Your search found 73 records
1 Thompson, W. J.; Blaser-Hart, W. J.; Joerin, J.; Krutli, P.; Dawoe, E.; Kopainsky, B.; Chavez, E.; Garrett, R. D.; Six, J. 2022. Can sustainability certification enhance the climate resilience of smallholder farmers? The case of Ghanaian cocoa. Journal of Land Use Science, 17(1):407-428. (Special issue: Women in Land Science) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/1747423X.2022.2097455]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051391)
(5.93 MB) (5.93 MB)
Sustainability certification has been posited as a key governance mechanism to enhance the climate resilience of smallholder farmers. Whilst many certifications now include climate resilience in their standards, their ability to deliver this for smallholders remains untested. We take the case of the 2015–16 drought-shock to cocoa production in Ghana to examine whether certification can enhance smallholder climate resilience. We used a novel transdisciplinary methodology combining participatory outcome definition with household surveys, biophysical measurements, satellite data and counterfactual analysis. Utilising our climate resilience framework, we find that certification has a strong effect on the adoption of basic management, e.g. fertilization, but a weak influence on more complex resilience strategies, e.g. agroforest diversification. Beyond certification, we identify strong regional patterns in resilience. These findings suggest that certification has some potential to enhance climate resilience but greater focus on facilitating diversification and adapting to sub-national contexts is required for improved effectiveness.
2 Hellin, J.; Amarnath, Giriraj; Challinor, A.; Fisher, E.; Girvetz, E.; Guo, Z.; Hodur, J.; Loboguerrero, A. M.; Pacillo, G.; Rose, S.; Schutz, T.; Valencia, L.; You, L. 2022. Transformative adaptation and implications for transdisciplinary climate change research. Environmental Research: Climate, 1(2):023001. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-5295/ac8b9d]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051430)
(0.70 MB) (719 KB)
The severity of the climate challenge requires a change in the climate response, from an incremental to a more far-reaching and radical transformative one. There is also a need to avoid maladaptation whereby responses to climate risk inadvertently reinforce vulnerability, exposure and risk for some sections of society. Innovative technological interventions are critical but enabling social, institutional and governance factors are the actual drivers of the transformative process. Bringing about this transformation requires inter- and transdisciplinary approaches, and the embracing of social equity. In this Perspective, we unpack what this means for agricultural research and, based on our collective experience, we map out a research agenda that weaves different research components into a holistic and transformative one. We do not offer best practice, but rather reflections on how agricultural research can more readily contribute to transformative adaptation, along with the personal and practical challenges of designing and implementing such an agenda.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051405)
(0.53 MB)
Pastoral women in the semi-arid rangelands of East Africa are significantly burdened by the vulnerability to and responsibility for responding to changing climates. Consequently, understanding how adaptation and coping strategies impact pastoral women's well-being is critical for supporting the climate resilience of communities and the landscapes on which they rely. We used a household survey, guided by a multi-dimensional framework of well-being, to investigate how the use of drought-related coping and adaptation strategies by Samburu households influenced livestock loss and women's well-being in northern Kenya. Coping and adaptation strategies predicted numerous social-cognitive components of well-being, although not livestock loss. We conjecture these results are a product of a gendered division of labor within households and the community. We argue that interventions aimed at supporting drought resilience must consider the gendered implications of climate response strategies, multiple indicators for evaluation, and the influence of community and place.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051407)
(8.19 MB) (8.19 MB)
The ability of businesses to adapt effectively to climate change is highly influenced by the external business enabling environment. Constraints to adaptive capacity are experienced by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across sub-Saharan Africa, regardless of the gender of the business owner. However, gender is a critical social cleavage through which differences in adaptive capacity manifest and in Africa most entrepreneurs are women. We conduct a systematic review to synthesize existing knowledge on differential vulnerability of female entrepreneurs in Africa to climate risk, in relation to their sensitivity to extreme climate events and their adaptive capacity. We synthesize this literature using a vulnerability analysis approach that situates vulnerability and adaptive capacity within the context of the wider climate risk framework denoted in the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. In doing so, we identify gendered barriers and enablers to private sector adaptation and suggest women entrepreneurs face a “triple differential vulnerability” to climate change, wherein they: (1) are often more sensitive to climate risk, as a result of their concentration in certain sectors and types of enterprises (e.g., micro SMEs in the agricultural sector in remote regions); (2) face additional barriers to adaptation in the business environment, including access to finance, technologies, (climate and adaptation) information and supportive policies; and (3) are also often concurrently on the frontline of managing climate risk at household levels. Since various forms of inequality often create compounding experiences of discrimination and vulnerability, we pay particular attention to how factors of differential vulnerability intersect, amplify, and reproduce.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051413)
