Enabling environments for climate-smart agriculture (CSA) are the framework conditions that facilitate and support the adoption of climate-smart technologies and practices. They include policies, institutional arrangements, stakeholder involvement and gender considerations, infrastructure, insurance schemes, as well as access to weather information and advisory services. An enabling environment may provide the laws, regulations and incentives, which assures that the reorientation and transformation towards climate-smart agriculture proceeds effectively and sustainably. It helps build institutional capacity at all levels and reduces the risks that deter farmers from investing in new technologies and practices. Experience has shown that investing in the enabling environment is essential for implementing CSA at larger scales.
Small-scale farmers and pastoralists in low-income countries are often trapped in poverty because they are unable to make investments in improved agricultural practices due to weather-related risks. Agricultural insurance, an attractive approach to managing such risks, normally relies on direct measurement of the loss or damage suffered by each and every farmer. However, field loss assessment is costly and time consuming, particularly where there are a large number of small-scale farmers or pastoralists who can ill afford the inevitable delay in payments (Greatrex et al. 2015). 1
Index-based insurance, on the other hand, is a feasible alternative because it uses weather index, such as rainfall, to determine payouts for clearly defined hazards. The payouts can be made quickly and with less administrative costs and lower premiums than is typical for conventional crop insurance. Typical features of rainfall-based index insurance for crops are (IFAD 2015b): 2
- A specific meteorological station is named as the reference station.
- A trigger weather measurement is set (e.g. cumulative mm of rainfall), at which the contract starts to pay out.
- A lump sum or an incremental payment is made (e.g. a cash amount per mm of rainfall above or below the trigger).
- A limit of the measured parameter is set (e.g. cumulative rainfall), at which a maximum payment is made.
- The period of insurance is stated in the contract and coincides with the crop growth period; possibly divided into phases, with each phase having its own trigger, increment and limit.
For nomadic pastoralists in remote areas, an innovative approach using satellite imagery of vegetation ground cover (= fodder availability) is being pioneered in East Africa. (Greatrex et al. 2015, 1 Jay 2015, 3 Case study 2).
Contribution to CSA
- Productivity: Index insurance, often coupled with access to credit, allows farmers to take additional risks and to invest in improved practices that increase productivity and food security, even in a situation of adverse weather conditions.
- Adaptation through short-term climate risk management: In many parts of the world, rainfall is very variable both in total seasonal amounts and distribution patterns. Under such conditions, farmers inevitably experience the risk of livestock loss, crop yield reduction or crop failure. Index insurance is explicitly designed to manage such risks and, thus, makes a substantive contribution to farmers’ resilience.
- Adaptation through longer term climate risk management: Climate change projections suggest that in many regions, rainfall amounts are likely to decline and rainfall variability to increase. In such regions, index insurance will become an increasingly important adaptation strategy, but premiums may also have to increase.
- Mitigation: This will depend on the degree to which insured farmers are able to invest in improved production practices which either enhance carbon sequestration or reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Greatrex H, Hansen J, Garvin S, Diro R, Blakeley S, Le Guen M, Rao K, Osgood D. 2015. Scaling up index insurance for smallholder farmers: Recent evidence and insights. CCAFS Report No. 14. Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
This report explores evidence and insights from five case studies that have made significant recent progress in addressing the challenge of insuring poor smallholder farmers and pastoralists in the developing world. A few common features appear to have contributed to recent progress within these case studies: explicitly targeting obstacles to improving farmer income; integration of insurance with other development interventions; giving farmers a voice in the design of products; investing in local capacity; and investing in science-based index development. Evidence from these case studies can inform the ongoing debate about the viability of scaling up index-based insurance for vulnerable smallholder farmers in the developing world. The rapid progress observed in recent years suggests that index insurance has the potential to benefit smallholder farmers at a meaningful scale, and suggests the need to reassess arguments that lack of demand and practical implementation challenges prevent index-based insurance from being a useful tool to reduce rural poverty.
IFAD. 2011. Weather Index-based Insurance in Agricultural Development: A Technical Guide. Reprinted February 2015. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
IFAD has been working on index insurance as part of its commitment to reduce the vulnerabilities of poor rural smallholders and open their access to a range of financial services with a view to improving their livelihoods. With a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in 2008 IFAD joined forces with the World Food Programme (WFP) to launch the Weather Risk Management Facility (WRMF). The WRMF has conducted global research in government and donor best practice in weather index-based insurance (WII), while supporting WII pilots in China and Ethiopia (IFAD and WFP 2010). This technical guide translates the findings and experience to date into practical decision-making steps for IFAD and WFP country programme management staff and other donors interested in promoting this risk mitigation tool.
Carter M, de Janvry A, Sadoulet E, Sarris A. 2014. Index-based weather insurance for developing countries: A review of evidence and a set of propositions for up-scaling. Ferdi Working Paper No. 111. Clermont-Ferrand, France: Fondation pour les Etudes et Recherches sur le Développement International (Ferdi).
Significant efforts have been made in research to assess Index-based weather insurance impact on shock coping and risk management, and to contribute to improvements in design and implementation. While impacts have typically been positive where uptake has occurred, uptake has generally been low and in most cases under conditions that were not sustainable. This paper addresses the reasons for this current discrepancy between promise and reality, including the following: a. The theoretical appeal of index-based insurance, b. The impact value of index insurance where implemented, c. The Reasons for low uptake, d. Current advances in design and implementation, e. Public-Private Partnerships for insurance take-up, f. Policy implications for scaling-up.
Greatrex H, Hansen JW, Garvin S, Diro R, Blakeley S, Le Guen M, Rao KN, Osgood DE. 2015. Scaling up index insurance for smallholder farmers: Recent evidence and insights. CCAFS Report No. 14. Copenhagen, Denmark: CCAFS.https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/38716/retrieve This report explores evidence and insights from five case studies that have made significant recent progress in addressing the challenge of insuring poor smallholder farmers and pastoralists in the developing world. In India, national index insurance programmes have reached over 30 million farmers through a mandatory link with agricultural credit and strong government support. In East Africa (Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania), the Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise (ACRE) has recently scaled to reach nearly 200,000 farmers, bundling index insurance with agricultural credit and farm inputs. ACRE has built on strong partnerships with regional initiatives such as M-PESA mobile banking. In Ethiopia and Senegal, the R4 Rural Resilience Initiative has scaled unsubsidized index insurance to over 20,000 poor smallholder farmers who were previously considered uninsurable, using insurance as an integral part of a comprehensive risk management portfolio. With strong public and private sector support, the Mongolia Index-Based Livestock Insurance Project (IBLIP) insures more than 15,000 nomadic herders and links commercial insurance with a government disaster safety net. Finally, the Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) project in Kenya and Ethiopia demonstrates innovative approaches to insuring poor nomadic pastoralists in challenging circumstances.
IFAD. 2015b. Weather Index-based Insurance in Agricultural Development: A Technical Guide. Rome, Italy: International Fund for Agricultural Development.http://www.ifad.org/ruralfinance/pub/wii_tech_guide.pdf
This technical guide is intended as a practical reference tool to guide IFAD, WFP and other donors’ country programme management staff through the steps of implementing a WII programme. It looks at each phase of the process: from the first step of assessing whether WII is the right method of intervention and is feasible, through developing a pilot, to possible future areas that IFAD, WFP and other donors can support through scaling up. The guide includes background information, explanations and resource recommendations to help inform decision-making.
Jay A. 2015. Agricultural insurance innovations breathe new life into pastoralism in Ethiopia. CCAFS Blog. Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).https://ccafs.cgiar.org/blog/agricultural-insurance-innovations-breathe-new-life-pastoralism-ethiopia#.VdmcDiVViko This CCAFS blog post introduces the benefits of index-based livestock insurance (IBLI) for pastoralists in Ethiopia.
ACRE. 2014. Grameen Credit ACRE Factsheet.http://www.grameen-credit-agricole.org/sites/grameen/files/acre_kilimo_salama.pdf This factsheet explains the main facets of Agriculture and Risk Enterprise LTD (ACRE), including challenges, a presentation of the business model, as well as its impacts.
IFC. 2014. Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise (ACRE) - Kilimo Salama - Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/industry_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/industries/financial+markets/retail+finance/insurance/agriculture+and+climate+risk+enterprise This website provides an overview of factual information on the Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise (ACRE) project, including insurance portfolio details, challenges and success factors.
Wandera B, Mude A. 2013. Index Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) in Northern Kenya, the product, its impact and the way forward. Nairobi, Kenya: International Livestock Research Institute.http://ilri-events.wikispaces.com/file/view/Index+Based+Livestock+Insurance+in+Northern+Kenya+Experience+and+way+forward.pdf This document provides information on index based livestock insurance in Northern Kenya. The document explains how this particular insurance product functions, and goes into detail into the specific case study with an overview of impacts as well as the challenges faced in the process.
Janzen S, Carter M. 2013. The impact of micro-insurance on asset accumulation and human capital investments: evidence from a drought in Kenya. Research Paper no. 31. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Organization.http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/mifacility/download/repaper31.pdf When natural disasters strike in developing countries, households are often forced to choose between preserving assets or destabilizing consumption: either can result in permanent consequences. In this paper we ask: can insurance transfer risk in a way that reduces the need for households to rely on costly coping strategies that undermine their future productivity? Since 2010, pastoralists in northern Kenya have had access to a novel index-based drought insurance product. We take advantage of an insurance payout induced by a drought in 2011 to analyze the immediate impacts of this microinsurance pilot on expected asset accumulation and human capital investments. Our results show that insured households are on average 22-36 percentage points less likely to anticipate drawing down assets, improving their ability to recover after the drought. This effect is larger for livestock-rich households who are most likely to compromise assets in response to a negative shock. We also show that insured households are on average 27-36 percentage points less likely to anticipate reducing meals than their uninsured counterpart. This second impact is stronger for livestock-poor households who are most likely to destabilize consumption. By improving food security during a drought, we also find that insured households are less dependent on food aid and other forms of assistance
Climate information services
The frequency and severity of extreme climate events - such as droughts, dry spells, heatwaves, storms and floods – is increasing globally under climate change. Small-scale farmers are especially vulnerable to weather variability, which can occur both between-seasons and within a season. Farmers who practice rainfed farming are particularly vulnerable to rainfall variability. As a result, most small-scale farmers rely upon traditional ‘coping strategies’ that have evolved over generations through long experience of natural variations, combined with their specific responses to the season as it unfolds. Such strategies are ‘risk spreading’ in nature. That is, they are designed to mitigate the negative impacts of poor seasons but usually fail to exploit the positive opportunities of average and better than average seasons (Cooper et al. 2008). 8 However, with enabling institutional support and policies, climate information (historical, monitored, and predicted), and the aid of advisories, this uncertainty can be reduced and farmers can be enabled to better manage risks and take advantage of favorable climate conditions when they occur. In addition, reducing vulnerability to climate risks in the present is necessary for adapting to climate change in the future, as vulnerable farmers are likely to experience climate change largely as shifts in the frequency and severity of extreme events.
