The Food Systems & Digital Technology sector of the Nature & Climate Impact Team works to embed nature and climate considerations directly into agricultural and business decision-making. We are rethinking how food is produced and consumed—from advancing agroecology at the farm level to mobilizing nature-positive investment across global supply chains. By collaborating with partners across the food system, we develop resilient, nature-positive climate-smart approaches that support both people and the planet.
Climate-smart agricultural AI helping rice farmers manage crop disease
To support climate resilience in agriculture, the Rice Pathogen SALM project is developing a specialized AI tool that gives rice farmers scientifically grounded guidance on crop diseases and pests. By combining agricultural expertise with compact AI that works offline, this collaboration delivers equitable, locally relevant decision support to smallholder farmers.
Connecting developers and financial institutions to scale nature-positive investment in Africa
To unlock systems change in green finance, NCIT partners with the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) to connect financial institutions with nature-positive projects. By co-chairing the Commercial Opportunities Working Group, we are bridging the gap between investors and developers to turn promising ideas into investable propositions across Africa.
Mapping tomorrow’s coffee-growing conditions to manage climate risk in Africa
To help food systems adapt to a warming planet, the Shifting Crop Hardiness Zones project created a digital mapping prototype showing how coffee-growing conditions are changing across Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda. By visualizing complex environmental data, the tool empowers farmers and policymakers to identify production risks and plan for climate resilience.
Transforming rural landscapes into climate-positive food systems
The Fermanagh FAIR project in Northern Ireland will transform West Fermanagh’s 2,000-farm geopark into a living demonstration landscape. By helping farmers adopt climate-resilient agroecological systems and restore priority habitats like peatlands and wet grasslands, this scalable model for rural landscapes across the UK and Ireland delivers measurable biodiversity uplift and carbon storage while strengthening local supply chains to improve community access to affordable food.
Transforming climate forecasts into actionable intelligence for African supply chains
The CISI project partners with the UK Met Office and ICPAC under WISER PASS to transform seasonal climate forecasts and meteorological data into usable knowledge for businesses across Africa. Through market research, private-sector workshops and climate services, the initiative identifies what companies in agriculture, logistics, food systems and finance need to manage weather and climate risk, informing commercial strategy and nature-aligned investment across the Greater Horn of Africa.
Empowering Northern Ireland farmers with practical farm-level habitat evidence
The Missing Layer gives Northern Ireland farmers a practical, affordable way to assess the habitat condition of their land. Co-designed by the West Fermanagh Farmers Cluster, Ulster Wildlife and NCIT, the project turns landscape-scale mapping into repeatable insights, creating a scalable evidence “farm-level evidence layer” to support agri-environment compliance, nature-based payments and sustainable supply chains.