Climate change: Call for UN to act on food security

Download the Author's version for free. Author's version is the pre-refereed version of the final submitted article.Adaptation must become a priority for policymakers around the world. Research and other initiatives must begin now as they can take up to 20 years to deliver results

Lessons learnt from CCAFS - 10 years scaling climate-smart agriculture: Insights from the review of CCAFS scaling activities, 2019

This Info Note is based on the insights of the CCAFS core team, lessons shared by project leaders via the MARLO, and interviewees from the following CGIAR centers and partners: Bioversity, CIAT, CIMMYT, CIP, ICARDA, ICRAF, ICRISAT, IFPRI, IITA, ILRI, IRRI, IWMI, WorldFish, and WUR. After ten years’ implementation, lessons learnt of practitioners validate two concepts that CCAFS has used and developed for scaling CSA: the Three-Thirds Principle for effective science-policy engagement (Dinesh et al. 2018) applies widely for scaling CSA, when adding the element of iterative learning; and the LearningWheel with 11 cornerstones for effective research and development to improve livelihoods and the environment (Campbell et al. 2006) is a useful framework for managing not only R4D, but also scaling processes

The Scaling Mindset – Shifting from Problems to Solutions. Insights from the Review of CCAFS Scaling Activities, 2019

In the frame of the review of CCAFS scaling activities in 2019, 21 project leaders and –implementers were interviewed about their scaling processes, touching a series of aspects that had been identified as crucial and/or critical by earlier research. Results were analysed with a systemic approach, to draw organisational learnings. The findings were validated with CCAFS core team during their Scaling Workshop in Madrid, May 2019, in which the Core Team also prioritized its programmatic areas of response. This working paper captures the main insights and learnings from both the interviews on project level, followed by the results’ analysis. It then summarized the Core Team workshop’s main discussion points and shortly outlines the programmatic areas of response that CCAFS identified. The learnings and insights on the realities of scaling agricultural innovations presented in this working paper can provide a rich basis for further synthesis and/or deeper research on the different aspects of innovation development and scaling

Special issue on climate-smart agriculture (CSA)

CSA strategies, policies, partnerships and investments; ‘CSA-Plan’: strategies to put CSA into practice; The mitigation pillar of CSA; Agricultural diversification as an adaptation strategy; Climate services and insurance: scaling; CSA Closing the gender gap in agriculture under climate change; How can the Data Revolution contribute to climate action?; Climate change and CSA in the current political climat

Ten principles for effective AR4D programs

Effective agricultural research for development (AR4D) faces many challenges that are exacerbated under climate change. Effective behaviours by AR4D programs may drive the likelihood and quality of positive outcomes when working with partners.Explicit principles about effective behaviours can improve AR4D theories of change and enhance achievement of outcomes. Internal learning over four years of CCAFS implementation suggests ten principles to guide the program and explore which behaviours are most effective

How many farmers in 2030 and how many will adopt climate resilient innovations?

Despite an increasingly urbanized world, the number of smallholder farmers will continue growing fast, from 550 million farms today to roughly 750 million by 2030. In the past 15 years, the adoption of agricultural innovations among smallholder farmers was low, commonly ranging between 0 and 15%. Climate change, land degradation, steady urbanization, population growth and other global changes means smallholder agriculture has to rapidly evolve, has to adopt climate-resilient technologies on a large scale, and make the most of social and economic innovations. We can learn from and replicate the successful examples of scaling up of innovations such as mobile technologies and services, so that many smallholder farmers become climate resilient by 2030. 

RELATIVE EFFICIENCY OF SEQUESTERING CARBON IN AGRICULTURAL SOILS THROUGH SECOND BEST MARKET-BASED INSTRUMENTS

The total expected cost of sequestering carbon in agricultural soils is estimated under a possible EQIP program offering a per-acre subsidy to adopt conservation tillage and a carbon credit program where producers can sell their carbon credit in an external market. Both programs are compared to the minimum cost solution.Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Geologic Studies of Planetary Surfaces Using Radar Polarimetric Imaging

Radar is a useful remote sensing tool for studying planetary geology because it is sensitive to the composition, structure, and roughness of the surface and can penetrate some materials to reveal buried terrain. The Arecibo Observatory radar system transmits a single sense of circular polarization, and both senses of circular polarization are received, which allows for the construction of the Stokes polarization vector. From the Stokes vector, daughter products such as the circular polarization ratio, the degree of linear polarization, and linear polarization angle are obtained. Recent polarimetric imaging using Arecibo has included Venus and the Moon. These observations can be compared to radar data for terrestrial surfaces to better understand surface physical properties and regional geologic evolution. For example, polarimetric radar studies of volcanic settings on Venus, the Moon and Earth display some similarities, but also illustrate a variety of different emplacement and erosion mechanisms. Polarimetric radar data provides important information about surface properties beyond what can be obtained from single-polarization radar. Future observations using polarimetric synthetic aperture radar will provide information on roughness, composition and stratigraphy that will support a broader interpretation of surface evolution