Yet, a substantial body of research shows that the current availability of such information is not sufficient for smallholder farmers to benefit. Several additional challenges must be addressed, including (Hansen et al. 2011): 9
- Salience: bridging the gap between the content, scale, format and lead-time that farmers need, and the information that is routinely available.
- Legitimacy: giving farmers an effective voice in design and delivery of services.
- Access: supporting timely access and understanding for remote rural communities.
- Equity: ensuring that women, and economically and socially marginalized groups, benefit.
- Integration: connecting climate services to the broader agricultural development efforts.
In risk-prone environments, efforts to foster the transition toward climate-smart agricultural livelihoods must be supported by strategies, programs and policies that enable vulnerable populations to overcome the obstacle of climate risk through greater and timelier access to appropriate weather information and associated advisories.
Contribution to CSA
The provision of weather information and associated advisories contributes to CSA from several important perspectives;
- Productivity: Since climate-related risk is often a barrier to adopting climate-smart technologies and to making the transition toward more productive agriculture, effective climate services are part of the enabling environment for the transition toward more climate-smart agricultural systems. More adequate and timely weather information can help farmers take decision on timing and variety of crops increasing productivity.
- Adaptation through risk management: The effective use of weather information services contributes to resilience by enabling farmers to better manage the negative impacts of weather-related risks in poor seasons while also taking greater advantage of average and better than average seasons.
- Mitigation: By better matching the use of fertilizer and other production inputs with year-to-year climatic conditions, the existing evidence suggests that climate services can make a contribution to mitigation by supporting more efficient use of fertilizers.
Dorward P, Clarkson G, Stern R. 2015. Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA): Field Manual. Walker Institute, University of Reading.
The Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) approach aims to facilitate farmers to make informed decisions based on accurate, location specific, climate and weather information; locally relevant crop, livestock and livelihood options; and with the use of participatory tools to aid their decision making. This field manual is a step by step guide to working though the PICSA approach with farmer groups. It is primarily for the use of facilitators (e.g. NGO and extension field staff who have received training in the use of the PICSA approach). The PICSA approach is divided into twelve steps to be carried out with groups of farmers. Due to the location specific nature of PICSA there are a number of preparatory activities that need to be completed before field staff are trained in the approach.
Tall A, Hansen J, Jay A, Campbell B, Kinyangi J, Aggarwal PK, Zougmoré R. 2014. Scaling up climate services for farmers: Mission Possible. Learning from good practice in Africa and South Asia. CCAFS Report No. 13. Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
This report presents lessons learned from 18 case studies across Africa and South Asia that have developed and delivered weather and climate information and related advisory services for smallholder farmers. The case studies and resulting lessons provide insights on what will be needed to build effective national systems for the production, delivery, communication and evaluation of operational climate services for smallholder farmers across the developing world. The case studies include two national-scale programmes that have been the subject of recent assessments: India’s Integrated Agrometeorological Advisory Service (AAS) Program, which provides tailored weather-based agrometeorological advisories to millions of farmers; and Mali’s Projet d’Assistance Agro-meteorologique au Monde Rural, which provided innovative seasonal agrometeorological advisory services for smallholder farmers and 16 less mature initiatives operating at a pilot scale across Africa and South Asia. The case studies were examined from the standpoint of how they address five key challenges for scaling up effective climate services for farmers: salience, access, legitimacy, equity and integration.
Hansen JW, Mason SJ, Sun L, Tall A.2011. Review of seasonal climate forecasting for agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Experimental Agriculture 47(2):205-240.
The paper reviews the use and value of seasonal climate forecasting for agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with a view to understanding and exploiting opportunities to realize more of its potential benefits. A survey showed that African NMS often go well beyond the Regional climate outlook forums process to improve seasonal forecast information and disseminate it to the agricultural sector. Evidence from a combination of understanding of how climatic uncertainty impacts agriculture, model-based ex-ante analyses, subjective expressions of demand or value, and the few well-documented evaluations of actual use and resulting benefit suggests that seasonal forecasts may have considerable potential to improve agricultural management and rural livelihoods. However, constraints related to legitimacy, salience, access, understanding, capacity to respond and data scarcity have so far limited the widespread use and benefit from seasonal prediction among smallholder farmers. Those constraints that reflect inadequate information products, policies or institutional process can potentially be overcome. Additional opportunities to benefit rural communities come from expanding the use of seasonal forecast information for coordinating input and credit supply, food crisis management, trade and agricultural insurance. The surge of activity surrounding seasonal forecasting in SSA following the 1997/98 El Niño has waned in recent years, but emerging initiatives, such as the Global Framework for Climate Services and ClimDev-Africa, are poised to reinvigorate support for seasonal forecast information services for agriculture. We conclude with a discussion of institutional and policy changes that we believe will greatly enhance the benefits of seasonal forecasting to agriculture in SSA.
Cooper PJM et al. 2008. Coping better with current climatic variability in the rain-fed farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa: An essential first step in adapting to future climate change? Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 126(1-2):24-35.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2008.01.007 Rain-fed agriculture will remain the dominant source of staple food production and the livelihood foundation of the majority of the rural poor in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Greatly enhanced investment in agriculture by a broad range of stakeholders will be required if this sector is to meet the food security requirements of tomorrow's Africa. However, production uncertainty associated with between and within season rainfall variability remains a fundamental constraint to many investors who often overestimate the negative impacts of climate induced uncertainty. Climate change is likely to make matters worse with increases in rainfall variability being predicted. The ability of agricultural communities and agricultural stakeholders in SSA to cope better with the constraints and opportunities of current climate variability must first be enhanced for them to be able to adapt to climate change and the predicted future increase in climate variability. Tools and approaches are now available that allow for a better understanding, characterization and mapping of the agricultural implications of climate variability and the development of climate risk management strategies specifically tailored to stakeholders needs. Application of these tools allows the development and dissemination of targeted investment innovations that have a high probability of biophysical and economic success in the context of climate variability.
Hansen JW, Mason SJ, Sun L, Tall A. 2011. Review of seasonal climate forecasting for agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Experimental Agriculture 47(02):205-240.http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0014479710000876 We review the use and value of seasonal climate forecasting for agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with a view to understanding and exploiting opportunities to realize more of its potential benefits. Interaction between the atmosphere and underlying oceans provides the basis for probabilistic forecasts of climate conditions at a seasonal lead-time, including during cropping seasons in parts of SSA. Regional climate outlook forums (RCOF) and national meteorological services (NMS) have been at the forefront of efforts to provide forecast information for agriculture. A survey showed that African NMS often go well beyond the RCOF process to improve seasonal forecast information and disseminate it to the agricultural sector. Evidence from a combination of understanding of how climatic uncertainty impacts agriculture, model-based ex-ante analyses, subjective expressions of demand or value, and the few well-documented evaluations of actual use and resulting benefit suggests that seasonal forecasts may have considerable potential to improve agricultural management and rural livelihoods. However, constraints related to legitimacy, salience, access, understanding, capacity to respond and data scarcity have so far limited the widespread use and benefit from seasonal prediction among smallholder farmers. Those constraints that reflect inadequate information products, policies or institutional process can potentially be overcome. Additional opportunities to benefit rural communities come from expanding the use of seasonal forecast information for coordinating input and credit supply, food crisis management, trade and agricultural insurance. The surge of activity surrounding seasonal forecasting in SSA following the 1997/98 El Niño has waned in recent years, but emerging initiatives, such as the Global Framework for Climate Services and ClimDev-Africa, are poised to reinvigorate support for seasonal forecast information services for agriculture. We conclude with a discussion of institutional and policy changes that we believe will greatly enhance the benefits of seasonal forecasting to agriculture in SSA.
Lo HM, Dieng M. 2015. Impact assessment of communicating seasonal climate forecasts in Kaffrine, Diourbel, Louga, Thies and Fatick (Niakhar) regions in Senegal: Final Report for CCAFS West Africa Regional Program.https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/56619/retrieve Climate information is now an agricultural input just like seeds, fertilizers or equipment which are at the basis of production. In a nutshell, this is what emerges from this assessment report on the CGIAR Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) on the transmission of climate information (CI) and relevant agricultural advice to farmers in Kaffrine, Diourbel, Thies, Louga and Fatick administrative regions. Through this project, CCAFS seeks to contribute to improving the resilience of rural people to climate change by mainstreaming climate information more adequately in the planning and implementation of development activities. Thanks to the involvement of the network of community rural radio stations (URAC), CCAFS estimates that two million people have had access to climate information (CI), have used it in whole or in part, and that this has had an impact on their farming practices.
