New footprints offer evidence of co-existing hominid species 1.5 million years ago

Summary author: Becky Ham

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Newly discovered footprints show that at least two hominid species were walking through the muddy submerged edge of a lake in Kenya’s Turkana Basin at the same time, about 1.5 million years ago. The find from the famous hominid fossil site of Koobi Fora described by Kevin Hatala and colleagues provides physical evidence for the co-existence of multiple hominid lineages in the region—something that has only been inferred previously from overlapping dates for scattered fossils. Based on information on gait and stance gleaned from the footprints, Hatala et al. think that the two species were Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei. This is the first evidence of two different patterns of bipedalism among Pleistocene hominids appearing on the same footprint surface. After examining the new Koobi Fora footprints, the researchers analyzed other similar-age hominid footprints and conclude there is a distinct pattern of two different types of bipedalism across the East Turkana region. The overall analysis indicates that the different species were contemporaneously using these lake habitats, with varying possibilities of competition or niche partitioning that could have impacted trends in human evolution. William Harcourt-Smith discusses the implications of the footprints in a related Perspective.

 

Podcast: A segment of Science's weekly podcast with Kevin Hatala, related to this research, will be available on the Science.org podcast landing page after the embargo lifts. Reporters are free to make use of the segments for broadcast purposes and/or quote from them – with appropriate attribution (i.e., cite "Science podcast"). Please note that the file itself should not be posted to any other Web site.

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Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.ado5275 

Article Title

Footprint evidence for locomotor diversity and shared habitats among early Pleistocene hominins

Article Publication Date

29-Nov-2024

A fossil first: Scientists find 1.5-million-year-old footprints of two different species of human ancestors at same spot

Discovery by international team, including Rutgers researcher, proves theory that some ancient hominins were neighbors

Rutgers University

 

image: 

A 3D computerized model of the surface of the area near Lake Turkana in Kenya shows fossil footprints of Paranthropus boisei (vertical footprints) with separate footprints of Homo erectus forming a perpendicular path.

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Credit: Kevin Hatala/Chatham University

More than a million years ago, on a hot savannah teeming with wildlife near the shore of what would someday become Lake Turkana in Kenya, two completely different species of hominins may have passed each other as they scavenged for food.

Scientists know this because they have examined 1.5-million-year-old fossils they unearthed and have concluded they represent the first example of two sets of hominin footprints made about the same time on an ancient lake shore. The discovery will provide more insight into human evolution and how species cooperated and competed with one another, the scientists said.

“Hominin” is a newer term that describes a subdivision of the larger category known as hominids. Hominins includes all organisms, extinct and alive, considered to be within the human lineage that emerged after the split from the ancestors of the great apes. This is believed to have occurred about 6 million to 7 million years ago.

The discovery, published today in Science offers hard proof that different hominin species lived contemporaneously in time and space, overlapping as they evaded predators and weathered the challenges of safely securing food in the ancient African landscape. Hominins belonging to the species Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei, the two most common living human species of the Pleistocene Epoch, made the tracks, the researchers said.

“Their presence on the same surface, made closely together in time, places the two species at the lake margin, using the same habitat,” said Craig Feibel, an author of the study and a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Department of Anthropology in the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences.

Feibel, who has conducted research since 1981 in that area of northern Kenya, a rich fossil site, applied his expertise in stratigraphy and dating to demonstrate the geological antiquity of the fossils at 1.5 million years ago.  He also interpreted the depositional setting of the footprint surface, narrowing down the passage of the track makers to a few hours, and showing they were formed at the very spot of soft sediments where they were found.

If the hominins didn’t cross paths, they traversed the shore within hours of each other, Feibel said.

While skeletal fossils have long provided the primary evidence for studying human evolution, new data from fossil footprints are revealing fascinating details about the evolution of human anatomy and locomotion, and giving further clues about ancient human behaviors and environments, according to Kevin Hatala, the study’s first author, and an associate professor of biology at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pa.

“Fossil footprints are exciting because they provide vivid snapshots that bring our fossil relatives to life,” said Hatala, who has been investigating hominin footprints since 2012. “With these kinds of data, we can see how living individuals, millions of years ago, were moving around their environments and potentially interacting with each other, or even with other animals. That's something that we can't really get from bones or stone tools.”

