December 2012

by Alexa Jay

In an increasingly uncertain climate, farmers’ traditional knowledge of when to sow and harvest, and when to expect rains, may no longer be enough. Supporting farmers with weather and climate information services for agricultural decision-making is a key strategy for enhancing food security in already vulnerable areas. Existing initiatives have shown that they can in fact reach farmers and provide a valuable service, but the challenge of broadening the impact of climate services in vulnerable communities remains.

In the light of this, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Theme 2, “Adapting through managing climate risk,” hosted a workshop on “Scaling Up Climate Services for Farmers in Africa and South Asia” in mid-December in Senegal, to create ways forward for broadening the impact of climate services and making them work for smallholder farmers.

This was done in a collaborative effort partnering up with United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Climate Services Partnership (CSP), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

What is happening in the field? Read more »

par Caroline Ouanre

La  thématique n’est pas nouvelle. Bien au contraire. Des experts africains sur la question rapprochent l’apparition des premières notions sur le sujet aux années 1968. Mieux, c’est en Afrique que l’on trouverait l’une des premières grandes conventions sur la conservation de la nature et des ressources naturelles…

Mais d’ où vient-il alors que de nos jours encore, la notion paraisse toujours aussi abstraite, surtout à l’heure où la problématique de la protection de l’environnement se pose avec acuité, ou au plan international et du point de vue stricte des changements climatiques, le protocole de Kyoto cherche difficilement un second souffle. Read more »

by Olive Thiong'o

Sustainable policy guidelines and community adaptation strategies need to be included when putting research into practice, to achieve value for money. This was the message by development experts at the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) dialogue held in parallel to the COP18 climate negotiations.

The dialogue discussions were focused on the experiences, lessons and key issues to be considered, prior to the launch of the CARIAA CAD program. It’s envisioned that the program will be consortium-led and community-focused, and will attract private investment.

James Kinyangi of the East Africa CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security [CCAFS) took part as an expert on the topic. He put emphasis on partnerships in making reforms. As is the case in CCAFS, multiple partnerships with farmers, the private sector, and the national or regional policy makers work better when it comes to implement the program in the region. Read more »

par Caroline Ouanre  

Pour une première rencontre de concertation, les pays du groupe africain à cette 18e conférence des parties qui se tient à Doha l’ont voulu décontractée.

Et pour cause, à cette étape du processus, les positions sont plus ou moins harmonisées.

Le fait est à noter, car en effet depuis Copenhague en 2009, l’Afrique essaie de s’organiser pour parler d’une seule voix dans le concert des nations unies de façon générale et plus précisément sur la question des changements climatiques. Read more »