Ndiaye O, Moussa AS, Seck M, Zougmore R, Hansen J. 2013. Communicating seasonal forecasts to farmers in Kaffrine, Senegal for better agricultural management. Dublin, Ireland: Irish Aid.http://www.mrfcj.org/pdf/case-studies/2013-04-16-Senegal.pdf Our project explaining seasonal forecasting to farmers in central Senegal built common ground between scientific forecasting and traditional knowledge. It helped farmers understand and use seasonal forecasts to improve crop strategies, and let farmers explain to meteorologists what seasonal climate information they most needed, in turn improving the forecasts’ usefulness.
Venkatasubramanian K, Tall A, Hansen J, Aggarwal P. 2014. Assessment of India’s integrated agrometeorological advisory service from a farmer perspective. CCAFS Working Paper no. 54. Copenhagen, Denmark: CCAFS.https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/34467/retrieve This report summarizes the results of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) commissioned evaluation of India’s Integrated Agro-meteorological Advisory Service (AAS). Conducted June-July of 2012, this assessment was a joint endeavor of CCAFS, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, and the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The assessment sought to offer transferable lessons that can guide investment in climate/agro-meteorological advisory services elsewhere in the world. Researchers conducted focus groups and individual interviews with 132 male and female farmers in eighteen villages across six states about how they receive and use AAS advisories, perceived gaps, and suggestions for improvement. The assessment uncovered the key role of diverse communications approaches. In villages where many communications channels were used to disseminate AAS information, such as SMS and voice messaging, meetings and trainings with agricultural extension officers, local knowledge centers, farmers clubs, and announcements over the microphone in villages, awareness and use of AAS advisories was higher. Farmers noted that trainings and discussions with agricultural extension officers at the village level were their preferred form of receiving information. However, ensuring wide representation in discussions is critical. In villages where women were fully engaged in receiving and disseminating AAS information, use and potential benefit from the program were maximized. Women overall had lower awareness of AAS than men do, indicating the importance of targeting women and information that responds to the demands of women in communications efforts. The establishment of specific trainings and discussions on AAS for women farmers in the villages was recommended by farmers, as were trainings and interactions with scientists that all farmers can attend. Membership in women’s or farmers groups may be a positive factor in increasing awareness of AAS information, and extension services targeting existing local groups could be a strategy for increasing the impact of AAS information.
Maini P, Rathore LS. 2011. Economic impact assessment of the Agrometeorological Advisory Service of India. Current Science 101(10):1296-1310.http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Agrometeorological.pdf A pilot study was conducted to assess the economic impact of weather forecast-based advisories issued to 15 of the 127 Agrometeorological Advisory Service (AAS) units of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. Six seasons comprising three Kharif (summer) and three Rabi (winter) during 2003–2007 were chosen. The major crops chosen for the study included food grains, oilseeds, cash crops, fruit and vegetable crops. The sample set consisted of 80 farmers, comprising 40 responding and 40 non-responding farmers. The main aim was to study the percentage increase/decrease in the yield and net return due to AAS. Results obtained suggest that the AAS farmers accrued a net benefit of 10–15% in the overall yield and a reduction by 2–5% in the cost of cultivation over the non-AAS farmers.
Howland F, Bonilla-Findji O, Loboguerrero AM, Peterson C, Nyaega L. 2014. Learning from each other: Latin America and Senegal exchange innovative climate approaches for smallholder farmers. UNEP South-South Cooperation Case Studies. Nairobi, Kenya: UNEP.http://www.unep.org/south-south-cooperation/case/casefiles.aspx?csno=141 Smallholder farmers in the developing world are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate fluctuations and weather extremes. While these farming communities have survived by mastering the ability to adapt to an increasingly uncertain climate, their indigenous knowledge and traditional coping practices has been overwhelmed. Supporting farmers with effective weather and climate information and advisory services for agricultural decision making is a key strategy for reducing risk and enhancing food security in already vulnerable areas. However, broadening the impact of climate services in vulnerable communities has been a challenge. Several initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America have used innovative approaches to overcome these challenges. By communicating and applying seasonal forecast information in these two regions through pilot-scale projects, they demonstrate good practice and provide valuable insights such as it has been evidenced in Senegal. In Senegal, where the rainy seasons are short and the climate is highly uncertain, a pilot project was developed by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Senegalese National Meteorological Agency (ANACIM) in 2010, to provide climatic forecasts to small farmers in the main agricultural region, Kaffrine. By integrating climatic information into the development and planning of agricultural practices, this participatory project helped farmers to make better-informed decisions about planting and harvesting and ultimately cope with risk. Likewise, with the support of CCAFS, Colombia has been working on similar themes under an agreement between the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), with the aim of strengthening the adaptive capacity of the agriculture and livestock sectors to climate variability and change and improving resource-efficiency in the production systems of priority regions. The agreement’s goal is that Colombian agriculture moves away from being defined by the climate, and that, on the contrary, farmers are the ones managing the climate. The CCAFS project’s successes in Senegal and Colombia are being replicated in Honduras. This conjunction of institutions and research themes led to the idea of creating a knowledge exchange programme between the three countries to generate mutual learning on adaptation processes in the agriculture and livestock sectors and thus face the risks generated by climatic phenomena through new ideas and collaborations.
MADR-CIAT Agreement. 2014. Logros y retos de la agricultura colombiana frente al cambio climático. Cali, Colombia: Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT).http://www.aclimatecolombia.org/download/Investigacion%20Uno/Revista%20Final.pdf This booklet (Spanish) introduces the MADR-CIAT-CCAFS Agreement and presents the achievements and challenges of climate-smart agriculture in Colombia. The booklet presents a summary of various articles, which are accessible in full on the website Alliance’s (http://www.aclimatecolombia.org/).
MADR and CIAT Agreement Webpagehttp://www.aclimatecolombia.org/ Website (Spanish) of the Colombian Alliance on Technical and Scientific Cooperation, a collaboration between the Colombian Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). The website provides information regarding the Alliance’s research themes, as well as an archive of informational resources.
Agriculture depends heavily on infrastructure and physical capital such as roads, equipment, and buildings; all of which can be impacted by extreme events. The potential economic loss triggered by such climate events may represent a serious threat for the agricultural sector. This is especially so given the high value of fixed assets compared to the average annual output and farm income. Therefore, it is necessary to develop preventative actions and instruments to cope with potential damage to agricultural infrastructure. Importantly, these actions must be tailored to regional characteristics if they are to be successful (EU Commission 2009). 17
An effective way to increase the resilience of rural infrastructure is to mainstream climate change adaptation techniques into policy, planning and budgeting. For example, changes to construction standards and building codes to adapt better to climate change may be needed to increase the resilience of infrastructure to extreme events such as storms and floods. Many effective “climate proofing” construction techniques are low cost and based on local technologies. In Bangladesh, for example, local innovation has given rise to a “climate-smart house”, which is cyclone-resistant as well as food-, energy-, and water-efficient. Other more national infrastructural responses to climate change include the redesign, relocation and rebuilding of major transport routes, bridges, dams or processing facilities. It is important that these major infrastructure projects are responsive to the changes that climate change will bring for the agriculture sector and that appropriate inter-sectoral policy-making is in place to ensure coordination.
In some cases, the appropriate response to climate change may be to reduce or adapt, rather than enhance or increase, infrastructure. For example, on the basis of climate change projections, national and local governments in parts of Europe are choosing to de-commission sea walls and allow currently farmed areas to revert to natural wetlands. Improving irrigation infrastructure is likely to be a key climate-smart agricultural investment in many countries. A landscape-wide planning approach allows, for example, irrigation systems to be integrated with natural wetlands and waterways that act as buffers against climate shocks, while also providing other environmental benefits.
Contribution to CSA
- Productivity: As with conventional infrastructural investments, investments in climate resilient infrastructure may help increase productivity, incomes (e.g. through better access to markets), and improve livelihoods. But contrary most conventional infrastructural investments it helps to protect these investments in the face of adverse climate change impacts.
- Adaptation: Climate resilient infrastructure is able to cope with short-term climate risks such as the increased incidence of extreme weather events. It also helps the agricultural sector transition in the face of longer-term climate change impacts, such as shifts in key growing regions (as in the case of coffee and cocoa).
- Mitigation: Investment in low carbon infrastructure can help reduce GHG emissions.
UNIQUE Forestry and Land Use. 2013. Rural development and adaptation to climate change: What do we know?
Although this paper has a broad focus on enhancing climate change resilience in rural areas, it provides some insight into the importance of infrastructure. Infrastructure development must address the specific challenges that climate change presents. For example, small island states are particularly vulnerable to specific risks such as sea-level rise and storm surges, necessitating the development of coastal defences. Other areas may be more vulnerable to drought, and would thus benefit from the development of irrigation. The development and maintenance of rural roads and other transport networks is identified as a particularly important form of infrastructure. Not only can it provide increased market access for farmers, but also better access to health and educational services. Having open trade routes is a key buffer during climate change, as it provides access to food trade, as well as access to agricultural inputs and other technologies. The challenge is in designing well-targeted rural investments, for example, choosing the right type of road surface; unlike conventional planning processes, climate variability forecasts will need to be taken into account.
EU Commission. 2009. Adapting to climate change: the challenge for European agriculture and rural areas. Commission Staff Working Document. COM (2009) 147.http://ec.europa.eu/danmark/documents/alle_emner/miljo/090401_work_doc_landbrug_en.pdf
The White Paper 'Adapting to climate change'1 lays out a European framework for action to improve Europe's resilience to climate change, emphasising the need to integrate adaptation into all key European policies and enhance co-operation at all levels of governance. Complementing the White Paper, this document summarises the main impacts of climate change on EU agriculture, examines adaptation needs, describes the implications for the CAP and explores possible orientations for future action. It aims at further engaging Member States and the farming community into a debate and action on adaptation needs that result from climate pressures.
IFAD. 2013b. Climate Resilient Post-Harvest and Agribusiness Support Project (PASP) including blended Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme Grant (ASAP). Rome, Italy: International Fund for Agricultural Development.http://www.ifad.org/operations/projects/design/110/rwanda.pdf This document provides a detailed design report for the Republic of Rwanda Climate Resilient Post-Harvest and Agribusiness Support Project (PASP) including blended Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme Grant (ASAP).
