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This chapter focuses on the evaluation of adaptive capacities of community-level human systems related to agriculture and food security. It highlights findings regarding approaches and domains to monitor and evaluate behavioral changes from CGIAR’s research program on climate change, agriculture and food security (CCAFS). This program, implemented in five West African countries, is intended to enhance adaptive capacities in agriculture management of natural resources and food systems. In support of participatory action research on climate-smart agriculture, a monitoring and evaluation plan was designed with the participation of all stakeholders to track changes in behavior of the participating community members. Individuals’ and groups’ stories of changes were collected using most significant change tools. The collected stories of changes were substantiated through field visits and triangulation techniques. Frequencies of the occurrence of characteristics of behavioral changes in the stories were estimated. The results show that smallholder farmers in the intervention areas adopted various characteristics of behavior change grouped into five domains: knowledge, practices, access to assets, partnership and organization. These characteristics can help efforts to construct quantitative indicators of climate change adaptation at local level. Further, the results suggest that application of behavioral change theories can facilitate the development of climate change adaptation indicators that are complementary to indicators of development outcomes. We conclude that collecting stories on behavioral changes can contribute to biophysical adaptation monitoring and evaluation.

The impacts of increasing natural climate disasters are threatening food security in the Asia-Pacific region. Rice is Asia’s most important staple food. Climate variability and change directly impact rice production, through changes in rainfall, temperature and CO2 concentrations. The key for sustainable rice crop is water management. Adaptation can occur through shifts of cropping to higher latitudes and can profit from river systems (via irrigation) so far not considered. New opportunities arise to produce more than one crop per year in cooler areas. Asian wheat production in 2005 represents about 43 % of the global total. Changes in agronomic practices, such as earlier plant dates and cultivar substitution will be required. Fisheries play a crucial role in providing food security with the contribution of fish to dietary animal protein being very high in the region – up to 90 % in small island developing states (SIDS). With the warming of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and increased acidification, marine ecosystems are presently under stress. Despite these trends, maintaining or enhancing food production from the sea is critical. However, future sustainability must be maintained whilst also securing biodiversity conservation. Improved fisheries management to address the existing non-climate threats remains paramount in the Indian and Pacific Oceans with sustainable management regimes being established. Climate-related impacts are expected to increase in magnitude over the coming decades, thus preliminary adaptation to climate change is valuable.

The basins of the Indus and Ganges rivers cover 2.20 million km2 and are inhabited by more than a billion people. The region is under extreme pressures of population and poverty, unregulated utilization of the resources and low levels of productivity. The needs are: (1) development policies that are regionally differentiated to ensure resource sustainability and high productivity; (2) immediate development and implementation of policies for sound groundwater management and energy use; (3) improvement of the fragile food security and to broaden its base; and (4) policy changes to address land fragmentation and improved infrastructure. Meeting these needs will help to improve productivity, reduce rural poverty and improve overall human development.

Abstract This study estimated the economic value of agricultural climate services for strengthening the resilience of smallholder farmers to climate variability and risks in Ethiopia. Using a choice experiment approach, the study introduced a hypothetical package of improved climate services to 600 randomly selected smallholder farmers in three districts across three different agro-ecological zones in the Oromia Regional State. A generalized multinomial logit (G-MNL) model was used to estimate preferred attributes of climate services and willingness-to-pay (WTP) values. The results show that the preferred bundle of improved climate services among smallholder farmers was one that could be communicated in short text message system, provided along with credit facility, and market information and one that favors participatory decision making by smallholders. The results further reveal that the WTP value exhibited high implicit price for participatory decision-making. The study sheds light on important characteristics of agricultural climate services that may improve their acceptability and usability among smallholders. It also highlights the importance of packaging additional services including digital and ICT-based solutions, financial and market information along with climate services to promote demand-driven last mile delivery systems. Engaging smallholder farmers in a participatory manner in the decision-making process can help them make informed decision.

