September 2010

Beginning in October, CCAFS partner Bioversity International will give farmers in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) access to different seeds and allow them to freely experiment. The researchers will then track the results and facilitate inter-farmer exchanges of information and experiences, creating a new network of agricultural knowledge.

The Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) region, formed by the fluvial action of the Indus and Ganges River systems, is one of the world’s most important food grain producing regions. Its 13.5 million hectares of farmland account for over 30% of the rice and 42% of the wheat grown in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal; 15% of global wheat production; and, most impressively, 21% of the food stock worldwide. The region also supports some of the most densely populated areas on earth, with more than 300 million people dependent on the predominant rice-wheat cropping system.

Hence, IGP is a socially significant and economically strategic domain of India; however it is also environmentally sensitive, and its landscape, hydrology and fertility are increasingly being threatened by climate warming and anthropogenic pressure. Future climate scenarios suggest that, by 2050, as much as 51% of the IGP region might be reclassified as a heat-stressed, irrigated, short-season production mega-environment. Read more »

A new CCAFS strategy for Progressive Adaptation involves use of IIED power tools to map circles of political influence in different countries. The visual exercise aims to improve understanding of how to best lobby for for enabling policies for climate change adaptation.

One of the greatest challenges for the climate change adaptation community is to ensure that technology and research are funneled down to the field and transformed into real-world change. It is a bridge that is difficult to build, and even today, after many crop breeding advancements, substantial yield gaps exist. In part, this is due to the "climate conundrum," in which weather variability and systemic poverty are self-reinforcing: Poor farmers are often risk-averse, often choosing not to invest in new technologies and opting for less risky but also less profitable crops. Meanwhile, climate risk also limits farmers' access to credit, since lenders fear loan defaults. Thus even weather shocks occurring once in every 5-6 years can limit potential growth in all years.

To address these issues, farmers must be given enough of a security net to make those risks worthwhile. In other words, technology and know-how are not enough; enabling policies must also exist.

But as a non-profit or a research institute, how do you influence policy? How do you know who holds the power?

Read more »