Technologies for climate change adaptation: agricultural sector

This Guidebook presents a selection of technologies for climate change adaptation in the agricultural sector. A set of twenty two adaptation technologies are showcased that are primarily based on the principals of agroecology, but also include scientific technologies of climate and biological sciences complemented with important sociological and institutional capacity building processes that are required to make adaptation function. The technologies cover monitoring and forecasting the climate, sustainable water use and management, soil management, sustainable crop management, seed conservation, sustainable forest management and sustainable livestock management. Technologies that tend to homogenize the natural environment and agricultural production have low possibilities of success in conditions of environmental stress that are likely to result from climate change. On the other hand, technologies that allow for, and indeed promote, diversity are more likely to provide a strategy which strengthens agricultural production in the face of uncertain future climate change scenarios. In this sense, the twenty two technologies showcased in this Guidebook have been selected because they facilitate the conservation and restoration of diversity while at the same time providing opportunities for increasing agricultural productivity. Many of these technologies are not new to agricultural production practices, but they are implemented based on assessment of current and possible future impacts of climate change in a particular location. Agro-ecology is an approach that encompasses concepts of sustainable production and biodiversity promotion and therefore provides a useful framework for identifying and selecting appropriate adaptation technologies for the agricultural sector. The Guidebook provides a systematic analysis of the most relevant information available on climate change adaptation technologies in the agriculture sector. It has been compiled based on a literature review of key publications, journal articles, and e-platforms, and by drawing on documented experiences sourced from a range of organizations working on projects and programmes concerned with climate change adaptation technologies in the agricultural sector. Its geographic scope is focused on developing countries where high levels of poverty, agricultural production, climate variability and biological diversity currently intersect. Key concepts around climate change adaptation are not universally agreed. It is therefore important to understand local contexts – especially social and cultural norms - when working with national and sub-national stakeholders to make informed decisions about appropriate technology options. Thus, decision-making processes should be participative, facilitated, and consensus-building oriented and should be based on the following key guiding principles: increasing awareness and knowledge, strengthening institutions, protecting natural resources, providing financial assistance and developing context-specific strategies. For decision-making the Community–Based Adaptation framework is proposed for creating inclusive governance that engages a range of stakeholders directly with local or district government and national coordinating bodies, and facilitates participatory planning, monitoring and implementation of adaptation activities. Seven criteria are suggested for the prioritization of adaptation technologies: (i) The extent to which the technology maintains or strengthens biological diversity and is environmentally sustainable; (ii) The extent to which the technology facilitates access to information systems and awareness of climate change information; (iii) Whether the technology support water, carbon and nutrient cycles and enables stable and/or increased productivity; (iv) Income-generating potential, cost-benefit analysis and contribution to improved equity; (v) Respect for cultural diversity and facilitation of inter-cultural exchange; (vi) Potential for integration into regional and national policies and can be scaled-up; (vii) The extent to which the technology builds formal and information institutions and social networks. Finally, recommendations are set out for practitioners and policy makers: • There is an urgent need for improved climate modelling and forecasting which can provide a basis for informed decision-making and the implementation of adaptation strategies. This should include traditional knowledge. • Information is also required to better understand the behaviour of plants, animals, pests and diseases as they react to climate change. • Potential changes in economic and social systems in the future under different climate scenarios should also be investigated so that the implications of adaptation strategy and planning choices are better understood. • It is important to secure effective flows of information through appropriate dissemination channels. This is vital for building adaptive capacity and decision-making processes. • Improved analysis of adaptation technologies is required to show how they can contribute to building adaptive capacity and resilience in the agricultural sector. This information needs to be compiled and disseminated for a range of stakeholders from local to national level. • Relationships between policy makers, researchers and communities should be built so that technologies and planning processes are developed in partnership, responding to producers’ needs and integrating their knowledge

Agrometeorological forecasting

Agrometeorological forecasting covers all aspects of forecasting in agrometeorology. Therefore, the scope of agrometeorological forecasting very largely coincides with the scope of agrometeorology itself. All on-farm and regional agrometeorological planning implies some form of impact forecasting, at least implicitly, so that decision-support tools and forecasting tools largely overlap. In the current chapter, the focus is on crops, but attention is also be paid to sectors that are often neglected by the agrometeorologist, such as those occurring in plant and animal protection. In addition, the borders between meteorological forecasts for agriculture and agrometeorological forecasts are not always clear. Examples include the use of weather forecasts for farm operations such as spraying pesticides or deciding on trafficability in relation to adverse weather. Many forecast issues by various national institutions (weather, but also commodity prices or flood warnings) are vital to the farming community, but they do not constitute agrometeorological forecasts. (Modified From the introduction of the chapter: Scope of agrometeorological forecasting)JRC.H.4-Monitoring Agricultural Resource