Hatala, an expert in foot anatomy, found the species’ footprints reflected different patterns of anatomy and locomotion. He and several co-authors distinguished one set of footprints from another using new methods they recently developed to enable them to conduct a 3D analysis.

“In biological anthropology, we’re always interested in finding new ways to extract behavior from the fossil record, and this is a great example,” said Rebecca Ferrell, a program director at the National Science Foundation who helped fund this portion of the research. “The team used cutting-edge 3D imaging technologies to create an entirely new way to look at footprints, which helps us understand human evolution and the roles of cooperation and competition in shaping our evolutionary journey.”

Feibel described the discovery as “a bit of serendipity.” The researchers uncovered the fossil footprints in 2021 when a team organized by Louise Leakey, a third-generation paleontologist who is the granddaughter of Louis Leakey and daughter of Richard Leakey, discovered fossil bones at the site.  

The field team, led by Cyprian Nyete, mainly consists of a group of highly trained Kenyans who live locally and scour the landscape after heavy rains.  They noticed fossils on the surface and were excavating to try and find the source. While cleaning the top layer of a bed, Richard Loki, one of the excavators, noticed some giant bird tracks, then spotted the first hominin footprint.  Leakey coordinated a team in response that excavated the footprint surface in July 2022.

Feibel noted it has long been hypothesized that these fossil human species coexisted. According to fossil records, Homo erectus, a direct ancestor of humans, persisted for 1 million years more. Paranthropus boisei, however, went extinct within the next few hundred thousand years. Scientists don’t know why.

Both species possessed upright postures, bipedalism and were highly agile. Little is yet known about how these coexisting species interacted, both culturally and reproductively.

The footprints are significant, Feibel said, because they fall into the category of “trace fossils” – which can include footprints, nests and burrows. Trace fossils are not part of an organism but offer evidence of behavior. Body fossils, such as bones and teeth, are evidence of past life, but are easily moved by water or a predator.

Trace fossils cannot be moved, Feibel said.

“This proves beyond any question that not only one, but two different hominins were walking on the same surface, literally within hours of each other,” Feibel said. “The idea that they lived contemporaneously may not be a surprise. But this is the first time demonstrating it. I think that's really huge.”

Rutgers Professor Craig Feibel has been studying fossils in Kenya since the 1980s. 

Credit

Craig Feibel/Rutgers University

A footprint hypothesized to have been created by a Homo erectus individual.

Credit

Photo credit: Kevin Hatala/Chatham University

A footprint hypothesized to have been created by a Paranthropus boisei individual.

Credit

Photo credit: Kevin Hatala/Chatham University

Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.ado5275 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Footprint evidence for locomotor diversity and shared habitats among early Pleistocene hominins

Article Publication Date

28-Nov-2024

 

These hibernating squirrels could use a drink—but don’t feel the thirst

Summary author: Becky Ham

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

The thirteen-lined ground squirrel doesn’t drink during its winter hibernation, even though systems throughout its body are crying out for water. Madeleine Junkins and colleagues now show that the squirrel suppresses the need to quench its thirst by reducing the activity of a set of neurons in highly vascularized brain structures called circumventricular organs, which act as a specialized connection point between brain, blood circulation and cerebrospinal fluid. The study by Junkins et al. helps explain how some hibernating animals ignore the powerful physiological drive to seek out water for months at a time. During hibernation, the squirrels cycle between periods of torpor (inactivity and suppressed metabolism) and interbout arousal (higher core temperatures and some movement in the burrow). Although squirrels in the interbout stage are deficient in fluids and are sensitive to some kidney and nervous system cues to regulate fluid homeostasis, they are less sensitive to other hormonal thirst cues. The researchers found that the baseline activity of thirst neurons in the circumventricular organs drops sharply during the months of winter hibernation, suppressing their sensitivity to physiological cues for thirst.

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Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.adp8358 

 

Unique killer whale pod may have acquired special skills to hunt the world’s largest fish

Killer whales, including a male dubbed Moctezuma, have been spotted hunting whale sharks in coordinated attacks. Researchers think they may have gained special knowledge allowing them to hunt this way

Frontiers

 

video: 

The killer whale “Moctezuma” approaching the whale shark that was still moving and upside down at the surface. Video: Eduardo Miranda.