La production animale est une source essentielle de revenus et d'émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES) agricoles en Colombie, au Brésil, en Argentine, au Costa Rica, en Uruguay, au Mexique et au Pérou. Plusieurs options de gestion et technologiques, avec un potentiel d'atténuation du méthane entérique, ont été évaluées et leur mise à l'échelle devrait contribuer à la réalisation des objectifs de réduction des émissions de GES. Pourtant, l'adoption généralisée d'options d'atténuation prometteuses reste limitée, ce qui soulève des questions quant à savoir si les objectifs de réduction des émissions envisagés sont réalisables. À l'aide de données générées localement, nous explorons les potentiels d'atténuation des technologies et des pratiques de gestion actuellement proposées pour atténuer les émissions de méthane entérique, pour les systèmes de production bovine dans les pays d'Amérique latine les plus émetteurs. Nous discutons ensuite des obstacles à l'adoption d'innovations qui réduisent considérablement les émissions de méthane entérique d'origine bovine et des changements majeurs dans les politiques et les pratiques qui sont nécessaires pour relever les ambitions nationales dans les pays à forte émission. En utilisant la science la plus récente et la pensée actuelle, nous fournissons notre point de vue sur une approche inclusive et ré-imaginons comment les secteurs universitaire, de la recherche, des affaires et des politiques publiques peuvent soutenir et encourager les changements nécessaires pour élever le niveau d'ambition et atteindre les objectifs de développement durable en envisageant des actions allant de la ferme à l'échelle nationale. La producción ganadera es una fuente fundamental de ingresos y emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) agrícolas en Colombia, Brasil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Uruguay, México y Perú. Se han evaluado varias opciones de gestión y tecnológicas, con potencial de mitigación de metano entérico, y se prevé que su escalado contribuya al logro de los objetivos de reducción de emisiones de GEI. Sin embargo, la adopción generalizada de opciones de mitigación prometedoras sigue siendo limitada, lo que plantea dudas sobre si los objetivos de reducción de emisiones previstos son alcanzables. Utilizando datos generados localmente, exploramos los potenciales de mitigación de las tecnologías y prácticas de manejo actualmente propuestas para mitigar las emisiones de metano entérico, para los sistemas de producción ganadera en los países de mayor emisión de América Latina. Luego discutimos las barreras para adoptar innovaciones que reduzcan significativamente las emisiones de metano entérico en el ganado y los cambios importantes en las políticas y prácticas que se necesitan para aumentar las ambiciones nacionales en los países con altas emisiones. Utilizando la ciencia más reciente y el pensamiento actual, brindamos nuestra perspectiva sobre un enfoque inclusivo y reimaginamos cómo los sectores académico, de investigación, empresarial y de políticas públicas pueden apoyar e incentivar los cambios necesarios para elevar el nivel de ambición y alcanzar los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible considerando acciones desde la granja hasta la escala nacional. Livestock production is a pivotal source of income and agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Mexico and Peru. Several management and technological options, with enteric methane mitigation potential, have been evaluated and their scaling is anticipated to contribute towards achieving GHG emission reduction targets. Yet, widespread adoption of promising mitigation options remains limited, raising questions as to whether envisaged emission reduction targets are achievable. Using locally generated data, we explore the mitigation potentials of technologies and management practices currently proposed to mitigate enteric methane emissions, for cattle production systems in the higher emitting countries of Latin America. We then discuss barriers for adopting innovations that significantly reduce cattle-based enteric methane emissions and the major shifts in policy and practice that are needed to raise national ambitions in the high emitting countries. Using the latest science and current thinking, we provide our perspective on an inclusive approach and re-imagine how the academic, research, business and public policy sectors can support and incentivize the changes needed to raise the level of ambition and achieve sustainable development goals considering actions all the way from the farm to the national scale. الإنتاج الحيواني هو مصدر محوري للدخل وانبعاثات غازات الدفيئة الزراعية في كولومبيا والبرازيل والأرجنتين وكوستاريكا وأوروغواي والمكسيك وبيرو. تم تقييم العديد من خيارات الإدارة والخيارات التكنولوجية، مع إمكانية تخفيف الميثان المعوي، ومن المتوقع أن يساهم قياسها في تحقيق أهداف خفض انبعاثات غازات الدفيئة. ومع ذلك، لا يزال الاعتماد الواسع النطاق لخيارات التخفيف الواعدة محدودًا، مما يثير تساؤلات حول ما إذا كانت أهداف خفض الانبعاثات المتوخاة قابلة للتحقيق. باستخدام البيانات التي تم إنشاؤها محليًا، نستكشف إمكانات التخفيف من التقنيات وممارسات الإدارة المقترحة حاليًا للتخفيف من انبعاثات الميثان المعوية، لأنظمة إنتاج الماشية في البلدان ذات الانبعاثات الأعلى في أمريكا اللاتينية. ثم نناقش العوائق التي تحول دون اعتماد الابتكارات التي تقلل بشكل كبير من انبعاثات الميثان المعوي القائم على الماشية والتحولات الرئيسية في السياسات والممارسات اللازمة لرفع الطموحات الوطنية في البلدان ذات الانبعاثات العالية. باستخدام أحدث العلوم والتفكير الحالي، نقدم وجهة نظرنا حول نهج شامل ونعيد تصور كيف يمكن للقطاعات الأكاديمية والبحثية وقطاع الأعمال والسياسة العامة دعم وتحفيز التغييرات اللازمة لرفع مستوى الطموح وتحقيق أهداف التنمية المستدامة مع الأخذ في الاعتبار الإجراءات على طول الطريق من المزرعة إلى النطاق الوطني.

