Laura Cramer

Back to baselines: measuring change and sharing data

International research for development is under increasing pressure to demonstrate development outcomes that enhance people’s food security and well-being while preserving the natural resource base. The CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) integrates thematic research at several levels with multiple global, regional and local partners, with the aim of identifying and testing pro-poor adaptation and mitigation practices, technologies and policies for food systems, adaptive capacity and rural livelihoods. We describe a process to design and implement baselines across 2,095 households and 108 villages spread over 15 sites in 12 countries of West and East Africa and South Asia, and to archive, document and analyse the data and make them publicly available. We critically examine the process in relation to design, institutional arrangements, and partnerships. The process was long, complex and expensive. We share important lessons learned regarding how to obtain baseline data for rural populations in agricultural systems, as a basis for prioritising research and monitoring progress towards enhanced food security and increased household welfare, in part through uptake of sustainable changes in agricultural practices.

Connecting Women, Connecting Men How Communities and Organizations Interact to Strengthen Adaptive Capacity and Food Security in the Face of Climate Change

Abstract Given the different roles that women and men play in households and communities, strategies to improve food security and build adaptive capacity need to take gender differences into account. In many developing countries, local organizations have a role to play in it. However, the degree to which there is an overlap among the priorities of men, women, and organizations (including non-governmental bodies, local government offices, and other agencies working in the community) is not generally known, nor do we know whether organizations are strengthening the adaptive capacity of both men and women effectively and equally. Using gender-disaggregated data arising from community-level participatory research and organizational-level interviews from 15 sites across West Africa, East Africa, and South Asia, we conduct a cross-regional analysis of local organizational landscapes as they relate to livelihoods and food security. We find that in all regions, women tend to value local organizations more highly and thus appear to be less connected to external organizations than men. Additionally, women’s perception of food security is broader than men’s, going beyond a production focus. Most of the local organizations with food security as a stated objective focus on production, which can marginalize/alienate women. Given the effects that climate change is predicted to have on food security, development organizations should consider the differing priorities of men and women, and use a gendered perspective when building adaptive capacity to respond to climate change, and to maintain/improve food security. Such work can, perhaps, most effectively be implemented through existing community groups.

Transformation in Practice: A Review of Empirical Cases of Transformational Adaptation in Agriculture Under Climate Change

Incremental adaptation may be inadequate to deal with rapid shifts and tipping points for food production under climate change. The concepts of transformative and transformational adaptation have emerged in recent years to address the need for major, non-marginal transitions in sectors such as agriculture in response to climate change. However there is less empirical evidence of transformation in practice. Here we use a simple semi-quantitative definition to identify recorded cases of transformational adaptation in response to climate change. A structured search of academic literature found 23 empirical case studies that meet our criteria for transformation of agriculture under climate change: a response to climate risks along with a redistribution of at least a third in the primary factors of production (land, labour, capital) or the outputs and outcomes of production over a time period of 25 years or less. The case studies offer experience-based lessons on managing transformative processes in agriculture at all four stages of the adaptation cycle: understanding goals and objectives, developing a vision and pathway, implementing adaptation actions, and monitoring, evaluating and learning. In general, the case-study processes of transformation have diverged from well-managed, inclusive approaches based on foresight and continual learning. Our review provides little early evidence that transformative adaptation processes in response to climate change have generated more resilient agricultural systems or improvements in governance. Governments and development partners could improve the effectiveness of outcomes through providing more comprehensive and long-term approaches to adaptation planning alongside financial and technical assistance, within a framework that rewards farms as multi-functional systems.