Hossain E, Nurun Nabi SM, Kaminski A. 2015. Climate-smart house: Housing that is cyclone resistant and food, energy and water efficient in Bangladesh. Program Brief: 2015-27. Penang, Malaysia: WorldFish.https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/56873/retrieve Since cyclones Sidr (2007) and Aila (2009), communities in southern Bangladesh have increasingly needed to protect their homes and livelihoods from destructive natural disasters. WorldFish embarked on a climate-resilient housing project in 2013, building a prototype climate-smart house that is resilient to cyclones and is also water, food, energy and space efficient.
Project Summary. Coastal Climate Resilient Infrastructure Project (formerly Climate Resilient Infrastructure Improvement in Coastal Zone Project).https://www-cif.climateinvestmentfunds.org/sites/default/files/Coastal%20Climate%20Resilient%20Infrastructure%20Project%20Summary.pdf This document is a project summary/program approval request for the climate resilience pilot project Coast Climate Resilient Infrastructure Project.
Asian Development Bank. 2015. Bangladesh: Coastal Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Project.http://www.adb.org/projects/45084-002/main This project is proposed under the Government of Bangladesh's Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (SPCR), prepared under the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR). The PPCR is a part of the Strategic Climate Fund (SCF) within the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), to pilot and demonstrate ways to mainstream climate resilience in development planning and management. The SPCR was approved by the PPCR Sub-committee on 10 November 2010. Led by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, proposed investments in the Bangladesh SPCR will focus on improving coastal embankments, rural connectivity, water supply and sanitation, promoting public-private financing, and capacity building for mainstreaming climate resilience, and knowledge management.
The creation and implementation of appropriate policies and an enabling environment is essential for achieving the widespread adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA). At the national level, climate change policies are generally expressed through national and regional strategies and plans including National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs). Agriculture and food security plans are often included in national development and poverty reduction strategies; trade, financial, agricultural and environmental national policy documents are also relevant.
Importantly, ‘policy’ should not only be defined as ‘government policy’. It should also include the policies and strategies of other actors, such as private sector actors and investors, regional and intergovernmental organizations, national and international civil society organizations, farmer organizations, and others.
In general, the objective in CSA policy engagement is to guide policies and remove components that act as disincentives for adopting CSA, such as public subsidies, while reallocating resources to programmes that provide incentives for the adoption of CSA. Policy tools and instruments, such as rural credit programmes, input and output pricing policies, subsidies, support for investment with public-good benefits, property rights, research and extension services, as well as safety net programs, can all be used to increase the incentives for the involved actors including farmers to modify production systems and build capacities for CSA (FAO 2013a). 22
An effective engagement in CSA policy requires a thorough understanding of power structure and policy decision making process on climate change at the national and local levels. Formulating CSA policies also requires a good knowledge of information needed by policy makers. To this end it is critical that specific information be tailored to the need of policy makers for an effective decision making process that ensures a good linkage between science and policy (McKinley et al. 2015). 23
Some key challenges can be identified in supporting the development of policies and enabling environments:
- Ensuring ownership by those responsible for defining and implementing policies and strategies, as well as by those whom a given policy might affect.
- Creating inter-sectoral approaches and consistent policies across sectors that can help create greater integration and coordination between sectors and actors.
- Ensure effective implementation of higher-level plans and strategies and inputs into national and regional planning by those operating at district or community levels, especially vulnerable groups.
- Finally, most policy processes are highly multi-dimensional, idiosyncratic, opaque and, especially in contexts with relatively weak governments, rarely truly problem-oriented but instead deeply rooted in politics.
Policy formulation and guidance tools include participatory assessments, multi-stakeholder scenarios and use of simulation models, multi-criteria analysis, participatory power mapping, companion modelling and participatory game design, methods to calculate participatory social returns on investment etc. Such methods can be used to provide concrete insights, while also being compatible with the systemic, inclusive approach needed for the improvement of CSA policy environments (Jordan and Turnpenny 2015). 24
Contribution to CSA
The guidance of policies, strategies and investments can have significant impact on the feasibility of scaling up CSA by removing barriers, creating capacities, empowering the vulnerable and making key resources available. Climate adaptation and mitigation policies can help provide the incentives for adaptation of specific CSA approaches, both for short-term risks and long-term impacts. More mainstream agriculture and development policies can include CSA-specific interventions, as well as interventions that bolster climate resilience and sustainable agriculture more generally. For instance, broader approaches can raise livelihoods and capacities by increasing productivity or improving various food system conditions, such as storage and access to market (Sova et al. 2015b; 25 Vermeulen et al. 2013 26).
FAO. 2013. Climate-Smart Agriculture Sourcebook. Module 13: Mainstreaming Climate-smart agriculture into National Policies and Programmes. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Pp. 353-369.
The first part of this module describes CSA within larger economic and policy frameworks and stresses its key role as a major driver of green economy. The second part examines ways to improve market accessibility through appropriate policy and financial instruments. It then looks at cross-sectoral coordination and the integration of CSA with disaster risk management and social safety net programmes. The last section highlights the role of implementing actors and how to improve their access to knowledge and monitoring.
Vermeulen SJ, Challinor AJ, Thornton PK, Campbell BM, Eriyagama N, Vervoort JM, Kinyangi J, Jarvis A, Läderach P, Ramirez-Villegas J, Nicklin J, Hawkins E, Smith DR. 2013. Addressing uncertainty in adaptation planning for agriculture. PNAS 110:8357-8362.
The paper presents a framework for prioritizing adaptation approaches at a range of timeframes. The framework is illustrated by four case studies from developing countries, each with associated characterization of uncertainty. Two cases on near-term adaptation planning in Sri Lanka and on stakeholder scenario exercises in East Africa show how the relative utility of capacity vs. impact approaches to adaptation planning differ with level of uncertainty and associated lead time. An additional two cases demonstrate that it is possible to identify uncertainties that are relevant to decision making in specific timeframes and circumstances. The case on coffee in Latin America identifies altitudinal thresholds at which incremental vs. transformative adaptation pathways are robust options. The final case uses three crop–climate simulation studies to demonstrate how uncertainty can be characterized at different time horizons to discriminate where robust adaptation options are possible. Among the findings is that impact approaches, which use predictive models, are increasingly useful over longer lead times and at higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the paper concludes that extreme events are important in determining predictability across a broad range of timescales. The results demonstrate the potential for robust knowledge and actions in the face of uncertainty.
Kissinger G, Lee D, Orindi VA, Narasimhan P, King’uyu SM, Sova C. 2013. Planning climate adaptation in agriculture. Meta-synthesis of national adaptation plans in West and East Africa and South Asia. CCAFS Report No. 10. Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
This report provides a review of national adaptation plans (NAPs) across twelve countries in West Africa, East Africa and South Asia. The NAP process is part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, aimed at facilitating effective adaptation planning and implementation in developing countries, with a medium- and long-term time perspective. A unique analytical framework is applied by the authors to view country progress on policy and planning, highlighting the different stages of NAP development. The report assesses current practices, progress and challenges in the investigated countries relating to three main NAP phases: risk assessment and ranking, adaptation design and interventions, and adaptation implementation, monitoring and funding. Based on these findings, the authors provide several recommendations for policy makers and practitioners to strength adaptation planning processes. Key solutions include improved capacity for climate risk projection and impact assessment, ongoing assessment of institutional frameworks given the complexity of governance, and integrating adaptation strategies with other development objectives and existing policies.
Bockel L, Gentien A, Tinlot M, Bromhead M. 2011. From Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) to Low-Carbon Development in agriculture: NAMAs as a pathway at country level. EASYPol Module 103. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
This resource focuses on the role of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) as an instrument in prioritizing government actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions. NAMAs are voluntary engagement proposals as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and set the necessary mitigation actions within a country’s economy, including the agriculture and forestry sectors. The paper provides an in-depth account of the concepts and developments behind NAMAs since their emergence in the 2007 UNFCCC conference in Bali, as well as the processes of how they can contribute to transitioning to low-carbon growth within agriculture. Agriculture Forestry and Other Land Uses (AFOLU) activities are identified as a key area within NAMAs for developing countries, as they have a strong socio-economic weight and potential for mitigation gains.
Lipper L, Thornton P, Campbell BM, Baedeker T, Braimoh A, Bwalya M, Caron P, Cattaneo A, Garrity D, Henry K, Hottle R, Jackson L, Jarvis A, Kossam F, Mann W, McCarthy N, Meybeck A, Neufeldt H, Remington T, Sen PT, Sessa R, Shula R, Tibu A, Torquebiau EF. 2014. Climate-smart agriculture for food security. Nature Climate Change 4:1068-1072.
Widespread changes in rainfall and temperature patterns threaten agricultural production and increase the vulnerability of people dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, which includes most of the world’s poor. Climate change disrupts food markets, posing population-wide risks to food supply. Threats can be reduced by increasing the adaptive capacity of farmers as well as increasing resilience and resource use efficiency in agricultural production systems. The authors of this paper argue that climate-smart agriculture (CSA) provides an approach for achieving such a transformation and reorientation of agricultural systems to support food security under the new realities of climate change. They suggest that CSA promotes coordinated actions by farmers, researchers, private sector, civil society and policymakers towards climate-resilient pathways through four main action areas: (1) building evidence; (2) increasing local institutional effectiveness; (3) fostering coherence between climate and agricultural policies; and (4) linking climate and agricultural financing. CSA differs from ‘business-as-usual’ approaches by emphasizing the capacity to implement flexible, context-specific solutions, supported by innovative policy and financing actions.
Streck C, Campbell BM, Mann W, Meléndez-Ortiz R, Tennigkeit T, Vermeulen SJ, Bellmann C, Meijer E, Wilkes A. 2011. Addressing agriculture in climate change negotiations: a scoping report. Dillon, CO: Meridian Institute.
