By Jialan Deal, Elizabeth Stifel and Sophie Gregrowski
From digital sustainability tracing in the Peruvian cocoa supply chain to measuring market demand for safe certified cabbage in Ghana, IWMI researchers have contributed to a wide range of studies from around the world. The following is a selection of their open-access work published in November and December 2024. To read the full articles, click the DOI links below.
State of continental discharge estimation and modelling: Challenges and opportunities for Africa
River discharge data is important for managing water resources, yet the African continent faces challenges collecting and accurately estimating this data. The continent’s vast landscape with diverse climates coupled with limited systems for monitoring precipitation, runoff and water quality, contribute to these difficulties. Recognizing this, IWMI’s Komlavi Akpoti and colleagues conducted a comprehensive review of the river discharge data gap in Africa. Their study evaluated existing methods and technologies for estimating river discharge and gave recommendations. They propose using a monitoring system that involves local communities in data collection and decision making, enhancing regional data sharing and strengthening transboundary cooperation to better support accurate discharge modelling, resource management and disaster response.
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Leveraging crop yield forecasts using satellite information for early warning in Senegal
Senegal faces persistent food insecurity, driven by agricultural losses resulting from climate variability and human-induced pressures. With climate shocks such as droughts and floods becoming increasingly frequent and severe, the need for reliable early warning systems is more critical than ever. To address this challenge, IWMI researchers Shweta Panjwani, Mahesh Jampani, Mame Sambou and Giriraj Amarnath sought to identify key predictors of crop yields to develop a robust seasonal yield prediction model. Their findings revealed that even a 10–20% reduction in rainfall can significantly impact crop production. By leveraging machine learning techniques, the team enhanced the model’s accuracy, making it a valuable tool for early warning systems. This predictive capability can strengthen Senegal’s resilience to climate change by empowering decision-makers and planners to implement strategies that safeguard food security and mitigate the effects of agricultural losses.
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Patterns of surface water dynamics and storage changes in a basin of Bundelkhand Region, India: Implications for water management
With over half of water extracted for agricultural, domestic and industrial usage globally coming from surface water, monitoring surface dynamics proves to be crucial for sustaining ecosystems and communities. IWMI researchers Dhyey Bhatpuria, Nitin Sharma, Giriraj Amarnath and Alok Sikka mapped three size reference points, small, medium and large water bodies, within a basin in Central India to analyze key patterns in surface water dynamics. Leveraging data using automated mapping frameworks, researchers found a significant delay in peak water levels within surface water with respect to rainfall, exhibiting variability throughout the year. Small water bodies experienced the most variability, demonstrating their particular vulnerability to the effects of climate change. Considering the majority of communities in this region are dependent upon small water bodies, this indicates a need for effective water management strategies to account for delayed response of surface water to rainfall as well as the variability across differing reservoir sizes.
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Market demand for and producer profits of certified safe cabbage: Evidence from test sales in traditional food markets in Northern Ghana
Traditional urban food market vendors in Ghana offer locally produced vegetables that may carry pathogens that are harmful to consumers’ health. Unsafe produce is rarely differentiated from safe produce, and as such, there is no market data on consumers’ payment for certified safe vegetables. IWMI’s Pay Drechsel and his co-researchers set out to determine whether there is demand for certified safe vegetables and whether safety certification can be profitable for small-scale farmers. By observing consumers’ purchases at market stalls, they found that people’s likelihood to purchase certified safe cabbage is influenced by the size of the price premium charged, households’ characteristics and perceptions of local production modes. For farmers to maximize profits from certified safe cabbages, they should charge a price premium of GHS 1.48 or 46% more than the price of an ordinary cabbage. The researchers also recommend that groups of geographically concentrated farmers jointly apply for safe vegetable certification to reduce certification costs.
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Digital sustainability tracing in smallholder context: Ex-ante insights from the Peruvian cocoa supply chain
Digital tracing among agri-food products is increasingly widespread, with EU markets requiring cocoa supplier verification to ensure deforestation-free supply chains and increasing end-to-end transparency. However, third-party verification can be costly; therefore, sustainability monitoring remains inaccessible to many farmers. IWMI researcher Thai Minh and associates explored potential avenues of digital traceability using interviews with local cocoa sector stakeholders and farmer-supplied data in the Ucayali region of Peru. Findings indicate that there are significant limitations to implementation due to opportunity costs, expenses and lack of suitability to local challenges. Thus, researchers concluded that implementing traceability must increase farmers’ net profits, and ensuring data accuracy may be addressed through private or public investments into farmer training. In the broader picture, these findings call for initial efforts to trace sustainability metrics to focus on community levels, and in the long term, external investments can enhance local capabilities at the farm level.
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Digitalization in agriculture: A scoping review of technologies in practice, challenges, and opportunities for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa
Digitalization in agriculture has significant potential to benefit smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. IWMI’s Dennis Choruma, Tinashe Dirwai, Munyaradzi Mutenje, Inga Jacobs-Mata and their co-researchers conducted a review to provide a thorough analysis of the technologies used in sub-Saharan Africa as well as the challenges and opportunities of digitalization. They found that the region uses several digital technologies including extension services, digital marketing of agricultural products, financial services and digital farm management. Challenges such as limited internet connectivity, low digital literacy, inadequate infrastructure, gender disparities and affordability issues impede widespread use. However, these technologies represent significant opportunities including better market access, better decision-making capabilities and increased income and livelihoods. Moving forward, the researchers recommend that policymakers invest in solutions to create an enabling environment that empowers smallholder farmers to effectively utilize digital technologies including training programs to enhance digital literacy, improving digital infrastructure and addressing gender inequalities in agricultural digitalization.
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