(2.57 MB) (2.57 MB)
Adaptation is important in drylands to enhance the climate change resilience of inhabitants who depend on the environment for their livelihoods. Dryland farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have shown the ability to adapt to a changing climate in the past. However, anthropogenic climate change is leading to a more rapidly changing environment that will surpass farmers' previous experiences and capacity, making it harder for them to adapt. This systematic review of empirical studies of farmers’ adaptation in SSA drylands from 1990 to 2021 shows that farmers have used an array of strategies to respond to changes in their environment and climate based on local and scientific knowledge. Although both types of knowledge have their effectiveness, they also have gaps and challenges. Thus, there is growing evidence that farmers are integrating the two knowledge types to help them close the gaps in their knowledge and increase the effectiveness of adaptation strategies implemented. The review further reveals the existence of various enabling conditions for knowledge integration such as stakeholder engagement and buy-in, continuous learning and improvements, access to extension, and government, scientific and policy support. Other enabling conditions are the role of different institutions, market access, identification of existing practices, equitable access to natural resources, enforceable property rights and consistency of practices.
6 Chimonyo, V. G. P.; Chibarabada, T. P.; Choruma, D. J.; Kunz, R.; Walker, S.; Massawe, F.; Modi, A. T.; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe. 2022. Modelling neglected and underutilised crops: a systematic review of progress, challenges, and opportunities. Sustainability, 14(21):13931. (Special issue: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Mainstreaming Underutilized Crops) [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113931]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051496)
(0.91 MB) (930 KB)
Developing and promoting neglected and underutilised crops (NUS) is essential to building resilience and strengthening food systems. However, a lack of robust, reliable, and scalable evidence impedes the mainstreaming of NUS into policies and strategies to improve food and nutrition security. Well-calibrated and validated crop models can be useful in closing the gap by generating evidence at several spatiotemporal scales needed to inform policy and practice. We, therefore, assessed progress, opportunities, and challenges for modelling NUS using a systematic review. While several models have been calibrated for a range of NUS, few models have been applied to evaluate the growth, yield, and resource use efficiencies of NUS. The low progress in modelling NUS is due, in part, to the vast diversity found within NUS that available models cannot adequately capture. A general lack of research compounds this focus on modelling NUS, which is made even more difficult by a deficiency of robust and accurate ecophysiological data needed to parameterise crop models. Furthermore, opportunities exist for advancing crop model databases and knowledge by tapping into big data and machine learning.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051505)
(7.11 MB) (7.11 MB)
Study region: Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands of Vietnam
Study focus: Intensification of agriculture has resulted in unsustainably high levels of groundwater use in the Central Highlands. High monsoonal rainfall provides opportunities to boost groundwater storage through managed aquifer recharge (MAR), yet experience with MAR in the region is absent. In response, five farm-scale pilots were implemented in collaboration with local farmers whereby runoff from roofs and fields was recharged into shallow dug wells. The pilots were closely monitored over three years.
New hydrological insights for the region: MAR pilots exhibited large contrasts in performance, with volumes recharged ranging from 5 to 530 m3 per year. Pilot sites with cleaner roof runoff water performed best, whilst those using more turbid water from unpaved roads performed worst. Water quality analyses did not identify parameters of major concern for irrigation. Field data and modelling indicate that the size of the recharge water plumes are small relative to the high groundwater velocities making the recharge water difficult to recover from the recharge well in this setting. Water is however contained locally, providing potential for improved water availability within the local area. Farmer attitudes towards MAR vary in response to the technical performance and a range of socioeconomic factors. These findings may provide insights for researchers or practitioners from other regions where groundwater dependence is high but experience in MAR is lacking.