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Credit: Video: Eduardo Miranda.

Killer whales can feed on marine mammals, turtles, and fish. In the Gulf of California, a pod might have picked up new skills that help them hunt whale sharks – the world’s largest fish, growing up to 18 meters long.

Whale sharks feed at aggregation sites in the Gulf of California, sometimes while they are still young and smaller. During this life-stage, they are more vulnerable to predation, and anecdotal evidence suggests orcas could be hunting them. Now, researchers in Mexico have reported four separate hunting events.

“We show how orcas displayed a collaboratively hunting technique on whale sharks, characterized by focusing on attacking the pelvic area causing the whale shark to bleed out and allow orcas access to the lipid-rich liver,” said Erick Higuera Rivas, a marine biologist at Conexiones Terramar and senior author of the Frontiers in Marine Science article. “One individual was engaged in three of the four events, alongside with other members who might belong to a pod specialized on hunting on sharks.”

Specialized hunters

The predation events occurred between 2018 and 2024 in the southern Gulf of California and were captured in images and videos taken by members of the public and scientists. Individual orcas were identified by analyzing photographs of dorsal fins and distinctive features like scars.

In three of four hunting events a male orca called Moctezuma was present. A female orca previously observed in the presence of Moctezuma participated in one event also, suggesting they could be related or members of the same pod.

“When hunting, all pod members work together, hitting the whale shark to turn it upside down. In that position the sharks enter a state of tonic immobility and can no longer move voluntarily or escape by going deeper,” Higuera Rivas explained. “By keeping it under control, the orcas then have greater ease and speed in approaching the pelvic area of ​​the shark and are able to extract organs of nutritional importance for them.”

Orcas may be targeting whale sharks’ ventral side because there their bodies are thought to be the least protected. For example, there is less muscle and cartilage in this area, allowing easier access to the aorta. Although whale sharks’ livers are an important part of orcas’ diets, there was no photographic observation of the orcas consuming the organ.

Hunting this way could imply that some orcas in the Gulf of California have acquired special skills that help them prey on whale sharks. In other regions, orcas may have learned to do the same thing, but evidence is limited, the researchers said.

Understanding how orcas hunt

Collecting the data the scientists needed wasn’t easy. Attacks cannot be predicted, access to images and videos can be limited, and image quality is oftentimes too low to reliably identify animals.

Despite this, the researchers said their finding could have several implications. The fact that there is a whale shark hunting pod in the Gulf of California increases the need for managing marine adventurers and tourists, the researchers cautioned. “There must be a specific regulatory norm that guarantees that any type of non-extractive use activity is carried out in a respectful and sustainable manner,” Higuera Rivas said.

Further, if the thesis that Moctezuma and his pod have acquired ecological and behavioral information for hunting whale sharks in the Gulf of California holds, the pod could be vulnerable to a possible disappearance of this specific prey due to climate change within the region.

Ultimately, new information related to these orcas helps researchers gain a greater understanding of their adaptations unique to their needs and geographical location. “It is very impressive how orcas work together strategically and intelligently to access only a very specific area of ​​the prey. It highlights what great predators they are,” concluded Higuera Rivas.

Pod close to killer whale [VIDEO] |

The adult male killer whale Moctezuma and five other killer whales (two adult females, two juveniles, one calf), in the vicinity of the juvenile whale shark, measuring around 6 meters. The whale shark was observed to be weakly swimming at the surface. Video: Guillermo Aceves Salazar.

Several of the killer whales were observed with whale shark carrion in their mouths during an attack on 26 May 2024. Image: Kelsey Williamson.

Moctezuma, the adult male of the pod is identified as one of the killer whales involved in the attack. Image: James Moskito.

Killer whale hits the shark with the side of its head. Image: Kelsey Williamson.

The whale shark is brought shallower to the surface and one orca is biting near the pelvic area. Image: Kelsey Williamson.

Killer whales surface to breath before taking whale shark down and delivering a rapid, final blow. Image: Kelsey Williamson.

Journal

Frontiers in Marine Science

DOI

10.3389/fmars.2024.1448254 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) hunt, kill and consume the largest fish on Earth, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus)

Article Publication Date

29-Nov-2024

 

Sea anemone study shows how animals stay ‘in shape’

Scientists have shown how regenerating sea anemones restore their shape following a major injury

European Molecular Biology Laboratory

 

image: 

By using four different colours to label specific genes, scientists can visualise where each gene is active in the sea anemone’s body, helping them understand the body organisation in both intact and regenerating animals.