The Potential of Cacao Agribusiness for Poverty Alleviation in West Sumatra

The cacao industry has played an important role in terms of export earnings and employment opportunities in Indonesia since 1980s. It is the main source of income for more than one million smallholder farmers in Indonesia, who are considered poor. Most planted areas of cacao are in Eastern Indonesia; however, cacao production has developed in Western Indonesia recently, with West Sumatra designated as the area of central production. Due to the importance of cacao industry in the Indonesian economy, there is a big opportunity to explore the potential of the industry in poverty alleviation. The study uses the participatory impact pathway analysis (PIPA) method. It is a new approach to formulate a development strategy and policies proposed by the Institutional Learning and Change. This approach is used because it: (1) covers impact analysis in order to investigate the potential contribution of cacao agribusiness development to poverty alleviation, which is not covered by other participatory approaches; and (2) can be used to identify stakeholders‟ relationships for cacao agribusiness development. The use of PIPA in this study involves various tools: a participatory workshop, surveys and semi-structured interviews. Problems facing the cacao industry were identified through the workshop, including low yields and price and price instability. Lack of knowledge by farmers of agronomic practices and low quality of seedlings were considered to be the main causes of low yields by the participants. Low price of cacao beans was thought to be mainly caused by low quality of cacao beans while lack of cooperation between farmers and the village cooperative and lack of a farmers‟ association were considered to be the main factors affecting price instability. Farmer survey data results show slightly different priorities from the workshop. Most cacao farmers disagreed on the problem of low yields and low price of cacao beans but a high proportion agreed on the problem of price instability and confirmed that cacao farmers face a problem of low quality of cacao beans. Most farmers do not know the cause of price instability, while improper fermentation was agreed as the main factor causing the low quality of cacao beans.agribusiness economics and management, international development, farm management., Agribusiness, Farm Management, International Development,

Pathogen Population Biology Research can Reduce International Threats to Tree Health Posed by Invasive Fungi

Humankind owes much to trees, given their major role in sequestering carbon and providing oxygen, sugars and much of the energy on which ourselves and terrestrial ecosystems depend. Trees and forests are important culturally, economically, environmentally and socially. And yet, despite this, trees throughout the world are currently facing an increasing number of serious challenges. On a global scale, Curtis et al. (2018) report most forest loss is due to commodity driven deforestation through permanent conversion to nonforest land uses including agriculture (e.g. palm oil production), energy production and mining. The other main drivers of global forest loss, that might instead be considered less permanent and associated with subsequent regrowth, include forestry, shifting agriculture and wildfire. Additional threats to forests include those posed by climate change, and invasive biotic agents such as insect pests and pathogens. Most new tree disease outbreaks are due to introduction events, with a potential pathogen introduced from their endemic centres of origin (where they generally cause little or no disease on their plant host due to long-term coevolution) into a new geographic location, in which a naive host has not previously been exposed and can thus be highly susceptible. The incidence of such 'new encounter' diseases is increasing at an unprecedented rate due to globalisation with increased international trade in plants and travel, a scenario potentially exacerbated by a changing climate better suited to establishment of a pathogen once introduced. Identification of the centres of origin of fungal pathogens can be important for several reasons. First, given that the original host-fungus interaction will have typically stabilised over long periods of time, such geographic regions could be useful sources of host genetic resistance. Moreover, the longer time periods involved will have likely resulted in greater genetic diversity accruing in such endemic populations. More diverse pathogen populations have greater evolutionary potential, with increased genetic variation available for response to environmental change. This could enable host tolerance to be overcome, unexpected 'jumps' onto new hosts, increased risk of fungicide resistance, and better adaptability to changing environmental conditions (e.g. temperature). Thus, strategies to reduce introduction of additional genetic variation from source to sink regions can reduce tree health threats. In this article, such introduction events are considered in the context of three devastating tree diseases, namely ash dieback, Dutch Elm Disease (DED) and Dothistroma Needle Blight (DNB, mainly on pine). On all these tree hosts, multiple closely-related fungal species have now been associated with each of these different diseases. Such related species are often morphologically very similar or even indistinguishable by eye, and consequently this can result in taxonomic confusion and species misidentification, leading to delayed diagnosis of the true causal agent of a given disease outbreak. Research into such related species is important as they might pose very different plant health threats that require distinct disease management strategies. These differences might relate to pathogenicity, geographic distribution, host range, effectiveness of host resistance, sensitivity to fungicides, temperature optima, reproductive strategy and so on. Furthermore, when related fungal species come into physical contact with each other after a long period of separation, for instance via an introduction event, various outcomes are possible including: (1) replacement (and possible extinction) of one species by the other; (2) coexistence of the species; or (3) cross-species hybridisation. The remainder of this article focuses, using three major tree disease case histories, on how fundamental research on pathogen biology can provide new insights into the genetic structure of related pathogen populations that can be usefully applied to reduce the threat to tree health posed by invasive fungal species