Coupling technological advances with sociocultural and policy changes can transform agri-food systems to address pressing climate, economic, environmental, health and social challenges. An international expert panel reports on options to induce contextualized combinations of innovations that can balance multiple goals.

Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are particularly vulnerable to climate change, given dependence on agricultural production and limited adaptive capacity. Based on farm household and Participatory Rural Appraisal data collected from districts in various agroecological zones in Kenya, this paper examines farmers' perceptions of climate change, ongoing adaptation measures, and factors influencing farmers' decisions to adapt. The results show that households face considerable challenges in adapting to climate change. While many households have made small adjustments to their farming practices in response to climate change (in particular, changing planting decisions), few households are able to make more costly investments, for example in agroforestry or irrigation, although there is a desire to invest in such measures. This emphasizes the need for greater investments in rural and agricultural development to support the ability of households to make strategic, long-term decisions that affect their future well-being.

The first decade of the new millennium saw a boom in rubber prices. This led to rapid and widespread land conversion to monoculture rubber plantations in continental SE Asia, where natural rubber production has increased >50% since 2000. Here, we analyze the subsequent spread of rubber between 2005 and 2010 in combination with environmental data and reports on rubber plantation performance. We show that rubber has been planted into increasingly sub-optimal environments. Currently, 72% of plantation area is in environmentally marginal zones where reduced yields are likely. An estimated 57% of the area is susceptible to insufficient water availability, erosion, frost, or wind damage, all of which may make long-term rubber production unsustainable. In 2013 typhoons destroyed plantations worth US$ >250 million in Vietnam alone, and future climate change is likely to lead to a net exacerbation of environmental marginality for both current and predicted future rubber plantation area. New rubber plantations are also frequently placed on lands that are important for biodiversity conservation and ecological functions. For example, between 2005 and 2010 >2500 km(2) of natural tree cover and 610 km(2) of protected areas were converted to plantations. Overall, expansion into marginal areas creates potential for loss-loss scenarios: clearing of high-biodiversity value land for economically unsustainable plantations that are poorly adapted to local conditions and alter landscape functions (e.g. hydrology, erosion) - ultimately compromising livelihoods, particularly when rubber prices fall. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.