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Chocolate production melting away with climate change
A recently released report (PDF) by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) finds that Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire might become too hot for the cocoa plant by as early as 2030, based on a projected one-degree Celsius increase. Smallholder farmers in the two countries supply over half of the world’s cocoa which means a risk of increasing global market prices and a negative effect on the cocoa producers livelihoods. Read more »
Pastoralism key in managing drought
According to a recent article in The New Agriculturist pastoralism is the best way to cope with drought. This statement is based on the findings from the report ‘An Assessment of the response to the 2008-2009 drought in Kenya’, produced by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Based on interviews with pastoralists the researchers found that the best way for them to cope with famine was to ensure that they had access to grazing and watering areas. Pastoralism was also viewed as the most productive use of drylands in the Horn of Africa and increased mobility of pastoralists could prevent future food crisis in these areas. In other words, by allowing pastoralists to move to other, unused grazing areas, they can more easily mitigate livestock losses during a drought. This is becoming increasingly problematic however, the report states, since mobility is being reduced and impeded. The report recommends that interventions targeting the removal of restrictions to mobility and access should be considered as prime activities during preparedness. To read more about the ILRI report please click here. Read more »
Farmers dial in for climate adaptation
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have the potential to help monitor climate change as well as help farmers adapt and mitigate to its effects. This important link was discussed at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) symposium on ICTs, Environment and Climate Change held in late July in Accra, Ghana.
In Africa, where half the continent’s population uses a mobile phone, people now have unprecedented access to information via their handsets. The Guardian recently reported on the multiple ways mobile phones have catalysed innovation, including in the farming sector. For example, farmers from isolated areas can access weather information via text messages (SMS) or phone calls, to prepare for upcoming drought spells, heavy rain or floods. Read more »
Ugandan tea production under pressure
by Cecilia Schubert
An average temperatures rise by 2.3 degrees Celsius by 2050 could potentially wipe out Uganda's most profitable tea producing areas, with severe losses in productivity already apparent by 2020. This was revealed in the new report Future Climate Scenarios for Uganda's Tea Growing Areas (PDF) produced by researchers from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Colombia. The alarming scenarios - decreasing yields and a more favorable environment for pests and diseases - indicate that Uganda’s tea producers need to take firm action to adapt and mitigate to the upcoming changes in climate. Read more »
Booming banana business in Peruvian desert
This blog post was written by CCAFS Theme Leader Andy Jarvis for CIAT's blog.
This is the scene of a booming organic banana business which is competing with the Dominican Republic to deliver organic bananas to environmentally conscientious consumers in Europe and the US. In a visit to Piura, Peru, I was told that this is now a US$50 million dollar enterprise, and it is smallholders who are benefitting from it. Historically, this region has been a hotspot of poverty in Latin America. The natural resource base is practically non-existent, and at least for agriculture there weren’t many options with just 60mm of rainfall falling every year. But the one thing that Piura does have is a river, and the vast water-way that flows through this desert in northern Peru comes from the mountains where glaciers are melting, and rain is falling on the steep Andean slopes. Banana producers flood their fields with water from the River Chiura and River Piura as many as three times a month, and so it doesn’t matter that it doesn’t rain. The other massive advantage that this region has is that there are practically no banana pests or diseases/.../Bananas are booming in northern Peru. I can tell you, it was really fascinating to see all this. Read the full entry on CIATS blog.
Future Weather Generating Tool Updated
This entry was written by Philip Thornton, CCAFS Theme Leader.
The MarkSim GCM stochastic weather generator tool has just been updated. It now includes data from two additional climate models that were part of the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report. Users can now choose from a total of six individual climate models, or they can select the average climatology of this ensemble of models, for generating daily data for future conditions. The climate models come from Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Norway and Russia. Read more »
"Agriculture and the Green Economy"
Farming First, a coalition group promoting sustainable agricultural development, recently released a 6-part infographic on "Agriculture and the Green Economy." The infographic aggregates interesting and sometimes surprising statistics regarding agriculture, and weaves a sort of "story" about the importance of the sector for worldwide poverty alleviation, economic growth, and environmental health. It offers short, tweet-ready statements (e.g., "Growth in Africa is the most powerful force for reducing poverty"), as well as accompanying embedable charts and graphs, to enable readers/users to easily spread the word.
Climate roundup - 1-6 May 2011
Each week we bring you the climate change stories that sparked our attention during the week, many of which have significant implications for agriculture and food security.
Including: Agriculture on the climate agenda, corruption and climate change; and traditional approaches to adaptation.
Feedback and suggestions are welcome, please leave a comment below or via twitter to @cgiarclimate
Climate roundup - 16 - 29 April 2011
A double roundup this week! On Fridays, we bring you the climate change stories that sparked our attention during the week, many of which have significant implications for agriculture and food security.
Feedback and suggestions are welcome, please leave a comment below or via twitter to @cgiarclimate Read more »
Climate roundup - 9-15 April 2011
Each Friday we bring you the climate change stories that sparked our attention during the week, many of which have significant implications for agriculture and food security. Read more »
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CCAFS Coordinating Unit - University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Science, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Rolighedsvej 21, DK-1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark, phone +45 35331046; Email ccafs [at] cgiar [dot] org, EAN 5790000279012
Lead Center - International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
@kbn rayana: That is a very good observation. Agronomic management is also...