• Energy Research

Central American countries, particularly Guatemala, are experiencing extreme climate events which are disproportionately affecting agriculture and subsequently rural livelihoods. Governments are taking action to address climatic threats, but they need tools to assess the impact of policies and interventions aiming to decrease the impacts of climate change on agriculture. This research, conducted with national policy makers and climate change and agriculture stakeholders in Guatemala, provides a comparative analysis of eight climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices and technologies associated with the smallholder maize-beans production system in the Dry Corridor. The practices were identified as high-interest for investment by national stakeholders. CSA practices and technologies aim to improve food security, resilience, and low emissions development, where possible and appropriate. The paper assesses the cost-benefit profile of the introduction of CSA options into farm production systems. Indicators related to profitability and valuation of environmental and social externalities are used to assess options. Probabilistic cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is used to address field variability and high uncertainty around parameter values. All practices except one were profitable over their lifecycle, with some practices, expected to be ideal for drought prone areas, presenting a higher risk for adoption. The results were discussed with national stakeholders who established best-bet CSA investment portfolios. This paper argues that a thorough understanding of the costs and benefits of potential CSA options is needed to channel investments effectively and efficiently towards both short- and long-term interventions and should be coupled with broader assessment of trade-offs between CSA outcomes.

L'augmentation des risques météorologiques menace les systèmes de production agricole et la sécurité alimentaire dans le monde entier. Maintenir la croissance agricole tout en minimisant les chocs climatiques est crucial pour construire un système de production alimentaire résilient et atteindre les objectifs de développement dans les pays vulnérables. Les experts ont proposé plusieurs interventions technologiques, institutionnelles et politiques pour aider les agriculteurs à s'adapter à la variabilité climatique actuelle et future et à atténuer les émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES). Ce document présente le village intelligent face au climat (CSV) comme moyen d'effectuer de la recherche agricole pour le développement qui teste de manière robuste les options technologiques et institutionnelles pour faire face à la variabilité climatique et au changement climatique dans l'agriculture en utilisant des méthodes participatives.Il vise à étendre et à étendre les options appropriées et à tirer des leçons pour les décideurs politiques du niveau local au niveau mondial.L' approche intègre l'évaluation des technologies, des pratiques, des services et des processus climato-intelligents pertinents pour la gestion des risques climatiques locaux et identifie les possibilités de maximiser les gains d'adaptation des synergies entre les différentes interventions et de reconnaître les mésadaptations et les compromis potentiels.Il veille à ce que ceux-ci soient alignés sur les connaissances locales et liés aux plans de développement.Ce document décrit les premiers résultats en Asie., l'Afrique et l'Amérique latine pour illustrer différents exemples de l'approche CSV dans divers contextes agroécologiques. Les résultats des études initiales indiquent que l'approche CSV a un fort potentiel pour étendre les technologies, les pratiques et les services agricoles climato-intelligents prometteurs. Les études analogiques climatiques indiquent que les leçons apprises sur les sites CSV seraient pertinentes pour la planification de l'adaptation dans une grande partie des terres agricoles mondiales, même dans les scénarios de changement climatique. Les principaux obstacles et possibilités de travail ultérieur sont également discutés. El aumento de los riesgos climáticos amenaza los sistemas de producción agrícola y la seguridad alimentaria en todo el mundo. Mantener el crecimiento agrícola y minimizar los impactos climáticos es crucial para construir un sistema de producción de alimentos resiliente y cumplir los objetivos de desarrollo en los países vulnerables. Los expertos han propuesto varias intervenciones tecnológicas, institucionales y políticas para ayudar a los agricultores a adaptarse a la variabilidad climática actual y futura y mitigar las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI). Este documento presenta la aldea climáticamente inteligente (CSV) como un medio para realizar investigación agrícola para el desarrollo que pruebe de manera