Shifting food consumption to mitigate climate change is critical to fulfilling the Paris Agreement, but how?

Reducing emissions by changing consumption of foods with large greenhouse gas emissions could have a major impact on climate change. Yet past efforts to change diets through public policy have had mixed results, suggesting that recent estimates of technical mitigation potential likely exceed feasible reductions in emissions. Shifting consumption away from livestock products is a major opportunity for reducing emissions driven by consumption demand. In some contexts, this could also provide health, food security and other environmental benefits. Packages of policy mechanisms and interventions involving health, nutrition, efficiency and sustainability in supply chains will be more effective in achieving dietary change than any one measure. Focusing on reducing food loss and waste in high potential areas and involving key value chain actors can increase returns on efforts to mitigate climate change and improve food security. Private sector investment in reducing food loss and waste requires an enabling environment, support for development of commercially viable investments, and increased awareness among financial institutions of investment opportunities. This Info Note is related to the report on "The technical mitigation potential of demand-side measures in the agri-food sector: a preliminary assessment of available measures" https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/77142/CCAFS%20Report%2015%20for%20web.pd

Accelerating Agriculture Productivity Improvement in Bangladesh: Mitigation co-benefits of nutrients and water use efficency

Analysis of potential mitigation in the development project Accelerating Agriculture Productivity Improvement (AAPI) in Bangladesh showed a 2% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, driven by urea deep placement (UDP) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) in flooded rice systems. Given high emissions associated with conventional irrigated rice production, this represents a substantial reduction in emissions. AAPI promotes UDP, a fertilization practice known to increase nitrogen uptake efficiency. Based on the project plan and progress of implementation, UDP adoption was anticipated on 1.1 million ha of aman rice and 700,000 ha of boro rice. UDP is an example of the absolute emission reductions that are possible when a practice is widely implemented. AAPI promotes AWD, an irrigation practice for rice that reduces the amount of water used and results in decreased emissions. AAPI tested AWD on a pilot scale (21,000 ha). Climate change mitigation benefits would increase dramatically if adoption of AWD were more widespread. Due to increased rice yields, UDP and AWD reduce the emission intensity (CO2e emitted per kg production) from rice production by 10–48%

Peru Cacao Alliance: Carbon sequestration as a co-benefit of cacao expansion

The agricultural development project, Peru Cacao Alliance (PCA), has contributed to climate change mitigation. Estimated carbon sequestration from perennial crop expansion, which was –211,467 tCO2e metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, more than offset increased greenhouse gas emission (GHG) from fertilizer and pesticide management (10,286 tCO2e). The net difference, –201,180 tCO2e, is equivalent to the carbon content of 465,774 barrels of oil. The agroforestry system promoted by PCA included cacao and shade trees. Since PCA could not provide definitive data detailing the presence of existing shade trees compared to the planting of new shade trees, this analysis did not include carbon dynamics of shade trees. If new trees were planted for shade, there would be greater carbon uptake by the system than presented in this analysis. PCA reduced emissions intensity for cacao (CO2e emitted per kg production) through improved carbon sequestration and increased yields. PCA improved cacao postharvest handling (proper pod selection, storage, drying and fermentation methods) by building knowledge and capacity in producer organizations

ACCESO in Honduras: Mitigation co-benefits of perennial crop expansion, soil management, and livestock improvements

The agricultural development project ACCESO reduced greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and led to net carbon sequestration due to perennial crop expansion. Increased fertilizer use was a moderate source of emissions that was more than offset by reduced emissions from other ACCESOsupported practices, including improvements in soil, water, and fertilizer management, and in feed and grassland use by dairy cows. Compared to conventional practices, ACCESOsupported activities reduced emission intensity (GHG emissions per kilogram of output) for carrots (-106%), cabbages (-99%), maize (-99%), and potatoes (-98%) compared to conventional production methods. Emission intensity increased due to greater fertilizer use for plantain (55%) and coffee (247%)

Pastoralist Areas Resilience Improvement through Market Expansion (PRIME) in Ethiopia: Mitigation co-benefits of livestock productivity

Pastoralist Areas Resilience Improvement through Market Expansion (PRIME) showed a notable decrease in emission intensity (GHG emissions per unit of meat or milk). PRIME enabled farmers to increase production significantly, between 24% and 96%, which led to a decrease in emission intensity ranging from -4% to -42%. Due to improvements in feed quantity, PRIME projected an increase in average animal weight for all livestock (8.3 million head), which resulted in an increase in GHG emissions by an estimated 1.5 million tCO2e/yr. PRIME empowered stakeholders collectively to design and establish plans for effective management of pastures and water. The project supported soil and water conservation measures, enclosing degraded pastures, selective bush thinning, and clearing the invasive plant Prosopis. These practices improved pasture plant quality and reduced bare soil and overgrazing, which resulted in increased sequestration of soil carbon. These grassland improvements were estimated to sequester -0.1 million tCO2e/yr

Better Life Alliance in Zambia: Climate change mitigation as a co-benefit of improved landscape, agroforestry, soil, and fertilizer management