The report is intended to provide context and analysis for addressing agriculture in international climate negotiations, with the aim of helping to inform climate negotiators and other stakeholders by identifying options and unpacking issues of interest; and not to express opinions or be prescriptive in any way. The report will focus on agricultural production and food security; early action opportunities; trade; finance; technology transfer and capacity building; and performance and benefits measurement.
CCAFS Big Facts website
FAO. 2013a. Climate-Smart Agriculture: Sourcebook. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3325e.pdf Between now and 2050, the world’s population will increase by one-third. Most of these additional 2 billion people will live in developing countries. At the same time, more people will be living in cities. If current income and consumption growth trends continue, FAO estimates that agricultural production will have to increase by 60 percent by 2050 to satisfy the expected demands for food and feed. Agriculture must therefore transform itself if it is to feed a growing global population and provide the basis for economic growth and poverty reduction. Climate change will make this task more difficult under a business-as-usual scenario, due to adverse impacts on agriculture, requiring spiralling adaptation and related costs.
McKinley, J., C. Adaro, V.O. Pede, T. Setiyono, T.C. Thang, D.L. Huong, N.T. Kien, E. Quicho, M. Sheinkman, and R. Wassman. 2015. The Current State of Climate Change Perceptions and Policies in Vietnam: 2014 Report, CCAFS Report.https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/64182/retrieveThis report was constructed to assess the current perceptions and policies regarding climate change in Vietnam. The report comprises a country report, outlining current policies relating to climate change, stakeholder mapping regarding climate change locally and nationally, and results from two stakeholder perception surveys conducted locally and nationally in Vietnam. A total of 50 stakeholders were interviewed, 25 locally and 25 nationally. The stakeholders in the survey represented government offices, universities, research institutions, NGOs, and farmers’ groups. Concerns about climate change impacts included drought, flooding, rainfall variation, and salinity intrusion. These concerns, as well as the methods in which stakeholders would like to receive climate information, varied between local and national stakeholders as well as by the type of institution that the stakeholder represented. This emphasizes a need for location- and user-specific responses to climate change.
Jordan A, Turnpenny J, (Eds.). 2015. The Tools of Policy Formulation: Actors, Capacities, Venues and Effects. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing.http://www.elgaronline.com/view/9781783477036.xml Policy analysts are accustomed to thinking in terms of tools and instruments. Yet an authoritative examination of the tools which have been developed to formulate new policies is missing. This book is the first of its kind to distinguish the defining characteristics of the main policy formulation tools, and offer a fresh way of understanding how, why and by whom they are selected, as well as the effects they produce in practice.
Sova CA, Vervoort J, Thornton TF, Helfgott A, Matthews D, Chaudhury A. 2015b. Exploring farmer preference shaping in international agricultural climate change adaptation regimes. Environmental Science & Policy 54:463-474.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.08.008 Questions of equity, justice, and fairness in the international agricultural adaptation regime have emerged in recent years, prompting interest in regime power dynamics. Here, a three-dimensional conceptual framework of ‘power as domination’ is applied to the UNFCCC adaptation regime. We argue that this ‘power-over’ framing is an important lens through which to view adaptation, a field dominated by ‘power-to’, capacity-based constructs. The framework distinguishes between power-over manifesting through decision-making, agenda setting and preference shaping. Through a literature review we demonstrate that first and second dimension behavioral views of power-over fail to account for the subtle ways in which the interests and preferences of smallholder farmers are unknowingly shaped and restricted within the regime. Potential sources of third dimension preference shaping power are explored in a survey with high-level decision makers involved in National Adaptation Plans (NAP) development in seven countries. The results suggest that several inter-related features of the international agriculture adaptation regime collectively contribute to the shaping of interests and preferences of smallholders: prevailing discourses of uncertainty and the perceived limited capacity of smallholders; the resulting privileged status of ‘expert’ decision makers; the predominance of neoliberal development rationalities; and systemic biases resulting from the nation state as the principle unit of UNFCCC negotiation. These forces lie beyond the explanatory scope of first and second dimensions of power-over and help to explain why stakeholder engagement in adaptation decision making remains superficial in nature and why adaptation responses in agriculture can be considered ‘common and non-differentiated’. We argue for increased awareness of third dimension manifestations and impacts of power in adaptation literature to facilitate the improved participation of marginalized stakeholders in UNFCCC and domestic adaptation decision making forums, to increase the diversity of adaptation options available to smallholders, and ultimately, to improve the attribution of responsibility for adaptation outcomes.
Vermeulen SJ, Challinor AJ, Thornton PK, Campbell BM, Eriyagama N, Vervoort J, Kinyangi J, Jarvis A, Läderach P, Ramirez-Villegas J, Nicklin KJ, Hawkins E, Smith D. 2013. Addressing uncertainty in adaptation planning for agriculture. PNAS 110:8357-8362.http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1219441110 We present a framework for prioritizing adaptation approaches at a range of timeframes. The framework is illustrated by four case studies from developing countries, each with associated characterization of uncertainty. Two cases on near-term adaptation planning in Sri Lanka and on stakeholder scenario exercises in East Africa show how the relative utility of capacity vs. impact approaches to adaptation planning differ with level of uncertainty and associated lead time. An additional two cases demonstrate that it is possible to identify uncertainties that are relevant to decision making in specific timeframes and circumstances. The case on coffee in Latin America identifies altitudinal thresholds at which incremental vs. transformative adaptation pathways are robust options. The final case uses three crop–climate simulation studies to demonstrate how uncertainty can be characterized at different time horizons to discriminate where robust adaptation options are possible. We find that impact approaches, which use predictive models, are increasingly useful over longer lead times and at higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions. We also find that extreme events are important in determining predictability across a broad range of timescales. The results demonstrate the potential for robust knowledge and actions in the face of uncertainty.
Schubert C. 2015. Overview of CCAFS scenario-guided policy processes. CCAFS Blog. CCAFS Blog. Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).https://ccafs.cgiar.org/blog/future-scenarios-work-informs-climate-and-agriculture-policies-seven-countries#.Ve2QURGqqkp This CCAFS blog post provides an account of how future scenarios work have helped inform climate, agriculture and development policies in seven countries.
Vervoort J, Thornton PK, Kristjanson P, Förch W, Ericksen P, (…), Jost C. 2014. Challenges to scenario-guided adaptive action on food security under climate change. Global Environmental Change 28:383-394.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.03.001 This paper examines the development and use of scenarios as an approach to guide action in multi-level, multi-actor adaptation contexts such as food security under climate change. Three challenges are highlighted: (1) ensuring the appropriate scope for action; (2) moving beyond intervention-based decision guidance; and (3) developing long-term shared capacity for strategic planning. To overcome these challenges we have applied explorative scenarios and normative back-casting with stakeholders from different sectors at the regional level in East Africa. We then applied lessons about appropriate scope, enabling adaptation pathways, and developing strategic planning capacity to scenarios processes in multiple global regions. Scenarios were created to have a broad enough scope to be relevant to diverse actors, and then adapted by different actor groups to ensure their salience in specific decision contexts. The initial strategy for using the scenarios by bringing a range of actors together to explore new collaborative proposals had limitations as well as strengths versus the application of scenarios for specific actor groups and existing decision pathways. Scenarios development and use transitioned from an intervention-based process to an embedded process characterized by continuous engagement. Feasibility and long-term sustainability could be ensured by having decision makers own the process and focusing on developing strategic planning capacity within their home organizations.
Sova CA et al. 2015a. Multi-level Stakeholder Influence Mapping: Visualizing Power Relations Across Actor Levels in Nepal’s Agricultural Climate Change Adaptation Regime. Systemic Practice and Action Research 28(4):383-409.http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11213-014-9335-y Where power lies and how it is conceived in studies of governance and institutions is often not discussed. This is due to the ubiquitous nature of the topic. Power is shaped by a variety of institutional factors, including the architecture of governing structures, questions of scale and level, and access to key resources including knowledge and capital, among other factors. To date, there are relatively few tools available that allow policy makers, researchers, and development practitioners to render these power dynamics explicit and thus take steps to mitigate the potentially deleterious effects of power orientations. This paper proposes a methodology, multi-level stakeholder influence mapping (MSIM), for elucidating power dynamics between actors in complex system regimes. MSIM departs from existing power mapping techniques in that it relies on individual interviews conducted across multiple actor levels and utilizes a participatory mapping process for shared system boundary critique. MSIM was piloted in Nepal’s agricultural climate change adaptation regime with actors from the central, regional, and local operational levels. The results suggest that without proper consideration of the role of power in agricultural adaptation regimes, the resulting interventions will likely be insufficient in catalyzing adaptation pathways and moderating the negative impacts of climate change. Furthermore, power analyses produced from the perspective of a single actor level or respondent type can risk sub optimization of adaptation outcomes and can misdirect the lobbying efforts of those agencies utilizing mapping outputs.
Institutions are key to agricultural development and resilient livelihoods. They are not only an organising force for farmers and decision-makers, but are also the main means through which climate-smart agricultural practices can be scaled up and sustained (FAO 2013a). 22 As such, appropriate institutional arrangements are fundamental for the implementation of almost any other entry point discussed on this website.
Contribution to CSA
There are numerous possible ways to understand institutional support to climate-smart agriculture (CSA). Natural resource management and common property approaches often focus on informal institutions defined as local practices, rules and norms. Informal institutions encompass moral norms, rules and regulations, used both within and across organizations and communities (Ostrom et al. 2001). 30 Informal institutions are often addressed in community-based approaches dealing with collective action and decision-making as well as with access, rights and control over resources. However, local institutions are important in almost any agricultural development setting as it determines who may participate, how and to what extent. E.g. cultural practices and norms may dictate women’s access to information and innovation critical to the implementation of CSA practices and technologies (Meinzen-Dick R 2013). 31
While this is important, here, the focus will be on institutions as organizations at three different levels of scale, namely: (i) building local institutional frameworks, (ii) strengthening the key role of meso-level institutions, and (iii) working to enhance national institutional capacity to implement policy decisions. Other important formal institutions include regional or supranational institutions at different scales. Other non-traditional actors include market and private sector actors, such as insurance and agro-advisory companies; rights-based groups, faith-based organisations, etc. The nexus where these actors interact and impact CSA adoption is an additional institutional setting per se, but are not dealt with here.
