Dryland adaptation in Northeast Brazil: Lessons from a community-based pilot project

Family farmers in Brazil’s semi-arid region (the Sertão) are highly vulnerable to climate change. In this context, the community-based Adapta Sertão (“adapt Sertão” or “adapt the Sertão”) pilot project aims to strengthen the adaptive capacity of such families in the region of Pintadas, State of Bahia, through integration of immediate livelihood needs with community empowerment and market-based incentives. This short paper discusses the project’s main components, its results and constraints since implementation in 2006. The project is found to have contributed to rural livelihood improvement of its beneficiaries, especially where related to local capacity building. However, the impacts of the strongest drought recorded in the last 50 years continue to affect beneficiaries. CBA in semiarid Brazil may thus need to interact more broadly with those public policies, plans and programs help reduce vulnerability to climatic, social, environmental and economic stressors in general, in order to help family farmers better to sustainably adapt to future climate change.Los agricultores familiares en la región semiárida de Brasil (Sertão) son muy vulnerables al cambio climático. En este contexto, el proyecto piloto basado en la comunidad Adapta Sertão («adaptar Sertão» o «adaptar la región de Sertão») está dirigido a fortalecer la capacidad de adaptación de dichas familias en la región de Pintadas, Estado de Bahía, a través de la integración de las necesidades de subsistencia inmediatas mediante capacitación de la comunidad e iniciativas basadas en el mercado. Este informe breve aborda los principales elementos del proyecto, sus resultados y limitaciones desde su implementación en 2006. Se ha descubierto que el proyecto ha contribuido a la mejora de las condiciones de subsistencia de sus beneficiarios en regiones rurales, en especial, en relación con la construcción de capacidades locales. No obstante, el impacto de la sequía más importante registrada en los últimos 50 años sigue afectando a los beneficiarios. De este modo, la CBA en la región semiárida de Brasil tendrá que interactuar en mayor profundidad con políticas, planes y programas para la reducción de la vulnerabilidad a factores de estrés climáticos, sociales, medioambientales y económicos en general, a fin de ayudar a los agricultores familiares a adaptarse de una forma más sostenible al cambio climático futuro.Les familles d'exploitants agricoles du Sertão, région semi-aride du Brésil, sont très vulnérables au changement climatique. Dans ce contexte, le projet pilote communautaire Adapta Sertão ("adapter le Sertão") vise à renforcer la capacité d'adaptation de ces familles dans la région de Pintadas, dans l'Etat de Bahia, par l'intégration des besoins de moyens de subsistance immédiats via l'autonomisation des communautés et des incitations commerciales. Ce court article expose les principaux éléments du projet, ses résultats et ses contraintes depuis sa mise en oeuvre en 2006. Ce projet a contribué à améliorer la vie rurale de ses bénéficiaires, en particulier concernant le développement des capacités locales. Toutefois, les conséquences de la plus forte sécheresse qu'ait connu le Brésil au cours de ces 50 dernières années, continuent d'affecter les bénéficiaires. L'adaptation communautaire dans les régions semi-arides du Brésil peut ainsi passer par une interaction à plus grande échelle avec ces politiques, plans et programmes publics visant à réduire la vulnérabilité aux facteurs de stress climatiques, sociaux, environnementaux et économiques en général, afin de faciliter l'adaptation des familles d'exploitants agricoles au changement climatique futur de manière durable

The identification of TCF1+ progenitor exhausted T cells in THRLBCL may predict a better response to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade

T-cell/histiocyte-rich large B-cell lymphoma (THRLBCL) is a rare and aggressive variant of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) that usually affects young to middle-aged patients, with disseminated disease at presentation. The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a key role in THRLBCL due to its peculiar cellular composition (< 10% neoplastic B cells interspersed in a cytotoxic T-cell/histiocyte-rich background). A significant percentage of THRLBCL is refractory to rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (RCHOP)-based regimens and to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy; thus, the development of a specific therapeutic approach for these patients represents an unmet clinical need. To better understand the interaction of immune cells in THRLBCL TME and identify more promising therapeutic strategies, we compared the immune gene expression profiles of 12 THRLBCL and 10 DLBCL samples, and further corroborated our findings in an extended in silico set. Gene coexpression network analysis identified the predominant role of the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) axis in the modulation of the immune response. Furthermore, the PD-1/PD-L1 activation was flanked by the overexpression of 48 genes related to the functional exhaustion of T cells. Globally, THRLBCL TME was highly interferon-inflamed and severely exhausted. The immune gene profiling findings strongly suggest that THRLBCL may be responsive to anti-PD-1 therapy but also allowed us to take a step forward in understanding THRLBCL TME. Of therapeutic relevance, we validated our results by immunohistochemistry, identifying a subset of TCF1(+) (T cell-specific transcription factor 1, encoded by the TCF7 gene) progenitor exhausted T cells enriched in patients with THRLBCL. This subset of TCF1(+) exhausted T cells correlates with good clinical response to immune checkpoint therapy and may improve prediction of anti-PD-1 response in patients with THRLBCL