Analysis of agricultural activities in the Better Life Alliance (BLA) project in Zambia showed potential reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), mostly (85%) due to avoided savanna degradation and conversion. The GHG impact due to BLA’s interventions is estimated at –902,531 tCO2e/yr, equivalent to saving 2,089,550 barrels of oil. BLA’s business model linked prevention of degradation and conversion of shrubland to market-based incentives for agricultural crops, thereby providing farmers with economic incentives for conservation and climate change mitigation. BLA promoted a comprehensive approach to soil fertility management. It promoted agroecological approaches such as recycling farm organic resources, planting nitrogen-fixing trees, minimal tillage, and cover crops. BLA reduced postharvest loss (PHL) through improved product processing, storage, and packaging. Changes in PHL were estimated for groundnuts (–100%), maize (–40%), rice (–80%), and soybeans (–67%), which contributed to decreases in emission intensity (GHG emissions per unit of production) for each of these products

MLB Statcast Pitch Analysis: the Association between Active Spin and Opponent’s Batting Average

Baseball has often been described as a game of statistics and strategy, and current technology allows detailed examination of the game. One statistic measured concerning the movement of the ball is spin rate, the rotations per minute created by the pitcher when the ball is released from the hand. However, recent research has not examined the inclusion of pitchers’ spin rate in batter strategy. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to see if there is an association between the movement of breaking balls with the batting average of Major League Baseball batters. METHODS: A sample including 76 elite Major League Baseball pitchers, all male (age = 30.12 ± 3.68, mean ± sd), were taken from the 2019 MLB regular season using Statcast, Pitch F/x, and Trackman cameras. Statcast is used in Major League Baseball and collects the pitcher’s data revolving around their pitches (e.g., active spin, speed, whiff). Pitchers who had thrown a minimum of 2,500 pitches were included. The outcome was batting average, an aggregate number based on the number of players who faced an individual pitcher during the season. We performed multivariable linear regression models to regress batting average on curveballs and sliders separately. Covariates for assessment included pitcher demographics, active movement of the pitch, spin rate of the pitch, hits, at bats, percent of breaking balls thrown, pitch velocity, and number thrown versus right- and left-handed batters. RESULTS: After regression assumptions and steps were satisfied, 43.7% of the variation in batting average could be accounted for by the active spin of the slider, the number of sliders thrown, pitching hand, and the pitcher’s height. For every one-unit increase in active spin of the slider, batting average significantly decreased by 0.0013. Concerning curveballs, regression steps yielded a single-variable model, where 13.1% of the variation in batting average could be explained by the number of curveballs thrown. For every one-unit increase in the number of curveballs thrown, batting average significantly decreased by 0.00013. CONCLUSION: Variables significantly associated with batting average varied by whether a slider or a curveball was thrown; an increase in spin rate was significantly associated with a decrease in batting average for sliders thrown, but not for curveballs. The results of this study can be used by coaches as they prepare for games to enable the most favorable matchup between batter and pitcher. Future research should expand the timeline to include multiple MLB seasons to further corroborate these findings

Fertiliser use and soil carbon sequestration: Key messages for climate change mitigation strategies

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increasing soil or biomass carbon stocks are the main agricultural pathways to mitigate climate change. Scientific and policy attention has recently turned to evaluating the potential of practices that can increase soil carbon sequestration. Forty percent of the world’s soils are used as cropland and grassland, therefore agricultural policies and practices are critical to maintaining or increasing the global soil carbon pool. This info note explains the current understanding of the impact of mineral fertiliser use on soil carbon sequestration as a mitigation strategy in agriculture. The science and understanding on soil carbon sequestration and mitigation is still emerging, especially in tropical regions. Taking this into consideration, this info note discusses related effects of fertiliser use on climate change mitigation, such as nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from nitrogen fertiliser use and production, and the potential effects of mineral fertiliser use on land use change

Reducing food loss in agricultural development projects through value chain efficiency

Food loss and waste (FLW) reduces the amount of food available for distribution and consumption, decreases food security, and increases the environmental burden of food production. Combating FLW addresses the key pillars of climate-smart agriculture for farmers by increasing productivity, promoting adaption to climate change, and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Although studies of interventions to reduce FLW exist, almost no research systematically investigates FLW interventions across value chains or in multiple countries, most likely due to challenges in collecting and synthesizing multi-country estimates. Our research team investigated changes in FLW in projects supported by the United States Government’s global hunger and food security initiative: Feed the Future. This provided a unique opportunity to conduct ex-ante estimates of the impacts of interventions across 20 value chains in 12 countries based on interviews with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and project staff. We provide specific examples of interventions used in each value chain and country context. The results provide an evidence base of interventions that successfully decreased FLW at multiple points along the food value chain, from upstream producer-dominated stages to downstream consumer-dominated stages. Results also show that no single FLW solution or intervention works across agriculture sub-sectors, value chain stages, and countries. Amongst the sub-sectors studied, results showed that FLW interventions directed at extensive dairy systems could provide meaningful greenhouse mitigation. In the dairy supply chain, FLW estimates ranged from 5-50% in the business-as- usual approach and declined 4-10% as a result of intervention

Measuring how communication and engagement efforts help deliver outcomes

Key messages Initial steps towards outcome-focused monitoring, evaluation & learning (MEL) on communication and engagement can be small, but they must be systematic. To achieve broad participation, MEL needs to be lean and do-able. Well-designed MEL adds value by feeding information and lessons into future work and decision-making. Adequate time must be devoted to embedding MEL into the initial activity plan and following it throughout the communication engagement activity and afterwards. MEL is easier when it is done more often. It is helpful to draw upon resource persons. Preparatory work and capturing feedback through mechanisms built into the communication- engagement activity is more informative than soliciting responses afterwards. Peer exchanges about MEL practices and adaptable templates are beneficial. Aligning specific communication activities with the established impact pathway can ensure more strategic and focused activities and products that contribute to outcomes and impact