1. Building local institutional frameworks: Support to climate change adaptation and mitigation among smallholder farmers rarely works when it is directed from outside or focused only on direct technology transfer. Local institutional frameworks for the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices at district and community levels must be facilitative, rather than directive. That is, institutional frameworks that support farmer-driven adoption and adaptation must be encouraged (Agrawal et al. 2009). 32 Supporting such frameworks may involve developing new institutions but often the task involves creating connections between existing institutions to address uptake.
2. Strengthening the key role of meso-level institutions: Meso-level institutions, such as local governments and local state agencies, are critical for generating and canalizing support from national institutions to communities for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Yet, they often have limited authority and planning capacity, which also tends to be centralized. Furthermore, they have limited access to funding, which is often monopolized by national level institutions or stuck in administrative bottlenecks (Christoplos et al. 2014). 33 Therefore, a critical but often overlooked institutional entry point for supporting agricultural adaptation/mitigation is to enhance the mandate and access to funding of local governments, local state agencies and other institutions at the meso-level.
3. Working to enhance national institutional frameworks: Efforts to support CSA are constrained by a lack of the right institutions, institutional capacity and coordination at higher levels. Farmers need incentives and enabling conditions to make transformations on the ground, which must be facilitated by institutions and policies. State institutions are particularly important for the production and dissemination of information related to technology options and management methods, climate variability, and value chain conditions. Moreover, national institutions are key to providing safety nets and insurance schemes for farmers. Some options for enhancing institutional efficiency include building human knowledge and capacities, strengthening institutional procedures, integrating climate change and CSA into strategic plans and policies (e.g. NAMAS NAPAS, INDCs, national CSA plans, agricultural strategies etc.), strengthening institutional and sector collaboration horizontally and vertically, and analyzing options for deconcentration and decentralization (Anyonge et al. 2013). 34
Anyonge T, Jonckheere S, Romano M, Gallina A. 2013. Strengthening Institutions and Organizations. Synthesis Report. Rome, Italy: International Fund for Agricultural Development.
This resource provides a framework for institutional and organizational analysis and development, drawing on four key concepts: “(1) understanding and giving meaning to our lives, (2) control over individual behavior and organizational culture, (3) action that is taken, and (4) associations made between individuals and organizations”. By applying these concepts on the field in 19 IFAD-funded projects supporting institutions and organizations from the national to local levels in 14 countries, the authors uncovered several main findings that can be useful for application in other institutional and organizations arrangements. Through an analysis of the field studies, a range of issues arose in the design stage, during implementation, and within individual capacity building, which are explained in-depth in the text. Main conclusions drawn from the analysis are the importance of a well-informed, step-by-step approach that simultaneously is flexible enough to allow for learning and adjusting as circumstances change. Also, the facilitation of vertical and horizontal institutional linkages is crucial, to ensure smooth flows of information and resources, and better decision-making.
Dixit A, McGray H, Gonzales J, Desmond M. 2012. Ready or Not: Assessing National Institutional Capacity for Climate Change Adaptation. World Resources Institute.
This key resource focuses on how effective national institutions play a critical role in strengthening the adaptive capacity to the shifting challenges of climate change. For this reason, it is crucial to utilize methods and guidelines to build national institutions capable of facilitating ongoing adaptation planning. The National Adaptive Capacity (NAC) framework introduced in this paper provides a practical approach to understand the most important institutional aspects at play, by identifying existing gaps that can be filled via concrete actions and investment. Five key adaptation functions are outlined by the NAC framework, including: assessment, prioritization, coordination, information management and climate risk management. A given country’s performance on these indicators provides a measurement of its cumulative adaptive capacity. The NAC framework is usable across a range of countries, and can be adjusted to suit specific country contexts, and the findings can be tailored for both planning and evaluation processes.
FAO. 2013. Climate-Smart Agriculture Sourcebook. Module 12: Local institutions. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Pp. 321-345.
The module demonstrates the importance of local institutions for CSA projects outlines priorities, needs, similarities and differences between key institutions and discusses considerations to bear in mind when building inter-institutional synergies for CSA initiatives. Finally, it offers basic, practical guidelines to help practitioners and policy-makers build institutional support for CSA.
Meinzen-Dick R, Bernier Q, Haglund E. 2013. Identifying the Institutions for Climate Smart Agriculture. Conference Paper - Commoners and the Changing Commons: Livelihoods, Environmental Security, and Shared Knowledge, the Fourteenth Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons. Mt. Fuji, Japan.
This paper reviews the central role of institutions for climate-smart agriculture, focusing on the role of institutions in promoting inclusiveness, providing information, enabling local level innovation, encouraging investment, and providing insurance to enable smallholders, women, and poor resource-dependent communities to adopt and benefit from CSA. It also discusses the role of state, collective action, and market institutions at multiple levels, with particular attention to the importance of local-level institutions and institutional linkages across levels.
Ostrom E, Gibson C, Shivakumar S, Andersson K. 2001. Aid, Incentives, and Sustainability: An Institutional Analysis of Development Cooperation. Sida Studies in Evaluation 02/01. Stockholm, Sweden: SIDA.http://www.oecd.org/derec/sweden/37356956.pdf
The first purpose was to review “the state-of-the-art as regards the existing knowledge about incentives and aid” (Sida, 1999g: 1). In our preliminary draft report submitted on August 15, 2000, we included a specific literature review (Chapter 2) and drew on our wide review of the literature throughout the draft report as well. In response to the comments received on our initial report, we have integrated our understanding of the “state-of-the-art” regarding “existing knowledge about incentives and aid” throughout Parts I and II of this main report, rather than isolate it in a separate chapter. The second purpose of the study was to identify areas, in regard to the relationship between aid, incentives, and sustainability, that are relevant to Sida so as “to increase its knowledge in order to improve the organisation and management of its aid” (Sida, 1999g: 1). Throughout this report, we identify multiple relationships between aid, incentives, and sustainability that are relevant to Sida. Further, in our last chapter, we make specific suggestions regarding approaches that Sida can adopt to increase its knowledge and improve the organization of its aid activities. The third purpose of the study was to suggest an approach as to how to evaluate the relationship between aid, incentives, and sustainability.
Meinzen-Dick R, Bernier Q, Haglund E. 2013. Identifying the Institutions for Climate-Smart Agriculture. Conference Paper. The Fourteenth Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons. Mt. Fuji, Japan.http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/bitstream/handle/10535/8906/HAGLUND_0975.pdf This paper reviews the central role of institutions for climate-smart agriculture, focusing on the role of institutions in promoting inclusiveness, providing information, enabling local level innovation, encouraging investment, and providing insurance to enable smallholders, women, and poor resource-dependent communities to adopt and benefit from CSA. We discuss the role of state, collective action, and market institutions at multiple levels, with particular attention to the importance of local-level institutions and institutional linkages across levels.
Agrawal A, Kononen M, Perrin N. 2009. The role of local institutions in adaptation to climate change. World Bank Social Development Working Paper No. 118. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTSOCIALDEVELOPMENT/Resources/244362-1164107274725/sdp118.pdf This paper examines the relationships between climate-related vulnerabilities, adaptation practices, institutions, and external interventions to show the role and importance of local institutions in climate change. The increasing attention to adaptation to climate change has not come with sufficient emphasis on the local nature of climate adaptation and on the role of local institutions and local governance in shaping adaptation practices. This paper presents two research projects on adaptation and institutions at the World Bank which aim to illuminate precisely these existing lacunae in theoretical and practical knowledge about adaptation. Focusing on the linkages between adaptation strategies and institutions, the first study shows the critical role institutions play in determining the nature and outcomes of adaptation strategies in a territorial development context and will try to demonstrate how past decentralized and area-based approaches on local development could be used to strengthen local adaptive capacity and resilience to climate change related risks. The second study focuses on an assessment of the relative costs and benefits of different adaptation responses related to a subset of climate hazards (particularly droughts and erratic rainfall), and the role of institutions in reducing the costs of adaptation. Those studies will aim to show that local institutions play a crucial role in shaping adaptation to climate change by (1) connecting households to local resources and collective action; (2) linking local populations to national interventions, and (3) determining flows of external support to different social groups.
Christoplos I, Aben C, Bashaasha B, (…), Hoa Sen LT. 2014. Towards “Good Enough” Climate and Disaster Governance: Emerging lessons from Zambia, Nepal, Viet Nam and Uganda. DIIS Report 2014:21. Copenhagen, Denmark: DIIS.http://pure.diis.dk/ws/files/77558/DIIS_Report_Towards_good_enough_climate_FINAL.pdf
This report compares and contrasts how disaster risk management is being conceptualised in relation to emerging climate change adaptation efforts and how these two agendas are influenced by different governance systems, accountabilities and social contracts in Zambia, Uganda, Viet Nam and Nepal. Particular attention is paid to how this relates to different forms of state legitimacy and the changing role of local government in connection with a range of decentralisation processes, increasing political attention and the lure of new but little understood climate change funding. Findings highlight how concerns about disaster risk are influencing how new and uncertain forms of combined disaster/climate governance are perceived and implemented. Increasing attention from the media is also noted as a key factor determining which aspects of disaster risk management gain prominence, and which are ignored in public demands and in responses by politicians and local government.
