india

By Aditi Kapoor

A few weeks back, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) South Asia organised a training program for women living in Patna Bihar, on  "Gender, Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security". Patna is prone to floods and one of the most vulnerable areas to climate change shocks. These pre-conditions makes it necessary to raise awareness among villagers about the climatic changes and how to adapt. The objective of the program was to initiate a strategy which includes building capacity among women to deal with climate change. The main challenge with the training was to make sure the women got enough of it - to ensure they felt confident in training others and with that become future trainers to other women. The women discussed and shared experiences on how gender actually plays an important role when it comes to the impacts of climate change. This because men and women in the village shoulder different tasks within the household and on the farm, based on gender and cutural- and social norms that are dfficult to change. Read more »

While cereal production in India has increased significantly since the mid-1960s as a result of the Green Revolution, securing the gains achieved is becoming more difficult in the context of soaring food and fuel prices, volatile markets, depleting water resources, soil degradation, and the effects of global climate change. To discuss strategies for improving efficiency and resilience of farming systems as a way to ensure sustainable food security, over 400 participants gathered for an in-field stakeholder meeting on ‘Empowering Farmers for Climate Smart Agricultural Practices in Haryana’ in Taraori, Karnal, India, on 28 September 2012. The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) South Asia program, and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) organized the event, among others.  Read more »

Today, leading scientists from the BRICS+ countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - plus Indonesia and the United States) have joined to call for an agricultural work programme under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The call is directed at negotiators who are currently gathered in Durban to decide on the future of a global climate treaty. The call comes out of a conference in Beijing last month on food security, which was coordinated by CCAFS partners at the International Food Policy Research Institute

The experts say agricultural research expenditures must be increased substantially to address the needs for agricultural adaptation and mitigation, and highlight twelve priority areas for research, including pests and diseases, storage losses, land use change, international trade, and human capital development. Read more »

As part of ongoing national workshops to support climate change policy in agriculture, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) regional office in New Delhi recently hosted a one-day expert group workshop on low carbon development pathways in agriculture. The workshop was aimed at getting a wide range of policy and research experts from South Asia to assess the current state of low carbon agriculture in India, identify technologies that are ready to take off, and suggest policy and technical support necessary for overcoming the existing barriers in low carbon agriculture. Read more »