The 10-year plan for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) is outlined in our January 2011 proposal to the CGIAR Consortium.
Download the full proposal (PDF - 3.5 MB)
Summary:
Achieving sustainable food security in a world of growing population and changing diets is a major challenge under climate change. Successful mitigation and adaptation will entail changes in behavior, technology, institutions and food production systems. These changes cannot be achieved without improving interactions among scientists, policy makers and civil society. As the CGIAR Consortium Research no. 7 (CRP7), CCAFS will build on the new strategic collaboration between the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and Future Earth.
CCAFS will become a hub that facilitates collective action across multiple Centers/CRPs. The outcomes planned include (among others): technical and policy support for agricultural management strategies that buffer against climate shocks and enhance livelihood resilience in at least 20 countries; key agencies dealing with mitigation in at least 20 countries promoting new institutional arrangements and incentives that favor resource-poor farmers, particularly vulnerable groups and women; and tools for evaluating ex-ante returns to investments that enhance food security in the face of climate change.
The over-arching objectives of CRP7 are: (1) To identify and test pro-poor adaptation and mitigation practices, technologies and policies for food systems, adaptive capacity and rural livelihoods; and (2) To provide diagnosis and analysis that will ensure cost-effective investments, the inclusion of agriculture in climate change policies, and the inclusion of climate issues in agricultural policies, from the sub-national to the global level in a way that brings benefits to the rural poor.
There are four Themes. Three “place-based” Themes will identify and test (through adaptive research) technologies, practices and policies, and will enhance capacity, to decrease the vulnerability of rural communities to a variable and changing climate: Theme 1 – Adaptation to Progressive Climate Change; Theme 2 – Adaptation through Managing Climate Risk; and Theme 3 – Pro-poor Climate Change Mitigation. The fourth Theme – Integration for Decision Making – provides a framework for the whole of CRP7, ensures effective engagement with rural communities and institutional and policy stakeholders, grounds CRP7 in the policy context, and provides, through a demand-driven process, downscaled analyses and tools for future climates. Much of the place-based work will be integrated within target regions, with activities starting in three target regions in 2011 and extending to eight regions by 2013.
CRP7 will make a lasting difference through a strategic focus on capacity enhancement. CRP7 research will improve understanding of the underlying drivers of social differentiation and gender disparities as influenced by climate change, formulate strategies to tackle these, and provide inclusive access to emerging investments (e.g. carbon payments), information and policies that deal with climate change. In recognition that impacts on poor communities and the environment will be achieved with and through partners on the ground, this program will have partnership strategies at its core. Specific activities and procedures are planned to ensure coherence among Themes, and to build links across all CRPs. Innovative knowledge sharing platforms and communication approaches will be explored. Regional work, such as scenario development, will link directly to global policy processes. Early “wins” include a planned major role for agriculture in the post-2012 international climate change regime, and a global network of sites collecting comparative data to identify plausible options for adapting to climate change.
The management system for CRP7 will consist of a Lead Center (and its Board), an Independent Scientific Panel (constituted from nominations by the CGIAR and ESSP, and comprising scientific and development expertise), Program Leader and Program Management Committee. Theme Leaders and Regional Facilitators will help to initiate and coordinate activities.
The program will be reviewed in Year 5 and 10. The budget and logframe are presented for Phase 1 (Year 1-5). A total budget of US$63.2 million in 2011 is proposed, of which US$41.4 million is requested from the CGIAR Fund. The budget is allocated to 15 Centers, and 30% to partners. Partner contributions through leveraged resources are expected to be considerable, with a target of $30 million per annum by Year 5.