South Asia Bulletin

By Jaya Gurung and Chandra Adhikari

The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security's (CCAFS) South Asia regional office recently began a Climate Smart Agriculture Learning Platform (CSALP), which aims at improving communication between scientists, policy makers, political leaderships, farmers and other stakeholders on best “climate smart” farming practices. This is vital in a region where one-third of the world’s poorest and malnourished people live. The learning platform publishes quarterly e-newsletter, organizes the Science-Policy-People Interface on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, and initiates discussions, with media, political leadership and other stakeholders on the issues of climate change, agriculture and food security. This platform was inaugurated by the Rt. Honorable President of Nepal, Dr. Rambaran Yadav on 20April 2012 and subsequently released the first issue of the newsletter. Honorable President Dr. Yadav appreciated the efforts of interface among researcher, policy makers and farmers. President Dr. Yadav drew the attention of scientific communities for the fast deteriorating condition of the Chure Bhabar range, the buffer zone of the Mountain Hill and Terai Plain. Dr. Yadav also wished the workshop be productive. Read more »

By Rasheed Sulaiman

Indian agriculture is extremely sensitive to climate change and its impact is increasing over time¹. The Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGPs) in India, which is considered as its “bread basket” providing food security and employment to several hundred millions of people, is extremely vulnerable to climate risks^2,3. Adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change is therefore vital for securing agricultural growth and poverty reduction for this region.

Adaptation is not a new phenomenon per se in agriculture as agricultural systems have always been responding to improved technologies, better market opportunities and changing weather patterns. However the nature and speed of adaptation vary considerably in different regions and among varied social groups. Understanding this process of local adaptation or innovation is extremely important for the successful design of policies, programmes and interventions that address climate risks. Read more »

By Savita Aggarwal

Many regions in India are characterized by water scarcity which affects the well-being of millions of the poorest people. In India as well as many other developing countries, 20% households still do not have provision of adequate water for domestic use. This has resulted in a significant loss of time and effort, especially on the part of women, who most often have to bear the burden of water collection. The female children have to share the temporal and physical burden of carrying water, often leading to very large gender gaps in school attendance in many countries. Translating the losses borne by girls and women in terms of man (woman) hours and economics shows a loss of human capital and reduction in the ability of the household to capitalize fully on its other resources.  Read more »

Raj Krishna Mushyan and Padam Bahadur Shrestha, both farmers from Nepal talk about the climate smart agriculture learning platform, recently launched in the South Asia benchmark site and about the changing climate in their areas affecting their lives and farms. 

Raj Krishna Mushyan:

My village Madhyapur Thimi is known as the green vegetable garden of Kathmandu valley, where majority of Newars (ethnic group) are still engaged in agriculture, mostly in vegetable production. We grow a variety of vegetables and supply them to the Kathmandu valley. I can recall changing pattern of farming within our community over the years. Read more »