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Credit: Matthew Benton/EMBL

Our bodies are remarkably skilled at adapting to changing environments. For example, whether amid summer heat or a winter freeze, our internal temperature remains steady at 37°C, thanks to a process called homeostasis. This hidden balancing act is vital for survival, enabling animals to maintain stable internal conditions even as the external world shifts. But recent research from the Ikmi Group at EMBL Heidelberg shows that homeostasis can extend beyond internal regulation and actively redefine an organism’s shape.

The starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) possesses remarkable regenerative abilities. Cut off its head or foot, and it simply grows a new one. Slice it in half, and each piece becomes a complete, fully functional anemone. 

While some regenerating animals like salamanders and fish focus on restoring lost parts in proportion to what remains, this sea anemone takes a different approach. It reshapes its entire body to maintain the same overall form, even if that means adjusting parts that weren’t injured. This feature is also seen in flatworms and other animals with whole-body regenerative capabilities.

“Regeneration is about restoring function after tissue loss or damage,” explained Aissam Ikmi, EMBL Group Leader and senior author of a new study in the journal Developmental Cell. “Most research studies mainly consider patterns and sizes in regeneration, but our findings show that maintaining shape is also crucial – and it’s something the organism actively controls.”

The discovery began when Stephanie Cheung, a doctoral researcher in Ikmi’s group, noticed something unusual. When a sea anemone’s foot was injured, Cheung observed not only cell division at the wound site but also unexpected cell division at the opposite end of the body – the mouth area. This suggested the anemone was sending signals across its entire body in response to the injury.

To investigate this, the research team used a technique called spatial transcriptomics combined with advanced imaging. This allowed them to see which genes were active in different parts of the anemone’s body during regeneration. What they found was surprising: the injury triggered molecular changes both near and far from the wound. Cells moved and tissues reorganised, effectively reshaping the entire body.

Interestingly, the extent of the body reshaping depended on the injury’s severity. Losing a foot caused mild changes, while the anemone being cut in half led to significant remodelling. The team identified a family of enzymes called metalloproteases that became more active as more tissue was lost. These enzymes weren’t just working at the wound site; they were active throughout the body, helping to realign tissues.

“Metalloprotease activity has never been shown before in animals like this,” said Petrus Steenbergen, one of the study’s lead authors and an Ikmi Group Senior Research Technician. “I had to design and optimise experimental conditions for Nematostella based on the sparse literature available from other species. This took some time, but the final results were very rewarding.”

The breakthrough came when the researchers realised that all these changes aimed to restore the anemone’s original shape. By measuring the aspect ratio – the ratio of length to width – they found that the anemone returned to its pre-injury proportions. So, even if the anemone became smaller after an injury, it maintained the same shape.

“We were able to witness the body-wide coordination that drives this remodelling,” Ikmi explained. “This proportional response allows the anemone to restore its shape, highlighting how organisms like Nematostella interpret and respond to tissue loss in a way that’s scaled to the damage incurred.”

This research was a collaborative effort. Rik Korswagen’s team at the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands helped implement spatial transcriptomics in the sea anemone. Oliver Stegle’s team at EMBL Heidelberg and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) contributed bioinformatics expertise and the statistical methods needed to deal with the spatial gene expression data.

“It was a pleasure to puzzle out the findings of the study together by uniting the team’s expertise in data analysis and cell biology,” said Tobias Gerber, another of the study’s lead authors. “This work was a truly collaborative journey, and I am glad I was part of it.”

Looking ahead, Ikmi and his team are excited to explore new questions. “The next big question is why maintaining shape is so important,” Ikmi said. “And how does the organism sense its own shape? How does it know what it currently looks like?” 

With the remarkable starlet sea anemone as their model, they’re eager to uncover more secrets about how organisms heal and maintain balance.