THE POTENTIAL OF BANANA TRADING COMMODITY TO FULFILL MARKET DEMAND AND SUPPORT FOOD SECURITY IN DEFENSE ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE (STUDY IN BOGOR DISTRICT)

In order to maintain food security, it is wiser if the food priority is not limited to rice, but also encourages product diversity of local food-based such as maize, cassava, sweet potato, breadfruit, taro, and banana. The problems of utilizing banana potential in Bogor District are low production due to land use change, plant function change, some farmers have perception of bananas as a second class plant, Fusarium wilt disease, limited use of bananas as fresh fruit and small industrial processed products (such as chips, sale, molen), and production has not been able to fulfill market demand and consequently, export market opportunities have not been utilized. This study describes the extent to which large potential of banana can be used optimally by using defense economics, demand-supply, and food security theory. Primary data sources were obtained from interviews with informant from Local Government, farmers and banana traders in Bogor District, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Trade. Secondary data sources include both from Ministry, Distanhorti, Disdagin, BPS, journals, and electronic media. Validation data by triangulation and data analysis of Miles-Huberman. The results show that bananas have great potential to be developed in Bogor District but its utilization is not optimal. This is due to several factors including application of inappropriate cultivation techniques with SOP, limited large-scale land, land conversion, without large company partnerships. Therefore, it is necessary to build partnerships with large private companies, synergies and coordination between stakeholders in order to increase bananas potential as trade commodity, hence can fulfill market demand. In the end it will improve economic security as one of the main focuses of the defense economy.Keywords: Banana, Defense Economy, Demand, Food Security, Potentia

New Scientific and Technological Developments of Relevance to the Fifth Review Conference

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Perceptions of environmental risks in Mozambique : implications for the success of adaptation and coping strategies

Policies to promote adaptation climate risks often rely on the willing cooperation of the intended beneficiaries. If these beneficiaries disagree with policy makers and programme managers about the need for adaptation, or the effectiveness of the measures they are being asked to undertake, then implementation of the policies will fail. A case study of a resettlement programme in Mozambique shows this to be the case. Farmers and policy-maker disagreed about the seriousness of climate risks, and the potential negative consequences of proposed adaptive measures. A project to provide more information about climate change to farmers did not change their beliefs. The results highlight the need for active dialog across stakeholder groups, as a necessary condition for formulating policies that can then be successfully implemented.Hazard Risk Management,Environmental Economics&Policies,Climate Change,Population Policies,Rural Poverty Reduction

Scaling up climate services for farmers: Mission Possible. Learning from good practice in Africa and South Asia

This report presents lessons learned from 18 case studies across Africa and South Asia that have developed and delivered weather and climate information and related advisory services for smallholder farmers. The case studies and resulting lessons provide insights on what will be needed to build effective national systems for the production, delivery, communication and evaluation of operational climate services for smallholder farmers across the developing world. The case studies include two national-scale programmes that have been the subject of recent assessments: India’s Integrated Agrometeorological Advisory Service (AAS) Program, which provides tailored weather-based agrometeorological advisories to millions of farmers; and Mali’s Projet d’Assistance Agro-meteorologique au Monde Rural, which provided innovative seasonal agrometeorological advisory services for smallholder farmers and 16 less mature initiatives operating at a pilot scale across Africa and South Asia. The case studies were examined from the standpoint of how they address five key challenges for scaling up effective climate services for farmers: salience, access, legitimacy, equity and integration

Phytosanitary risk perception and management : development of a conceptual framework

This report presents a conceptual framework for assessing and understanding phytosanitary risk perception and risk-management in plant production chains. The framework is based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour. It is explored for three sectors (pot plants, seed potatoes, and tulip bulbs). These explorations show that the conceptual framework can provide insight into the way actors in plant production chains perceive phytosanitary risk and how this affects their risk-management behaviour. The framework provides a useful tool for identifying bottlenecks in actors' phytosanitary risk-management and creating more focus in optimising phytosanitary risk-management in plant production chain