In 2021, FTA completed a set of studies focused on documenting the progress of the program’s contribution in addressing key global challenges. Five challenges were identified together with the management team and leadership of FTA, resulting in five integrative impact studies that are relevant to many countries, actors, donors’ priorities, the Sustainable Development Goals, and the CGIAR SLOs and SRF targets.

The synthesis report of all five integrative impact studies is out now!

This document provides a synthesis of the five studies and draws lessons and recommendations for research-for-development programs.

The results of these studies demonstrate the following FTA contributions:

1. Addressing accelerating rates of deforestation and forest degradation. Overall, an estimated 25.6m ha of forests have the potential to be under enhanced protection from deforestation and forest degradation as a result of collective processes to which FTA research and engagement contributed. In addition, if FTA-informed policies are effectively implemented and enforced, there is the potential for 133.4m ha of forests to be better protected from deforestation and degradation in the countries assessed to date. Based on these estimates, between 24 Gt (low-end estimate) and 125.3 Gt (high-end estimate) of CO₂ emissions may be avoided as a result of FTA’s contribution to enhanced forest protection.

2. Restoring degraded land and ecosystem services. Cumulative effects of FTA’s research and engagement contributed to placing at least 1.8 million ha under restoration, with the potential for up to 34.5 million ha to be under restoration in the future. Projected carbon sequestration effects of active planting facilitated by FTA is estimated to be from 1.4 million tons CO₂ to reach the potential of 511.5 million tons of CO₂ in the future.

3. Widespread Unsustainable Land Use Practices. We estimate that 59.5 million ha of landscapes are now under improved management as a result of policy mechanisms, monitoring systems, and changes in on-the-ground management and land use practices influenced by FTA. In addition, if other relevant FTA-influenced policies, action plans, and monitoring systems are effectively implemented and/or scaled in the future, a total of 204 million ha of landscapes have the potential to be better managed.

4. Persistent rural poverty with increasing levels of vulnerability. Overall, the study estimates that 5.1m people (1.3 million people directly and 3.8 million household members indirectly) have additional means to exit poverty or have increased resilience to impoverishment as a result of FTA’s contributions. This estimate includes people with increased access to inputs for tree- and agroforestry-based production; people who adopted enhanced management or diversified production practices to increase yields; people who adopted low-cost processing techniques and value-addition; people with enhanced access to formal markets and/or business and marketing skills. We project that if all individuals reached by FTA adopt FTA-promoted options and technologies into their practice, in addition to the effective implementation of FTA-influenced policies, strategies, and action plans, 19m people (5.7 million people directly and 13.3 household members indirectly) have the potential to benefit from additional means to exit poverty or reduce their vulnerability of falling into poverty.

5. Rising demand for nutritious food for both current and future generations. Overall, FTA reached over 760,000 households with additional means to improve their food security and nutritional status, with evidence of uptake of FTA innovations among one-third of these households (248,398). Evidence of significant FTA contributions to several policy-related outcomes was also found and documented.