Assessment of the farm management of culling cattle: a survey of existing practices and suggestions for drafting of best practices

The aim of this study is to evaluate different aspects regarding culled cattle and to suggest operating procedures for their correct management. Information collected in Piedmont region allowed for an assessment of the number of cattle put down on the farm, a quantification of slaughters performed in urgency and emergency (SUS/SES) and a headcount of those which died during farming. The survey highlighted the limited use of euthanasia or putting down compared to the number of cases of SUS/SES which were approximately ten times higher. If cattle displays severe health problems, such as a multifactorial disease like downer cow, the farmer has to decide rapidly the treatment to avoid cattle distress. A checklist has been developed and a flow chart has been revised to assist farmers and vets to quicken the decision-taking process and to manage the cattle in a more efficient manner. During this study a number of different problems have been stressed out. Particularly, the shortcomings in the training of operators commissioned to manage the animals, the inadequacy of structures used for the sheltering and slaughter of bovines on the farm, and differences in the operating procedures for culled cattle across the territory. From the obtained results, we can conclude that it is necessary to adopt a transversal approach, so that the information regarding these animals (welfare, health status, drug treatments and destination) will be uniform and adequate during all the steps of production, to ensure animal welfare and food safety

Improving production and quality of life for smallholder farmers through a climate resilience program: An experience in the Brazilian Sertão.

We use a combination of economic and wellbeing metrics to evaluate the impacts of a climate resilience program designed for family farmers in the semiarid region of Brazil. Most family farmers in the region are on the verge of income and food insufficiency, both of which are exacerbated in prolonged periods of droughts. The program assisted farmers in their milk and sheepmeat production, implementing a set of climate-smart production practices and locally-adapted technologies. We find that the program under evaluation had substantive and significant impacts on production practices, land management, and quality of life in general, using several different quasi-experimental strategies to estimate the average treatment effect on the treated farmers. We highlight the strengths and limitations of each evaluation strategy and how the set of analyses and outcome indicators complement each other. The evaluation provides valuable insights into the economic and environmental sustainability of family farming in semiarid regions, which are under growing pressure from climate change and environmental degradation worldwide

CLIMATE CHANGE AND ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES IN AGRICULTURE: ASSESSING THE IMPACTS ON SMALL FARMERS IN THE BRAZILIAN SERTÃO

The Brazilian Sertão is the most populous semiarid region in the world, and faces the highest rates of poverty and food insecurity in Brazil. Irregular rainfall and climate variability make these social constraints even more difficult to be solved in the short term, since basic economic activities in the region, as dairy farming and subsistence agriculture, tend to be mainly affected by recurrent and prolonged droughts. This study analyzes the impacts of climate conditions on the agricultural production and how adaptative strategies may alleviate such effects. First, it analyzes the dynamics of climate variables between 1974 and 2013 in the semi-arid region of the State of Bahia, the largest and most populous State of Sertão. Secondly, based on a panel with climatic and production data, it assesses the ex-poste impacts of these climate variables on the agricultural production of the municipalities in the region. Thirdly, it estimates the relation between several adaptive strategies and the agricultural family farmers’ production, based on microdata of the Brazilian Agricultural Census for small farmers in the region. The study evaluates four main agricultural productions: milk, cattle, goat, sheep and corn. The final and general aim of this study is to discuss the effectiveness of strategies for small farmers which would create climate resilience and attenuate the negative impacts of climate change on agricultural production of this vulnerable region

Climate change and farm-level adaptation: the brazilian Sertão

sem informaçãoThe Sertão, located in the Northeastern region of Brazil, is the most populous semi-arid region in the world. The region also faces the highest rates of poverty, food insecurity and climate risks in this country. Basic economic activities, such as extensi105729751sem informaçãosem informaçãosem informaçã

Dryland adaptation in Northeast Brazil: Lessons from a community-based pilot project

Family farmers in Brazil’s semi-arid region (the Sertão) are highly vulnerable to climate change. In this context, the community-based Adapta Sertão (“adapt Sertão” or “adapt the Sertão”) pilot project aims to strengthen the adaptive capacity of such families in the region of Pintadas, State of Bahia, through integration of immediate livelihood needs with community empowerment and market-based incentives. This short paper discusses the project’s main components, its results and constraints since implementation in 2006. The project is found to have contributed to rural livelihood improvement of its beneficiaries, especially where related to local capacity building. However, the impacts of the strongest drought recorded in the last 50 years continue to affect beneficiaries. CBA in semiarid Brazil may thus need to interact more broadly with those public policies, plans and programs help reduce vulnerability to climatic, social, environmental and economic stressors in general, in order to help family farmers better to sustainably adapt to future climate change