Demand-Side Greenhouse Gas Emission Mitigation in Agri-food Systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Protocol for Evidence and Gap Map of Sustainable Dietary Shifts, Food Loss and Waste Reduction, and Food-Mileage Interventions

BackgroundAgri-food systems are a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognises demand-side measures, particularly sustainable dietary shifts and food loss and waste reduction, as important mitigation pathways, with food-mileage reduction a complementary strategy. Yet existing syntheses draw overwhelmingly on high-income settings: in a recent meta-analysis of 139 demand-side studies, European countries alone accounted for 75% of food-consumption studies. Food-mileage interventions and cost-effectiveness outcomes are rarely mapped. Evidence from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where most future growth in livestock-product consumption is projected, remains poorly characterised. This evidence and gap map (EGM) therefore aims to characterise the nature and distribution of evidence on demand-side GHG mitigation interventions in LMIC agri-food systems.MethodsAgricultural systems around the world are being impacted by climate stressors and hazards. These shocks are felt disproportionately by agricultural producers in LMICs due to existing socio-economic vulnerabilities. In this context, climate adaptation interventions seek to catalyze adaptation processes and outcomes to help producers manage impacts and reduce climate-induced risks to their livelihoods. These interventions and their effectiveness are assessed through a variety of ways, including output and outcomes indicators as a part of M&E systems, qualitative measures of coping capacity, and quantitative resilience indices. Collectively, these concepts represent different approaches to measuring adaptation and constitute the primary focus of this review.