Measurement and reporting of climate-smart agriculture: technical guidance for a countrycentric process

Given the extent of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) initiatives at project, national, regional and global levels, there is increasing interest in tracking progress in implementing CSA at national level. CSA is also expected to contribute to higher-level goals (e.g., the Paris Agreement, Africa Union’s Vision 25x25, and the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs], etc.). Measurement and reporting of climate-smart agriculture (MR of CSA) provides intelligence on necessary the status, effectiveness, efficiency and impacts of interventions, which is critical for meeting stakeholders’ diverse management and reporting needs. In this paper, we build the case for a stakeholder-driven, country-centric framework for MR of CSA, which aims to increase coordination and coherence across stakeholders’ MR activities, while also aligning national reporting with reporting on international commitments. We present practical guidance on how to develop an integrated MR framework, drawing on findings from a multi-country assessment of needs, opportunities and capacities for national MR of CSA. The content of a unified MR framework is determined by stakeholders’ activities (how they promote CSA), needs (why MR is useful to them) and current capacities to conduct periodic monitoring, evaluation and reporting (how ready are institutions, staff and finances). Our analysis found that explicit demand for integration of data systems and active engagement of stakeholders throughout the entire process are key ingredients for building a MR system that is relevant, useful and acted upon. Based on these lessons, we identify a seven-step framework for stakeholders to develop a comprehensive information system for MR of progress in implementing CSA

Climate Smart Agriculture in Tanzania main messages

What is and what is not climate-smart agriculture (CSA)? That existential question sparks debate, complicates implementation and fractures the development community. Many institutions are developing 4-10 page ‘technical briefs’ describing the ‘climate-smartness’ of interventions (ie, the impact of interventions on indicators of productivity, resilience and mitigation) to answer this question. Oftentimes, technical briefs, however, are data-lite increasing potential for biased assessments. CSA X-Rays were designed to provide a counter point to this: to be pithy and detailed analysis of what science and scientists tell us about the ‘climate-smartness’ of CSA interventions or CSA in a specific location. In short, this pilot project intended to innovate on the ‘CSA technical brief’. This CSA-Xray examine the climate-smartness of interventions in Tanzania

Spatial patterns of tree yield explained by endogenous forces through a correspondence between the Ising model and ecology.

Spatial patterning of periodic dynamics is a dramatic and ubiquitous ecological phenomenon arising in systems ranging from diseases to plants to mammals. The degree to which spatial correlations in cyclic dynamics are the result of endogenous factors related to local dynamics vs. exogenous forcing has been one of the central questions in ecology for nearly a century. With the goal of obtaining a robust explanation for correlations over space and time in dynamics that would apply to many systems, we base our analysis on the Ising model of statistical physics, which provides a fundamental mechanism of spatial patterning. We show, using 5 y of data on over 6,500 trees in a pistachio orchard, that annual nut production, in different years, exhibits both large-scale synchrony and self-similar, power-law decaying correlations consistent with the Ising model near criticality. Our approach demonstrates the possibility that short-range interactions can lead to long-range correlations over space and time of cyclic dynamics even in the presence of large environmental variability. We propose that root grafting could be the common mechanism leading to positive short-range interactions that explains the ubiquity of masting, correlated seed production over space through time, by trees

The ‘CSA Papers’: Call for Book Chapter Proposals

The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), in collaboration with the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) invites scientists and development actors to submit applications for publication of book chapter in an open-access book investigating obstacles to scaling up climate-smart agriculture (CSA), The CSA Papers

The CSA Papers: Critical investigations to support climate-smart agriculture development. An effort to analyze, publish, and present previously unreleased data on CSA

The CSA Papers aim to generate critical insights into five key areas of CSA based on unpublished scientific information. Contributors of Papers will participate in a writeshop, be provided honoraria, and be eligible for travel grants to showcase their work

Collecting development data with mobile phones: Key considerations from a review of the evidence

Growth in mobile phone access and ownership presents an opportunity to collect more data, more frequently, from more people, and for less money. There are multiple ways to collect data with mobile phones (SMS, voice calls, etc.), each with particular strengths and weaknesses. n The best mode of data collection depends on the characteristics of the target population (e.g. literacy, network access, acceptability of using mobile phones, etc.) and of the data to be collected (e.g. quantitative vs. qualitative, number of questions, sensitivity of information, etc)

Suitability of project M&E systems to support agricultural MRV: The case of the Kenya dairy NAMA

Several countries are developing nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) in the livestock sector. Compared to research on emission factors, much less attention has been paid to understanding systems for collecting activity data on change in livestock management practices and animal performance. This paper presents a framework for synthetic assessment of MRV systems based on UNFCCC criteria for credible MRV. The framework is applied to case studies of two existing monitoring and evaluation systems in Kenya’s dairy sector to investigate the extent to which these systems could be used as the basis for collection and reporting of activity data for a dairy sector NAMA in Kenya. Analysis of the case studies highlights three main findings: (i) codifying data collection, management procedures and roles is important for increasing transparency, while quality control and quality assurance systems play key roles in increasing confidence in data quality; (ii) milk yield is a key indicator used in estimating GHG emissions in the dairy sector, but further research is needed on potential sources of uncertainty and bias associated with different data collection methods; (iii) the involvement of multiple institutions in implementation of the sector- wide NAMA raises challenges related to the consistency and comparability between data collected by different institutions. Options for improvement in MRV practices will be determined to a large extent by the requirements of data users. These issues are not unique to Kenya’s dairy NAMA. Further assessment of the quality of activity data and the characteristics of credible MRV systems will support practical improvements in MRV for agricultural mitigation actions

Evidence for Resilient Agriculture (ERA): What is it?

The livelihoods of hundreds of millions of rural families depend on farming. In many cases, farmers manage their crops, livestock and trees in ways that have not changed for decades. Under new climate conditions, the practices—particularly in sub-Saharan Africa— often result in low yields, which jeopardize food security, nutrition, health and economic development. With so much riding on agriculture, transforming how agriculture is practiced and how food is produced is critical to future rural livelihoods. The vast number of agricultural management options available and the equally rich set of possible results from using them create challenges in identifying what will work where and at what costs. Such insights are critical for unlocking transformative solutions for smallholder farmers, who need to adapt resource management strategies and be better prepared to manage risks. To close information loopholes, scientists at World Agroforestry (ICRAF) developed “Evidence for Resilience Agriculture” (ERA), a metadataset and analytical engine built to explore questions on the performance and effects of agricultural practices on productivity, resilience and climate change mitigation outcomes

Reflections on monitoring and evaluating climate adaptation

Learning session on climate change adaptation metrics for smallholder agriculture, organized by BMGF and TN