Anyonge T, Jonckheere S, Romano M, Gallina A. 2013. Strengthening Institutions and Organizations. Synthesis Report. Rome, Italy: International Fund for Agricultural Development.http://www.ifad.org/english/institutions/synthesis/synthesis_report_web.pdf
Recognizing the need to improve its analysis and development of in-country partner insitutions and organizations, IFAD embarked on a process to enhance its own competencies in this sector. The process began with the publication of a sourcebook: Institutional and Organizational Analysis for Pro-Poor Change: Meeting IFAD’s Millennium Challenge (IFAD 2008). In addition to this, IFAD’s West and Central Africa Division developed training modules through an Innovation Mainstreaming Initiative, while the Asia and the Pacific Division implemented a large grant on Strengthening Capacities of Organizations of the Poor: Experiences in Asia. The Policy and Technical Advisory Division (PTA) has developed two learning notes, one on institutional transformation and the other on implementation arrangements. Building on the above materials, IFAD’s PTA institutions and organizations team has adopted a framework for institutional and organizational analysis and development. The framework draws on four key concepts identified in the sourcebook, covering four functional aspects of institutional and organizational analysis and development: (1) understanding and giving meaning to our lives, (2) control over individual behaviour and organizational culture, (3) action that is taken, and (4) associations made between individuals and organizations. These concepts have been applied at different stages of IFAD’s project cycle process in 14 countries covering 19 projects.
CARE. 2014b. Facing Uncertainty: the value of climate information for adaptation, risk reduction and resilience in Africa. Nairobi, Kenya: CARE International.http://careclimatechange.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/C_Comms_Brief.pdf
This document explains why and how climate information is a valuable resource for rural communities and those working with them in confronting climate variability and change. It is based on lessons from the Adaptation Learning Programme (ALP), implemented by CARE International, together with the national meteorological services in Ghana, Kenya and Niger. The document will help those working in adaptation, agriculture, sustainable development, disaster risk reduction (DRR), resilience and other climate-sensitive sectors to connect with and use meteorological services and other sources of climate information. It demonstrates how climate information can inform decision making, planning and policy development in these areas and ensure results are climate resilient.
CARE. 2014a. Decision-making for climate resilient livelihoods and risk reduction: A Participatory Scenario Planning approach. Nairobi, Kenya: CARE International.http://careclimatechange.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/ALP_PSP_EN.pdf The Adaptation Learning Programme supports improved communication of climate information to vulnerable rural communities and local governments as a key element of community based adaptation to climate change impacts. Participatory scenario planning, or PSP, is one approach which uses seasonal climate forecasts to inform decisions for more resilient livelihoods and risk management, thereby strengthening adaptive capacity. PSP workshops create a multi-stakeholder platform for collective interpretation of meteorological and local forecasts and their probability and uncertainty. This brief describes the PSP process and its outcomes and benefits. PSPs in Kenya and Ghana have already resulted in enhanced relations between meteorologists and local actors, flexible locally owned decision making and greater confidence in local knowledge and innovation.
IIED. 2013. Ensuring devolution supports adaptation and climate resilient growth in Kenya. London, United Kingdom: The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/17161IIED.pdf Effective governance of natural resources is crucial for adaptive capacity and climate resilient growth — and nowhere more so than in Kenya’s arid and semiarid lands. Climate change will hit dryland communities and economies early and severely because it exacerbates existing structural causes of poverty and inequality. Poor governance and exclusion of local voices (particularly from planning and management of natural resources) has eroded dryland communities’ distinctive capacity to adapt. But building on Kenya’s new constitution, a devolved Climate Adaptation Fund is being piloted in Isiolo County. It puts local priorities at the heart of the development agenda, and can integrate local adaptive strategies and innovations into national policy, providing insights that could also help reform development planning systems in other drylands
IIED. 2014. Isiolo County Adaptation Fund: Activities, Costs and Impacts after the 1st Investment Round. London, United Kingdom: The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G03806.pdf
Climate change adaptation in circumstances of development deficits is a major challenge facing much of Africa. Nowhere is adaptation more necessary than in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of Kenya where the effects of climate change will hit communities and economies earlier and more severely than other areas of the country. In 2010, in the context of constitutional reform in Kenya to devolve planning and development powers to county governments, the then Ministry of State for Development of Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands (MDNKOAL) sought development partner support to initiate a pilot project to identify ways of mainstreaming climate change into development planning and delivery at county and national levels. Strengthening institutional capacity at county level for good governance and adaptive planning was recognised by the Ministry as vital for robust and resilient development in Kenya in the face of future climate change. This paper summarises the process, costs, value for money and impacts of the project so far, and outlines the forward trajectory for funding adaptation to climate change in Kenya’s ASALs.
Müller B, Pizer W, de Coninck S, Morrow D, Serrano de la Rosa G, Sharma A, Hesse C. 2014. Devolved Access Modalities: Lessons for the Green Climate Fund from existing practice. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford Climate Policy.http://www.oxfordclimatepolicy.org/publications/documents/DevolvedAccessfinal.pdf The aim of this Brief is to address certain concerns about this decentralized/devolved access model that have been raised (in personal communications) by Board members and other stakeholders. In order to do so, the Brief uses seven case studies to illustrate current practices that could provide ideas and insights about how the GCF might design its own approach (or set of approaches) for a GCF decentralized/devolved access modality, which may borrow features from the variety of forms used by others. The case studies are focused around four questions: a. How does the funding model generally work, in terms of disbursing funds? b. Who decides what? In particular, in the context of approval of funding, what decisions are taken by the governing funding body and what decisions are devolved and to whom? c. How does this funding model ensure the governing body’s objectives are met, and how does it ensure that the various fiduciary standards and safeguards are satisfied without the process being ‘hands on’? d. How is the funding level for a particular programme determined?
Thomas T, Pradesha A, Perez N. 2015. Agricultural growth and climate resilience in the Philippines: Subnational impacts of selected investment strategies and policies. Policy Note 2. Washington DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).http://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/129543 Being a nation of many islands spanning a considerable range of latitudes, the Philippines is noted for its climatic and ecological diversity. Significant climate differences exist, not least due to the country’s extensive coastal exposure and mountainous areas. For these reasons, the impacts of climate change on agriculture are likely to differ significantly across the country.
Rosegrant MW, Perez N, Pradesha A, Thomas TS. 2015. The Economywide Impact of Climate Change on Philippine Agriculture. Project Policy Note 1. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).http://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/129544 It has been widely shown for most countries that high productivity growth in the agricultural sector is a key driver of structural transformation to promote long-term economic growth. Historically, low agricultural productivity growth has hindered economic growth and employment creation in the Philippines, where agriculture—which accounts for one-third of employment—remains a key sector. Climate change has the potential to disrupt crop productivity, and in turn affect domestic agricultural production, consumption, and food security. Moreover, the global impact of climate change could stimulate changes in international and national commodity prices that ultimately have negative effects on both Philippine agriculture and the country’s overall economy.
Beasca J. 2012. Final Evaluation: Strengthening the Philippines’ Institutional Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change. New York, NY: MDG Achievement Fund.http://www.mdgfund.org/sites/default/files/Philippines%20-%20Environment%20-%20Final%20Evaluation%20Report.pdf This document provides a final evaluation of the Philippines MDG Achievement Fund programme titled Strengthening the Philippines' Institutional Capacity to Adapt to Climate Change. The evaluation determined that significant outputs were achieved by the JP, and that there were immediate effects from these outputs. In the five demonstration sites covered by the JP, the evaluation also found most output commitments to have already been delivered. Aside from these, positive immediate effects were reported by beneficiaries. Aside from these finished outputs, the evaluation also reported that several other outputs are still in progress because of complexities in the JP’s Results Structure, the manner of its delivery, the type of the output itself, and governance processes that have to be followed. However, the evaluation determined that these remaining outputs will be accomplished within the immediate period.
Gender and social inclusion
Locally appropriate solutions are central to effective climate-smart agriculture (CSA) approaches (Vermeulen 2015a). 43 Yet, identifying what is “locally appropriate” means understanding the needs, priorities, and challenges of different stakeholders. Gender relations, local norms, and power dynamics across social lines may lead women and men to have different knowledge, skills, and perspectives. They may also have different opportunities and constraints that may help or hinder them in CSA adoption. Stakeholder engagement can help identify gender gaps and social and economic inequities to be addressed in project implementation.
Women, in many regions of the world, face inequitable access to resources and information, decision-making processes, and benefit sharing. This is especially important as men increasingly migrate from rural areas, and so these inequalities must be addressed to ensure CSA approaches contribute to resilient farm households and communities. If implemented without consideration of gender and social inequities, CSA practices risk losing opportunities to improve livelihoods and may in fact increase these inequities. Designing and implementing gender-sensitive and socially inclusive CSA initiatives must therefore recognize the different knowledge levels, perspectives, needs, and challenges of different social groups and stakeholders.
Contribution to CSA
- Women make active and important contributions to climate adaptation based on their local knowledge, skills and social capital; viewing women as passive victims of climate change is limiting and simplistic (Agriculture Global Practice 2015). 44
- If women had access to resources, on-farm yield could increase by 20-30% reducing the number of hungry people in the world by 12-17% (FAO 2011). 45
- Research on women’s adoption of agricultural technologies, including CSA technologies, shows that if constraints in access to finances, information and workload are addressed, women can design and adopt innovative tools and techniques (Huyer et al. 2015). 46
Addressing gender issues and engaging stakeholders in CSA must happen at multiple levels:
- At the policy level: Gender-responsive and socially inclusive CSA-related policies recognize and address the specific needs and realities of women and men of various backgrounds. Not all voices are evident in decision-making and policy processes in agriculture, including those of women and youth as well as smallholders overall (Huyer et al 2015). 46
- At the community level: Community CSA initiatives benefit from the ideas and perspectives of different stakeholders in the community. Participatory approaches encourage strong community commitment and strengthen the adoption of CSA practices. Gender-sensitive, socially inclusive community efforts provide greater opportunity for communities to build resilience from their existing strengths and to experience the ensuing benefits. However, care should be taken not to conceptualize women as one homogenously vulnerable group in such CSA programmes (Jost et al. 2015). 47
- At the household/intra-household levels: Households are not unitary models; rather they are a collection of different people shaped by their relations and roles within the household, with the community and institutions beyond. Gender-sensitive participatory tools such as those outlined by Jost el al. (2014) 48 are useful for identifying the different knowledge, needs and constraints that exist within households, which can then inform CSA efforts.
