climate information

by Dr. Arame Tall

Farmers across the developing world are in dire need of relevant climate services. Not only do they need climate services to advise them on when to sow, harvest, and expect rains, but also to help them plan beyond the season. In other words, farmers need information to plan for a food secure future. 

But how can we build an effective system that puts important forecast information about climate in the hands of vulnerable communities, especially marginalized farmers and women, often located in remote area?  One initial step is to get all the stakeholders involved in the chain of production and communication of climate services in one room, and get them to talk for three days. Read more »

edited by Cecilia Schubert. This story features the work of Arame Tall, who is currently participating in the 6th International Conference on Community-based Adaptation (CBA6) in Hanoi, Vietnam.

In an effort to understand how men and women adapt to climate variability and change to maintain food security, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) initiated a small gender grants program last year. The selected female grant recipients are now performing research in a vast variety of areas, on topics that relate to the linkages between gender and climate change. The idea was to bring forward gender-responsive research within CCAFS priority areas, while at the same time build research capacity among women scientists and increase their representation in agricultural research. All recipients therefore perform their research in one of the program benchmark sites - East Africa, West Africa or South Asia. Read more »

Last year in villages across Mali, some farmers harvested bumper crops of millet, sorghum and maize, while their neighbours struggled to produce a high-enough yield to feed their families. Yet they all faced the same dry spells, high temperatures and unpredictable rains.

So what caused such dramatic difference between these two groups? The first group of farmers was not simply lucky. Rather they were reaping the benefits of having had access to weather information and weather-based farm management advisories, thanks to an innovative programme set up by the Mali government in an effort to stave off hunger. Read more »

by Cecilia Schubert

Newly released results of household baseline survey in Lower Nyando, Kenya shows that changes in climatic conditions in the last ten years have led to subsequent changes in farming practices. The survey, done for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) was conducted by a research team from the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and local partners. The survey revealed that  families in the area struggle to stay food secure throughout the year. For one to two months every year many households do not get enough food, with some families enduring food insecurity for up to four months. Read more »