sólida las opciones tecnológicas e institucionales para hacer frente a la variabilidad climática y el cambio climático en la agricultura utilizando métodos participativos. Su objetivo es ampliar y ampliar las opciones apropiadas y extraer lecciones para los responsables de la formulación de políticas a nivel local y global. El enfoque incorpora la evaluación de tecnologías, prácticas, servicios y procesos climáticamente inteligentes relevantes para la gestión local del riesgo climático e identifica oportunidades para maximizar los beneficios de adaptación de las sinergias en diferentes intervenciones y reconocer posibles inadaptaciones y compensaciones. Se asegura de que estén alineados con el conocimiento local y se vinculen con los planes de desarrollo. Este documento describe los primeros resultados en Asia, África y América Latina para ilustrar diferentes ejemplos del enfoque CSV en diversos entornos agroecológicos. Los resultados de los estudios iniciales indican que el enfoque CSV tiene un alto potencial para ampliar las prometedoras tecnologías, prácticas y servicios agrícolas climáticamente inteligentes. Los estudios analógicos climáticos indican que las lecciones aprendidas en los sitios CSV serían relevantes para la planificación de la adaptación en una gran parte de las tierras agrícolas mundiales, incluso en escenarios de cambio climático. También se discuten las barreras clave y las oportunidades para seguir trabajando. Increasing weather risks threaten agricultural production systems and food security across the world.Maintaining agricultural growth while minimizing climate shocks is crucial to building a resilient food production system and meeting developmental goals in vulnerable countries.Experts have proposed several technological, institutional, and policy interventions to help farmers adapt to current and future weather variability and to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.This paper presents the climate-smart village (CSV) approach as a means of performing agricultural research for development that robustly tests technological and institutional options for dealing with climatic variability and climate change in agriculture using participatory methods.It aims to scale up and scale out the appropriate options and draw out lessons for policy makers from local to global levels.The approach incorporates evaluation of climate-smart technologies, practices, services, and processes relevant to local climatic risk management and identifies opportunities for maximizing adaptation gains from synergies across different interventions and recognizing potential maladaptation and trade-offs.It ensures that these are aligned with local knowledge and link into development plans.This paper describes early results in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to illustrate different examples of the CSV approach in diverse agroecological settings.Results from initial studies indicate that the CSV approach has a high potential for scaling out promising climate-smart agricultural technologies, practices, and services.Climate analog studies indicate that the lessons learned at the CSV sites would be relevant to adaptation planning in a large part of global agricultural land even under scenarios of climate change.Key barriers and opportunities for further work are also discussed. تهدد مخاطر الطقس المتزايدة أنظمة الإنتاج الزراعي والأمن الغذائي في جميع أنحاء العالم. يعد الحفاظ على النمو الزراعي مع تقليل الصدمات المناخية أمرًا بالغ الأهمية لبناء نظام إنتاج غذائي مرن وتحقيق الأهداف الإنمائية في البلدان المعرضة للخطر. اقترح الخبراء العديد من التدخلات التكنولوجية والمؤسسية والسياساتية لمساعدة المزارعين على التكيف مع تقلبات الطقس الحالية والمستقبلية والتخفيف من انبعاثات غازات الدفيئة. تعرض هذه الورقة القرية الذكية مناخيًا (CSV) نهج كوسيلة لإجراء البحوث الزراعية من أجل التنمية التي تختبر بقوة الخيارات التكنولوجية والمؤسسية للتعامل مع التقلبات المناخية وتغير المناخ في الزراعة باستخدام الأساليب التشاركية. ويهدف إلى توسيع نطاق الخيارات المناسبة وتوسيع نطاقها واستخلاص الدروس لصانعي السياسات من المستويات المحلية إلى العالمية. يتضمن النهج تقييم التقنيات والممارسات والخدمات والعمليات الذكية مناخياً ذات الصلة بإدارة المخاطر المناخية المحلية ويحدد فرص تحقيق أقصى قدر من مكاسب التكيف من أوجه التآزر عبر التدخلات المختلفة والاعتراف بسوء التكيف والمقايضات المحتملة. ويضمن توافقها مع المعرفة المحلية وربطها بخطط التنمية. تصف هذه الورقة النتائج المبكرة في آسيا وأفريقيا وأمريكا اللاتينية لتوضيح أمثلة مختلفة لنهج CSV في بيئات زراعية إيكولوجية متنوعة. تشير نتائج الدراسات الأولية إلى أن نهج CSV لديه إمكانات عالية لتوسيع نطاق التقنيات والممارسات والخدمات الزراعية الواعدة الذكية مناخياً. تشير الدراسات التناظرية المناخية إلى أن الدروس المستفادة في مواقع CSV ستكون ذات صلة بتخطيط التكيف في جزء كبير من الأراضي الزراعية العالمية حتى في ظل سيناريوهات تغير المناخ. كما تتم مناقشة الحواجز الرئيسية وفرص المزيد من العمل.