Asfaw S, Bishop-Sambrook C, Diei Y, Firmian I, Henninger NE, Heumesser C, Huyer S, Kristjanson P, Lefter C, Lehel S, Li Y, Maggio G, Massimino A, Mollard IMP, Monsieur C, Mutoko MC, Navarro E, Nelson S, Percic M, Randrianantoandro A, Rioux J, Rossi N, Enciso A, Setaro L, Taivalmaa SL, Thulstrup A, Williams LD. 2015. Gender in climate-smart agriculture: module 18 for gender in agriculture sourcebook. Agriculture global practice. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
This module provides guidance and a comprehensive menu of practical tools for integrating gender in the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of projects and investments in climate-smart agriculture (CSA). The module emphasizes the importance and ultimate goal of integrating gender in CSA practices, which is to reduce gender inequalities and ensure that men and women can equally benefit from any intervention in the agricultural sector to reduce risks linked to climate change. The content is drawn from tested good practice and innovative approaches, with an emphasis on lessons learned, benefits and impacts, implementation issues, and replicability. These insights and lessons related to gender in CSA will assist practitioners to improve project planning, design, monitoring, and evaluation; to effectively scale up and enhance the sustainability of efforts that are already underway; or to pursue entirely different solutions. This module contains five thematic notes (TNs) that provide a concise and technically sound guide to gender integration in the selected themes. These notes summarize what has been done and highlight the success and lessons learned from projects and programs.
FAO. 2012. Training guide: gender and climate change research in agriculture and food security for rural development. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
It is internationally recognized that addressing gender issues in agriculture reduces hunger and poverty. In fact, it is estimated that more than 100 million people could be lifted out of poverty if women had the same access to and control of resources as men. Although they are important food producers and providers, women presently have limited access to and control of resources. However, to date, these ideas – that climate change and gender issues are integral parts of agricultural development – have not been implemented in an effective way. This guide seeks to fill that gap by supporting work to investigate the gender dimensions of responding to climate change in the agriculture and food security sectors. The final goals are to improve food production, livelihood security and gender equality in the context of the changing climate. The guide provides with an overview of the conceptual framework on gender issues and gender analysis approaches, and further sets the above in the context of climate change. It continues with presenting a detailed field research tool box, and specifically provides with the necessary information on how to prepare for field work, implement, and report.
Beuchelt TD, Badstue L. 2013. Gender, Nutrition, and Climate-smart Food Production: Opportunities and Trade-offs. Food Security 5: 709–21.
Future food and nutrition security is threatened by climate change, overexploitation of natural resources and pervasive social inequalities. Promising solutions are often technology-focused and not necessarily developed considering gender and social disparities. This paper addresses issues of gender and human development opportunities and trade-offs related to promoting improved technologies for agricultural development. We examined these aspects for conservation agriculture (CA) as part of a cropping system with nutrition- and climate-smart potential. The paper is based on a literature review and field experiences from Zambia and Mexico. Findings point up situations where the promotion of CA for smallholders in developing countries may have undesired effects from gender and human development perspectives, specifically relating to drudgery, nutrition and food security, residue use, assets, mechanization and extension. The direction and magnitude of potential trade-offs depend on the local context and the specific intervention. The analysis is followed by a discussion of opportunities and pathways for mitigating the trade-offs, including gender transformative approaches; engagement with alternative or non-traditional partners with different but complementary perspectives and strengths; “smart” combinations of technologies and approaches; and policies for inclusive development.
CCAFS Big Facts website
Vermeulen SJ. 2015a. Closing the gap in climate-smart agriculture: A brief review of recent approaches relevant to CSA programs. CCAFS Info Note. Copenhagen, Denmark: CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/58883/retrieve
“Climate-smart agriculture” (CSA) has become a central concept shaping action and bringing together constituencies at the global level on agriculture and climate change. In essence, climate-smart agriculture pays explicit attention to how interventions in agriculture and food systems affect each of three key outcomes: food security, adaptation and mitigation (FAO 2013). The climate-smart agriculture movement is not prescriptive about how best to achieve these outcomes, nor how to manage the inevitable trade-offs – the idea is that locally appropriate priorities and solutions will be generated. A key question arises as to the winners and losers from these processes, in terms of gender as well as other social dimensions, and whether climate-smart agriculture help transform agriculture and rural development in ways that achieve major gains for gender equity.
Agriculture Global Practice. 2015. Gender in climate-smart agriculture: Module 18 for gender in agriculture sourcebook. Agriculture global practice. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.http://www.fao.org/3/a-az917e.pdf This Gender in Climate-Smart Agriculture module was pre-pared jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Bank. The coordination team con-sisted of Sanna-Liisa Taivalmaa (World Bank), Ilaria Fir-mian (IFAD), and Kaisa Karttunen (FAO), with technical support from Christine Heumesser, Eija Pehu, and Ademola Braimoh from the World Bank; Clare Bishop-Sambrook from IFAD; and Ilaria Sisto and Szilvia Lehel from FAO. Patti Kristjanson (consultant) offered valuable guidance for the entire module in addition to writing two Thematic Notes and one Innovative Activity Profile.
FAO. 2011. The State of Food and Agriculture 2010-2011. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i2050e/i2050e.pdf
This edition of The State of Food and Agriculture addresses Women in agriculture: closing the gender gap for development. The agriculture sector is underperforming in many developing countries, and one of the key reasons is that women do not have equal access to the resources and opportunities they need to be more productive. This report clearly confirms that the Millennium Development Goals on gender equality (MDG 3) and poverty and food security (MDG 1) are mutually reinforcing. We must promote gender equality and empower women in agriculture to win, sustainably, the fight against hunger and extreme poverty.
Huyer S, Twyman J, Koningstein M, Ashby J, Vermeulen SJ. 2015. Supporting women farmers in a changing climate: five policy lessons. Policy Brief 10. Copenhagen, Denamrk: Reseach Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/60479/retrieve
Recent research presented at a seminar in Paris co-organized by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), the International Social Science Council (ISSC) and Future Earth produced five key policy recommendations for supporting women farmers in a changing climate: Key recommendations ` New technologies and practices for climate change will be adopted more successfully when they are appropriate to women’s interests, resources and demands; ` Extension and climate information services need to serve women and men; ` Institutions need to take into account women’s priorities and support their adaptive capacity; ` Women’s capacity as farmers and innovators needs to be recognized and supported; and ` Climate policy processes should go beyond numerical representation of women to create active mechanisms to express opinions, take initiatives, and influence decisions.
Jost C, Kyazze FB, Naab J, (…), Kristjanson P. 2015. Understanding Gender Dimensions of Agriculture and Climate Change in Smallholder Farming Communities. Climate and Development.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2015.1050978 In Uganda, Ghana and Bangladesh, participatory tools were used for a socio-economic and gender analysis of three topics: climate-smart agriculture (CSA), climate analogue approaches, and climate and weather forecasting. Policy and programme-relevant results were obtained. Smallholders are changing agricultural practices due to observations of climatic and environmental change. Women appear to be less adaptive because of financial or resource constraints, because of male domination in receiving information and extension services and because available adaptation strategies tend to create higher labour loads for women. The climate analogue approach (identifying places resembling your future climate so as to identify potential adaptations) is a promising tool for increasing farmer-to-farmer learning, where a high degree of climatic variability means that analogue villages that have successfully adopted new CSA practices exist nearby. Institutional issues related to forecast production limit their credibility and salience, particularly in terms of women's ability to access and understand them. The participatory tools used in this study provided some insights into women's adaptive capacity in the villages studied, but not to the depth necessary to address women's specific vulnerabilities in CSA programmes. Further research is necessary to move the discourse related to gender and climate change beyond the conceptualization of women as a homogenously vulnerable group in CSA programmes.
Jost C, Ferdous N, Spicer TD. 2014. Gender and Inclusion Toolbox: Participatory Research in Climate Change and Agriculture. Copenhagen, Denmark: CCAFS; CARE International; ICRAF.https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/35607/retrieve This manual is a resource and toolbox for NGO practitioners and programme designers interested in diagnostic and action research for gender sensitive and socially inclusive climate change programmes in the rural development context. It is meant to be an easy to use manual, increasing the research capacity, skills and knowledge of its users. Integrating gender and social differentiation frameworks should ideally begin from the start of the programme cycle and be coordinated throughout research, design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation phases. The data gathered using this toolbox supports this programme work. While the manual emphasizes participatory and qualitative approaches, many of the activities and tools can produce quantitative data. Each chapter features a bundle of research tools intended to be used sequentially. However, we know that each organization has its diverse needs. The chapters are in modular format so that teams can assemble their own research toolbox specific to their needs.
AECF. 2014. Assessing the Impacts of Shamba Shape Up: A report commissioned by AECF and led by University of Reading. Samba Shape Up.http://shambashapeup.com/static/uploads/READING_RESEARCH.pdf AECF commissioned a study to investigate the impact of the Shamba Shape Up TV edutainment programme on small-scale agriculture in Kenya and to research the processes by which the programme influences farmers’ activities. The assessment is based on a theory of change that draws on three bodies of theory and research which have informed the design of the Shamba Shape Up initiative: mass media and society; agricultural and rural extension; and innovation systems. The study focused on the area of Kenya that Shamba Shape Up is targeted at and the rigorous statistical design of the assessment allows robust estimates of the size of the audience, and of the effects of Shamba Shape Up at farm and population levels. The overall number of households specifically reporting that they had made changes to their maize or dairy practices as a result of the programme, or who reported that they had benefited from SSU through increased profit or improved household food situation, is statistically estimated to be 428,566. The programme has become an important part of farmers’ information and innovation systems, operating as a trusted source of information presented in a format that engages their interest and emotions, encourages discussion and provides opportunity for follow-up and interaction.