November 2011
Agriculture: A Call to Action for COP17 Climate Change Negotiators
Today, a coalition of Agricultural research organizations, including the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), the UN Food and Agriculture Agency, the UN World Food Programme, and others have called upon climate change negotiators to recognize the essential role of agriculture in the fight against climate change.
The call was issued as political leaders gather in Durban, South Africa, to decide on the future of a global climate agreement. The agriculture groups have also organized Agriculture and Rural Development Day on 3 December, a daylong event to share best practises on climate-smart agriculture and show how agriculture is part of the climate solution.
Full text of open letter: Read more »
Vacancy: Research Degree on the influence of climate change on the occurrence of crop pests and diseases
Deadline: 3 February, 2012. Climate-related variability in agricultural production affects billions of lives worldwide. Models exist that simulate the response of crops to climate variability and change by using direct climate model output (i.e. at the regional scale, ~100km). Climate is known to be a strong determinant of the yield of a number of crops, both directly and through intermediate drivers such as irrigation water availability and incidence of pests or diseases. Many of the processes associated with these intermediate drivers are understood. However, despite continued calls by the IPCC, climate models have not yet been used to assess the predictability implicit in these relationships. Read more »
Global Commission Charts Pathway For Achieving Food Security in Face of Climate Change
Scientific experts outline concrete steps toward a sustainable global food system
COPENHAGEN (16 November 2011) — In the lead up to UN global climate talks in Durban, South Africa later this month, an independent global commission of eminent scientists today released a set of concrete recommendations to policy makers on how to achieve food security in the face of climate change. Based on a thorough review of existing research, the commissioners urged immediate, coordinated action toward transforming the food system to meet current and future threats to food security and environmental sustainability.
The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change’s “Summary for Policy Makers” outlines crucial policy responses to the global challenge of feeding a world confronted by climate change, population growth, poverty, food price spikes and degraded ecosystems. The seven high-level recommendations include significantly raising the level of global investment in sustainable agriculture and food systems in the next decade; sustainably intensifying agricultural production on the existing land base while reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and reducing losses and waste in the food system. Read more »
Vacancy: Agricultural Systems/Climate Change Adaptation Post- Doctoral Fellow or Associate Scientist
Deadline: 15 December 2011. Achieving sustainable food security in a world of growing population and changing diets is a major challenge under climate change. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is looking for an innovative, results-oriented young scientist with excellent skills in agricultural systems analysis and modeling. The scientist will work as a member of CIMMYT Global Conservation Agriculture Program (CIMMYT-GCAP), and will play a key role in a large multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional team. The selected scientist will work closely with CIMMYT’s research teams in the different regions where systems research is conducted, as well as partners in advanced research institutes, national research programs, and the CCAFS (CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security) community. He/she will be responsible for assessing the potential of conservation agriculture as an adaption measure to climate change in the Indo Gangetic plains and East Africa, in coordination with similar studies in South Asia region and in East Africa. The position is supported by the CGIAR Research Program (CRP7-CCAFS) and other donors.
Vacancy: Agricultural Systems/Climate Change Mitigation Post- Doctoral Fellow or Associate Scientist
Deadline: 15 December 2011. Achieving sustainable food security in a world of growing population and changing diets is a major challenge under climate change. The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) is looking for an innovative, results-oriented young scientist with excellent skills in agricultural systems analysis and modeling. The scientist will work as a member of CIMMYT Global Conservation Agriculture Program (CIMMYT-GCAP), and will play a key role in a large multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional team. The selected scientist will work closely with CIMMYT’s research teams in the different regions where systems research is conducted, as well as partners in advanced research institutes, national research programs, and the CCAFS (CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security) community. He/she will be responsible for evaluating the potential impact, in the Indo Gangetic plains, of improved agricultural management practices, including conservation agriculture, to mitigate climate change. The position is supported by the CGIAR Research Program (CRP7-CCAFS) and other donors. Read more »
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)