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Journal

Developmental Cell

DOI

10.1016/j.devcel.2024.11.001 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Systemic coordination of whole-body tissue remodeling during local regeneration in sea anemones

Article Publication Date

29-Nov-2024

 

Coral adaptation unlikely to keep pace with global warming

Newcastle University

 

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A healthy reef dominated by Acropora corals in Palau, western Pacific Ocean. Photo Credit: Liam Lachs

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Credit: Liam Lachs

Coral adaptation to ocean warming and marine heatwaves will likely be overwhelmed without rapid reductions of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to an international team of scientists.

Their study, led by Dr. Liam Lachs of Newcastle University, reveals that coral heat tolerance adaptation via natural selection could keep pace with ocean warming, but only if Paris Agreement commitments are realised, limiting global warming to two degrees Celsius.

“The reality is that marine heatwaves are triggering mass coral bleaching mortality events across the world’s shallow tropical reef ecosystems, and the increasing frequency and intensity of these events is set to ramp up under climate change”, said Dr. Lachs.

“While emerging experimental research indicates scope for adaptation in the ability of corals to tolerate and survive heat stress, a fundamental question for corals has remained: can adaptation through natural selection keep pace with global warming? Our study shows that scope for adaptation will likely be overwhelmed for moderate to high levels of warming”

The international team of scientists studied the corals of Palau in the western Pacific Ocean, developing an eco-evolutionary simulation model of coral populations.

This model incorporates data on the thermal and evolutionary biology of common yet thermally sensitive corals, as well as their ecology. Published today in Science, the study simulates the consequences of alternative futures of global development and fossil fuel usage that were created by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Prof. Peter Mumby, a co-author of the study based at The University of Queensland, explains that “our world is expected to warm by 3-5 degrees by the end of this century if we do not achieve Paris Agreement commitments. Under such levels of warming, natural selection may be insufficient to ensure the survival of some of the more sensitive yet important coral species”.

“We can still have fairly healthy corals in the future, but this requires more aggressive reductions in global emissions and strategic approaches to coral reef management”

Dr. Lachs explains that “with current climate policies, we are on track for a middle-of-the road emissions scenario – leading to around 3 °C of warming – in which natural selection for heat tolerance could determine whether some coral populations survive.”

“From modelling this current emissions scenario, we expect to see profound reductions in reef health and an elevated risk of local extinction for thermally sensitive coral species. We also acknowledge that considerable uncertainty remains in the “evolvability” of coral populations”.

Study co-author Dr. James Guest, who leads the Coralassist Lab, says there is an urgent need to understand how to design climate-smart management options for coral reefs.

“We need management actions that can maximise the natural capacity for genetic adaptation, whilst also exploring whether it will be possible to increase the likelihood of adaptation in wild populations."

“One such option, still at the experimental stages to date, would be the use of targeted assisted evolution interventions that, for instance, could improve heat tolerance through selective breeding,” Dr. Guest said, referring to a separate paper recently published by the Coralassist Lab.

Coral reefs are remarkably diverse and critically important marine ecosystems. “Taken together”, says Dr. Lachs, “the results of our models suggest that genetic adaptation could offset some of the projected loss of coral reef functioning and biodiversity over the 21st Century, if rapid climate action can be achieved”.

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Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.adl6480 

Article Title

Natural selection could determine whether Acropora corals persist under expected climate change

Article Publication Date

28-Nov-2024

 

The key to “climate smart” agriculture might be through its value chain

Summary author: Zachary Graber

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

In 2023, the United Nations climate conference (COP28) officially recognized the importance of agriculture in influencing and mitigating climate change. In a Policy Forum, Johan Swinnen and colleagues offer an approach to overcome challenges related to improving climate-sensitive farming practices across the globe. They discuss the importance of working with Agricultural Value Chains (AVC) by incentivizing small businesses who play an important role in the support of small- and medium-sized farms. This would involve both upstream enterprises related to seeds, fertilizer, irrigation, and insurance, for example, and downstream enterprises like those related to distribution, storage, and transportation. Most agricultural production occurs within small- to medium-sized farms – a fragmented farm sector – leading to pessimism about the possibility to enact change. But the authors counter this pessimism, citing decades of evidence of AVC companies having employed their tools – such as resource provision, training, and loans – to encourage farmers to be more “climate smart.” Targeting these institutional relationships with farmers can be a positive force for needed policy transformation, say the authors.

