the profile compares international and national estimates to identify the main sources of food system emissions and areas of convergence between datasets. The analysis shows that food system emissions in Cameroon are dominated by land-use change and forest fires, followed by livestock management—particularly enteric fermentation and manure—and, to a lesser extent, waste management and post-harvest losses. While methodological gaps and data limitations remain, especially for disaggregated supply-chain emissions, available evidence already provides clear signals on priority mitigation opportunities that are compatible with the country’s financial, technical, and institutional constraints. The profile identifies a set of no-regret mitigation pathways that combine emissions reduction with food security and development objectives, including zero-deforestation agricultural development, improved fire management, more efficient livestock systems, and reductions in starchy root-crop losses through improved storage, processing, and value-chain infrastructure. By making food system emissions more visible and policy-relevant, this publication aims to support policymakers, researchers, and development partners in identifying climate actions that align with Cameroon’s Nationally Determined Contribution and emerging international market requirements.
Towards low-emission food systems in Côte d’Ivoire: A country profile
Food systems—spanning agriculture, land use and land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), energy, industry, and waste—account for about one third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, yet they remain an often underreported component of the climate challenge. This country profile on Côte d’Ivoire is part of a series of national analyses that apply a food-system lens to emissions by comparing FAOSTAT estimates with official national data from the country’s Biennial Transparency Report and Nationally Determined Contribution. It provides an integrated overview of land use, forests and agriculture, food security and diets, and food system emissions in Côte d’Ivoire, a country where rapid population growth, cocoa-driven deforestation, and rising urban demand interact with significant mitigation opportunities. The profile identifies a set of no-regret priorities for mitigation action that can reduce emissions while supporting food security and sustainable development, including forest-positive cocoa systems, improved livestock productivity, conservation of wetlands and organic soils, climate-smart rice cultivation, low-emission aquaculture and fisheries, and modern waste management. By making food system emissions more visible and policy-relevant, this publication aims to support national and international stakeholders in identifying mitigation pathways that deliver climate, food security, and development benefits in Côte d’Ivoire.
Vietnam’s transition to low-emission food systems: 2025 country profile – 2nd Edition
This Occasional Paper was first published in 2023 and updated in 2025 to include revised national data and analysis.
The global food system is responsible for 23 – 42% of total net anthropogenic emissions. This share will likely increase in the future, driven by population and economic growth and changes in lifestyle, as other economic sectors are progressively decarbonized. Without rapid and radical transformations in food systems, the Paris Agreement targets will likely remain out of reach. Data on GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions and removals are usually collected and analyzed across five economic sectors (energy, industry, agriculture, LULUCF (Land Use Land Use Change and Forestry) and waste). This makes it hard to identify and estimate food system emissions, which span across all these sectors.
This occasional paper is the second edition, revised, updated and expanded, of a previous analysis of food system emissions in Vietnam. It successively examines land use, agriculture (including fisheries and aquaculture), diets, and food system emissions in Vietnam, in the light of national climate engagements, policies and programs. It highlights the following largest sources of emissions from Vietnam’s food system: rice cultivation (23.4% of total food system emissions); livestock emissions related to enteric fermentation and manure management (16.7%); food household consumption (12.7%); food processing (10.1%); synthetic fertilizers, manufacturing and application (10.0%); and food system waste disposal (5.8%). Together, these sources emitted 117.8 MtCO₂eq in 2022 and accounted for 78.8% of all food system emissions.
Based on this analysis, this paper identifies four priorities for mitigation action, well aligned with national priorities: (i) reducing emissions from rice production; (ii) reducing livestock emissions related to enteric fermentation and manure management; (iii) reducing emissions from synthetic fertilizer production and use; and (iv) improving the data situation to understand and pinpoint the focus areas and address emissions from food household consumption and food loss and waste.
Climate-Smart Agroforestry for Sustainable Landscapes and Agri-Food Systems’ Transformation in Nepal
Increasing demand for food and non-food products by a growing population accompanied by shrinking area of agricultural land—with 17% abandoned or underutilized—has challenged sustainable agricultural development in Nepal. Yet agriculture, which occupies 24.2% of the land area, contributes 23.9% to GDP, engaging two-thirds of the population. Agricultural practices often combine forestry activities across landscapes, forming agroforestry systems. Application of an innovative, climate-smart agroforestry (CSAF) approach to agricultural landscapes can produce a wide range of ecosystem goods and services. A wide range of policy instruments have made clear provisions for utilizing abandoned and marginal land through agroforestry practices that contribute to climate and livelihood goals. However, abandonment of agricultural land is ever-increasing owing to low productivity, out-migration and lack of labor, off-farm income sources and enhanced purchasing power, unscientific land management policies, rugged terrain and harsh climatic conditions, invasive plants and land fragmentation. We recommend policy and institutional reforms through the development of a national roadmap based on a nexus approach to support land-sector policies and priorities, such as strengthening climate and agricultural information services; conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity through site-specific crops in CSAF; development of value chains of CSAF products in partnership with the larger private sector; subsidies and safety nets for resource-poor smallholding and marginalized farmers; building capacity in CSAF technologies and practices; provision of infrastructure and other facilities for commercial CSAF; establishing CSAF as wildlife corridors; and research into the full set of ecosystem services, including carbon and ecotourism, provided by CSAF. This will not only support the agri-food sector but also contribute to climate, livelihood and development goals. This chapter presents the authors’ perspectives on the key challenges facing the agricultural sector and, particularly, the agroforestry sub-sector, and recommends ways for maximizing economic, social and environmental benefits from a CSAF approach.