Il existe un large consensus sur le fait que les systèmes alimentaires actuels ne sont pas sur une trajectoire durable qui nous permettra d'atteindre les objectifs de développement durable d'ici 2030, en particulier face au changement climatique anthropique. Guidés par l'examen de certaines reconfigurations des systèmes alimentaires dans le passé, nous décrivons un programme de travail autour de quatre domaines d'action : réacheminer les anciens systèmes vers de nouvelles trajectoires ; réduire les risques ; minimiser l'empreinte environnementale des systèmes alimentaires ; et réaligner les catalyseurs du changement nécessaires pour faire fonctionner les nouveaux systèmes alimentaires. Ici, nous mettons en évidence les leviers des systèmes alimentaires qui, avec les activités dans ces quatre domaines d'action, peuvent faire évoluer les systèmes alimentaires vers un avenir plus durable, inclusif, sain et résilient au climat. Ces actions, résumées ici, sont présentées sous une forme élargie dans un rapport d'une initiative internationale impliquant des centaines de parties prenantes pour reconfigurer les systèmes alimentaires. Existe un amplio acuerdo en que los sistemas alimentarios actuales no están en una trayectoria sostenible que nos permita alcanzar los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible para 2030, particularmente frente al cambio climático antropogénico. Guiados por una consideración de algunas reconfiguraciones de sistemas alimentarios en el pasado, esbozamos una agenda de trabajo en torno a cuatro áreas de acción: redirigir los sistemas antiguos a nuevas trayectorias; reducir los riesgos; minimizar la huella ambiental de los sistemas alimentarios; y realinear los facilitadores del cambio necesarios para que funcionen los nuevos sistemas alimentarios. Aquí destacamos las palancas de los sistemas alimentarios que, junto con las actividades dentro de estas cuatro áreas de acción, pueden cambiar los sistemas alimentarios hacia futuros más sostenibles, inclusivos, saludables y resilientes al clima. Estas acciones, resumidas aquí, se presentan de forma ampliada en un informe de una iniciativa internacional en la que participan cientos de partes interesadas para reconfigurar los sistemas alimentarios. There is broad agreement that current food systems are not on a sustainable trajectory that will enable us to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, particularly in the face of anthropogenic climate change. Guided by a consideration of some food system reconfigurations in the past, we outline an agenda of work around four action areas: rerouting old systems into new trajectories; reducing risks; minimising the environmental footprint of food systems; and realigning the enablers of change needed to make new food systems function. Here we highlight food systems levers that, along with activities within these four action areas, may shift food systems towards more sustainable, inclusive, healthy and climate-resilient futures. These actions, summarised here, are presented in extended form in a report of an international initiative involving hundreds of stakeholders for reconfiguring food systems. هناك اتفاق واسع على أن النظم الغذائية الحالية ليست على مسار مستدام سيمكننا من الوصول إلى أهداف التنمية المستدامة بحلول عام 2030، لا سيما في مواجهة تغير المناخ الناجم عن الأنشطة البشرية. مسترشدين بالنظر في بعض عمليات إعادة تشكيل النظام الغذائي في الماضي، نحدد جدول أعمال للعمل حول أربعة مجالات عمل: إعادة توجيه الأنظمة القديمة إلى مسارات جديدة ؛ تقليل المخاطر ؛ تقليل البصمة البيئية للنظم الغذائية ؛ وإعادة تنظيم عوامل التمكين للتغيير اللازمة لجعل النظم الغذائية الجديدة تعمل. هنا نسلط الضوء على روافع النظم الغذائية التي، إلى جانب الأنشطة ضمن مجالات العمل الأربعة هذه، قد تحول النظم الغذائية نحو مستقبل أكثر استدامة وشمولية وصحة ومرونة تجاه المناخ. يتم تقديم هذه الإجراءات، الملخصة هنا، في شكل موسع في تقرير عن مبادرة دولية تضم مئات أصحاب المصلحة لإعادة تشكيل النظم الغذائية.