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Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.adr6193 

Article Title

Harnessing agrifood value chains to help farmers be climate smart

Article Publication Date

29-Nov-2024

New paper calls for harnessing agrifood value chains to help farmers be climate-smart

International Food Policy Research Institute

Washington DC, November 28, 2024: The global food system is uniquely vulnerable to climate impacts, making adaptation of paramount importance. While contributing roughly one-third of total anthropogenic emissions, food systems around the world fortunately also hold immense potential for mitigation through improved practices and land use. A new article published today in Science emphasizes the critical role of agrifood value chains (AVCs) in supporting both adaptation and mitigation at the farm level.

Authored by Johan Swinnen (International Food Policy Research Institute), Loraine Ronchi (World Bank Group), and Thomas Reardon (Michigan State University and IFPRI), the paper pushes back against pessimism that agriculture cannot play an effective role in climate change mitigation and adaptation because of its fragmented nature. Structures and incentives within AVCs can effectively empower farmers to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices more widely. As such, AVCs have an important role to play in realizing the UAE Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture from COP28, signed by some 160 nations committed to integrating agriculture into climate strategies.

Unlocking the Potential of Agrifood Value Chains

AVCs, which link input providers (e.g., of seeds, fertilizers) to downstream entities (e.g., processors, retailers), represent a powerful mechanism for advancing climate-smart agriculture. These chains capture most of the food system’s economic value, both in OECD countries and the rapidly transforming Global South. 

“AVCs can drive farmers’ adoption of climate-smart practices through tools like resource provision contracts, technology transfer, and financial incentives,” says Johan Swinnen. “Historically, these mechanisms have been used to enhance food quality and safety, suggesting their applicability for addressing climate goals.”

Despite this potential, much of the effort on climate mitigation and adaptation to date has focused narrowly on large multinational firms and certification schemes for export markets. “Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which make up 80–90% of AVC companies in the Global South, have a vital role to play,” states Thomas Reardon, “and can unleash grassroots transformation by providing small farmers with essential inputs, training, credit, and logistics in support of climate-smart agriculture.”

The Role of Science and Innovation

The article emphasizes the importance of science and innovation in harnessing the power of AVCs in promoting climate-smart agriculture at the farm level. The authors emphasize that there is a role for economic and social science, as well as for engineering and digital sciences to help AVCs send effective climate practice signals to farmers. Public and private R&D must prioritize accessible and affordable technologies such as climate-resilient seeds, methane-reducing animal feed, and efficient irrigation systems. Collaborative initiatives, such as those between research institutions and AVC firms in the dairy sector, exemplify how science can simultaneously reduce farm-level emissions and boost productivity.

Policy Solutions for Inclusive Climate Action

The authors also highlight the crucial role of policy frameworks in strengthening the vital role AVCs.  They propose a range of policy measures, including:

• De-risking private investments through public procurement programs and the redirection of agricultural subsidies toward sustainable initiatives.
• Enabling private sector investment in the sector and business-friendly investments in transport, energy and communications networks.
• Regulating emissions reporting within supply chains while helping smaller enterprises with compliance costs to ensure inclusiveness.
• Addressing power imbalances in AVCs to promote fair income distribution and foster competition.

“Agrifood value chains represent a significant, but still largely untapped opportunity to drive climate-smart agriculture and build sustainable food systems,” states Loraine Ronchi, “given that processing and retail operations in AVCs share an interest in supply assurance and continuity, they are natural champions for supporting climate-smart, resource-wise approaches from their primary suppliers, who are farmers. Robust scientific effort on affordable technologies for smallholders, effective policy design, and inclusive stakeholder collaboration can support this.”

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About the authors:

Johan Swinnen is Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Loraine Ronchi is Global lead for Science, Knowledge and Innovation in Agriculture and Food, World Bank Group. Thomas Reardon (corresponding author) is a University Distinguished Professor, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, at Michigan State University and a Non-Resident Research Fellow at IFPRI.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition. IFPRI’s strategic research aims to identify and analyze alternative international and country-led strategies and policies for meeting food and nutrition needs in low- and middle-income countries, with particular emphasis on poor and vulnerable groups in those countries, gender equity, and sustainability. It is a research center of CGIAR, a worldwide partnership engaged in agricultural research for development. www.ifpri.org

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Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.adr6193 

Article Title

Harnessing agrifood value chains to help farmers be climate smart

Article Publication Date

29-Nov-2024