Achieving multi-million-hectare commitments from countries around the world to restore degraded lands in resilient and sustainable ways requires, among other things, huge volumes of tree planting material. Seed systems encompassing all forest reproductive material (e.g., seeds, cuttings, stakes, and wildings), are key to ensuring that sufficient planting material with a diverse range of suitable species, adapted to local conditions and capable of persisting under a changing climate, is available for restoration projects. The ideal structure of a seed system integrates five components: seed selection and innovation, seed harvesting and production, market access, supply and demand, quality control, and an enabling environment. We propose 15 indicators to evaluate these key components and trial them by assessing national seed systems in 7 Latin American countries. We conclude that the indicators enable a straightforward assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of national seed systems, thus assisting governments to identify key areas for improvement and opportunities for horizontal learning.

A holistic approach that includes social cohesion, accessibility to means of production, policies and nutritional education is widely recognized as needed to fight food insecurity in the world. By investigating the surprising achievements of the Heifer International projects in the rural areas of Mexican states such as Veracruz and Chiapas, this article advances the theory of a multiplier effect given by beekeeping if inserted in a wider food and economic security project. Beekeeping is not only functional as integrator of family income in rural families, but it also provides a healthy sugar source, environmental sensitisation, women empowerment, social cohesion and lots of sub-products for healthcare and cosmetics. Such a huge impact on families has, in fact, to be added to the general positive impact of beekeeping on biodiversity and climate change. The introduction gives a review of the concept of food and economic security for rural families. The second part portraits the complexity and inequality of Mexico in both its economic and nutritional environment. In the last part the Heifer International project structure and goals are explained, followed by an analysis of the data collected as well as an illustration of the impact of this project over the economy, the society and the environment.

Through a sequential mixed-methods approach, the paper investigates the effects of the different components of the Tingathe Economic Empowerment Programme (TEEP) on social cohesion in Malawi. The TEEP is an integrated social protection scheme offering to three different groups these services: a lump-sum transfer, a financial/business training connected to the creation of saving groups, and a combination of both. While other studies assessed the impacts of similar programmes on other outcomes, none focussed on social cohesion. The econometric analysis shows no concrete effect of the lump-sum, while both training and participation in savings groups affect within-group trust and cooperation. The qualitative analysis reveals a decline in trust towards local institutions and other village members; however, this was not related to the TEEP but to the social cash transfer (SCT) on whose infrastructure the TEEP rests. Other village members considered unfair that the beneficiaries received the SCT and this caused tensions.

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