Human activities and their relation with land, through agriculture and forestry, are significantly impacting Earth system functioning. Specifically, agriculture has increasingly become a key sector for adaptation and mitigation initiatives that address climate change and help ensure food security for a growing global population. Climate change and agricultural outcomes influence our ability to reach targets for at least seven of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. By 2015, 103 nations had committed themselves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, while 102 countries had prioritized agriculture in their adaptation agenda. Adaptation and mitigation actions within agriculture still receive insufficient support across scales, from local to international level. This paper reviews a series of climate change adaptation and mitigation options that can support increased production, production efficiency and greater food security for 9 billion people by 2050. Climate-smart agriculture can help foster synergies between productivity, adaptation, and mitigation, although trade-offs may be equally apparent. This study highlights the importance of identifying and exploiting those synergies in the context of Nationally Determined Contributions. Finally, the paper points out that keeping global warming to 2 °C above pre-industrial levels by 2100 requires going beyond the agriculture sector and exploring possibilities with respect to reduced emissions from deforestation, food loss, and waste, as well as from rethinking human diets.

The 2015 Paris Agreement was adopted at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In the run-up to COP 21, most UNFCCC Parties put forward intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs), containing mitigation pledges. These INDCs are now being confirmed as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), as governments formally ratify the Paris Agreement. NDCs are supposed to provide transparent, quantifiable, comparable, and verifiable mitigation objectives. However, there is neither methodological nor data consistency in the way Parties have prepared their NDCs. This article showcases recent collaboration among research, government, and private institutions that contributed to the Colombian NDC. While documenting the novel research, data, and rich web of collaboration that helped the Colombian government prepare the country’s NDC, this article links this specific case with the challenges of policy oriented and interactive models of research. Our experience confirms previous research on the importance of stakeholder interaction, transparency and openness of processes, and willingness to break disciplinary and institutional barriers. In addition, the experience points to the importance of having appropriate available resources and a local institution acting as champion for the project.

Circular food systems are increasingly acknowledged for their potential to contribute to the transition towards sustainable futures. In a circular food system, the use of finite and limited resources is minimized, and nutrients in residual streams and inedible biomass for humans are reused as inputs in the bioeconomy. Livestock has become relevant in this narrative for upcycling nutrients contained in food by-products and grass resources into nutritious food for humans without using human-edible resources. Evaluating on-going national sustainability initiatives in the livestock sector is key to determine if circularity elements are already represented and to identify new opportunities and pathways for the future. In this paper we synthetize the environmental actions promoted by different initiatives driving the sustainable transformation of Colombian cattle production systems and assess the inclusion of circularity elements in these actions. The proposed environmental actions were concentrated in the conservation of remaining natural ecosystems, zero-deforestation and the sustainable intensification of cattle production through silvopastoral and paddock rotational systems. Circularity was addressed by some initiatives via the use organic fertilizers and the use of manure as fertilizers or feedstock for bioenergy generation. However, given that cattle farming is often practiced in low-input systems where the collection of by-products for reutilization (e.g., manure) is not always feasible, these actions are expected to have limited impact in the sector. Silvopastoral systems can positively promote circularity by creating the conditions for internal nutrient recycling via litterfall, biological nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization, and presence of beneficial insects. However, to avoid food-feed competition and to remain circular, these should only be installed in agricultural areas unsuitable for crop production. In areas where crops can grow, other production systems that prioritize the production of plant biomass for human consumption (i.e., agrosilvopastoral systems, mixed crop-livestock systems or forms of crop intercropping) should be considered.

The challenges facing agriculture in the coming decades are daunting. Recent research suggests that the impacts of climate change on agriculture and food systems may be wider-ranging than previously understood. Can feasible pathways to a food secure and sustainable future be identified? The scale of change required to meet the sustainable development goals, including those of no poverty, zero hunger and the urgent action needed to address climate change, will necessitate the transformation of local and global food systems. We identify eight elements of a theory of change to drive such transformation and highlight four pathways by which transformation may occur. We conclude with some suggestions for ‘business unusual’ for agricultural research for development.