Blog

January 2011

Weather generating tool helps agronomists assess climate risk

Submitted by Wiebke on 28th January 2011
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Changing weather has forced this farmer in Ninigui, in Northern Burkina Faso, to

Information about the weather is important for decision-making about risk management, particularly in dryland farming systems. While models are suitable tools for evaluating risk, they require accurate daily weather data to feed into model development. Particularly in developing countries, the availability and quality of historical weather data is often limited. MarkSimGCM is a stochastic weather generator that aims to help fill this gap.  This application uses the well-known MarkSim application, a tool that generates simulated daily weather data specifically designed for use in the tropics, including rainfall, maximum and minimum temperatures and solar radiation.  It provides files of daily weather data that are completely compatible with the DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer) crop modeling system. Read more »

The future of global food and farming under threat

Submitted by Vanessa on 25th January 2011
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The new report highlights the challenges for the future of the global food syste

The Global Food and Farming Futures report, which was released today, highlights the multiple threats facing the global food system and offers broad and cross-cutting ways to approach the challenges.

The report's premise is similar to the one that forms the basis for the CCAFS program:

  • The food system is becoming volatile, due to new economic and political pressures that come with globalization;
  • Demand for food will increase as population increases from nearly 7 billion people today to 8 billion by 2030 (and up to 9 billion by 2050), and more wealthy people means a shift from a largely plant based diet to more meat and animal products;
  • The effects of climate change create more competition for land water and energy; meanwhile the food system will have to contribute to reducing emissions;
  • An estimated 925 million people currently suffer from hunger; others are over-fed and are facing disease and reduced lifespans;
  • Agriculture plays a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services, but this must be balanced with feeding the world.

The report underlines that "addressing climate change and achieving sustainability in the global food system need to be recognised as dual imperatives." Policy makers are urged take a whole system approach to understanding food: a global view from farm to plate. No issue can be addressed in isolation and it is essential that policy-makers address all areas at the same time. Read more »

Does a small temperature rise actually matter (for agriculture)?

Submitted by Vanessa on 21st January 2011
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As part of its Ultimate Climate Change FAQ, the Guardian asks does a small temperature rise actually matter?

Yes in fact:

the temperature rise observed so far is not the chief cause of concern. More worrying is the significantly larger temperature rise (and associated changes in rainfall, snowfall, sea level and other phenomena) that scientists expect the world to experience in the coming decades and centuries. 

Our colleagues at CIAT recently investigated a related question, "what does a two-degree change in temperature look like for agriculture?" The result is a series of photofilms featuring farmers who are already facing a changing climate.

As the Two Degrees Up case studies illustrate, two degrees is too much.

 

Two Degrees Up: COLOMBIA, Small coffee producers in Colombia are already feeling the effects of climate change on this vital, high-value cash crop.

Can you guess where this picture was taken?

Submitted by Vanessa on 21st January 2011
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Take the CIAT photo challenge! Test your geography knowledge and learn what farmers in Africa, Asia and South Asia have in common.

 

Related: As climate effectively migrates, CIAT is working on mapping climactic and agricultural analogues in an effort to share coping and adaptation strategies within countries and across regions.

CCAFS Launch Featured in New Agriculturist

Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on 17th January 2011
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Farmer in Ghana. Photo: Neil Palmer (CIAT).

The latest edition of online development magazine New Agriculturist features an article on the CCAFS launch. 

The article focuses on the recent Two Degrees Up climate change photofilms, which highlight the impact of a two degree rise in temperature on small farmers in Colombia and Ghana. The case studies were shown during the United Nations COP16 climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico, last month, at the COP16 side event Agriculture and Rural Development Day (ARDD), the COP16 Development and Climate film festival, and at the official launch of the CCAFS research program, also in Cancun. The third in the series of photofilms, from Kenya, has just been released.

Photos from the Colombia and Ghana Two Degrees Up case studies are available on CIAT’s Flickr site.

New Agriculturist also features a selection of comments from participants at ARDD, on the challenge of agriculture in a changing climate in Points of view.

(Blog post adapted from the original announcement from CIAT)

Two Degrees Up: Kenya

Submitted by anonymous (not verified) on 17th January 2011
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The third in the series of the Two Degrees Up climate change photofilms – from Kenya – is now online.

In this story, farmers from the Mount Kenya Region, one of the most fertile and productive areas of Kenya, tell how seasonal rains are becoming more unpredictable and temperatures are rising. Good water management is the key to making these systems more resilient and sustainable, says Andy Jarvis, the CCAFS scientist behind the video. Farmers are using a range of tools and approaches, including agroforestry and homegrown irrigation solutions, to adapt.

The film also takes a troubling look at what the future could hold if current climate trends continue and water becomes ever more scarce.

 

The film is produced by Neil Palmer and Andy Jarvis at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), in collaboration with researchers at CCAFS, the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the International Small Group and Tree Planting (TIST) project, and other partners,.

See the other videos in the series:

Part Two: Ghana

Part One: Colombia