8 Al-Zu’bi, Maha; Dejene, S. W.; Hounkpe, J.; Kupika, O. L.; Lwasa, S.; Mbenge, M.; Mwongera, C.; Ouedraogo, N. S.; Toure, N. E. 2022. African perspectives on climate change research. Nature Climate Change, 12(12):1078-1084. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01519-x]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051556)
(2.02 MB) (2.02 MB)
The 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) is being held in November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Having a climate summit hosted in an African country makes it timely to highlight climate change research from the continent. We asked a selection of researchers to share their thoughts on current research questions and how they affect African responses to climate change.
9 Martin, M. A.; Boakye, E. A.; Boyd, E.; Broadgate, W.; Bustamante, M.; Canadell, J. G.; Carr, E. R.; Chu, E. K.; Cleugh, H.; Csevar, S.; Daoudy, M.; de Bremond, A.; Dhimal, M.; Ebi, K. L.; Edwards, C.; Fuss, S.; Girardin, M. P.; Glavovic, B.; Hebden, S.; Hirota, M.; Hsu, H.-H.; Huq, S.; Ingold, K.; Johannessen, O. M.; Kameyama, Y.; Kumarasinghe, N.; Langendijk, G. S.; Lissner, T.; Lwasa, S.; Machalaba, C.; Maltais, A.; Mathai, M. V.; Mbow, C.; McNamara, K. E.; Mukherji, Aditi; Murray, V.; Mysiak, J.; Okereke, C.; Ospina, D.; Otto, F.; Prakash, A.; Pulhin, J. M.; Raju, E.; Redman, A.; Rigaud, K. K.; Rockstrom, J.; Roy, J.; Schipper, E. L. F.; Schlosser, P.; Schulz, K. A.; Schumacher, K.; Schwarz, L.; Scown, M.; Sedova, B.; Siddiqui, T. A.; Singh, C.; Sioen, G. B.; Stammer, D.; Steinert, N. J.; Suk, S.; Sutton, R.; Thalheimer, L.; van Aalst, M.; van der Geest, K.; Zhao, Z. J. 2022. Ten new insights in climate science 2022. Global Sustainability, 5(e20):1-20. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/sus.2022.17]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051580)
(0.58 MB) (596 KB)
Non-technical summary:
We summarize what we assess as the past year's most important findings within climate change research: limits to adaptation, vulnerability hotspots, new threats coming from the climate–health nexus, climate (im)mobility and security, sustainable practices for land use and finance, losses and damages, inclusive societal climate decisions and ways to overcome structural barriers to accelerate mitigation and limit global warming to below 2°C.
Technical summary:
We synthesize 10 topics within climate research where there have been significant advances or emerging scientific consensus since January 2021. The selection of these insights was based on input from an international open call with broad disciplinary scope. Findings concern: (1) new aspects of soft and hard limits to adaptation; (2) the emergence of regional vulnerability hotspots from climate impacts and human vulnerability; (3) new threats on the climate–health horizon – some involving plants and animals; (4) climate (im)mobility and the need for anticipatory action; (5) security and climate; (6) sustainable land management as a prerequisite to land-based solutions; (7) sustainable finance practices in the private sector and the need for political guidance; (8) the urgent planetary imperative for addressing losses and damages; (9) inclusive societal choices for climate-resilient development and (10) how to overcome barriers to accelerate mitigation and limit global warming to below 2°C.
Social media summary:
Science has evidence on barriers to mitigation and how to overcome them to avoid limits to adaptation across multiple fields.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051608)
(0.45 MB)
Across the globe, the need to adapt is urgent. Coastal communities are particularly vulnerable to climate stressors such as rising sea levels and erosion, while more extreme and variable weather events interact to accentuate risk. While local governments are increasingly recognized as a central local actor in climate adaptation, research continues to focus on resilience at municipal or national levels of government, limiting circumstances for analysis of differing governance structure. Regional government structure can vary drastically, offering a novel opportunity to explore the effects of governance structure on local capacity for resilience. Framed through a resilience lens, this comparative qualitative study analyzes adaptation within two distinct regional governments, finding that unique structural attributes of regional governments can enable or constrain climate adaptation planning. For instance, increased adaptive capacity, through greater access to critical resources, can facilitate action. In contrast, implementation can be constrained by regional agent priorities and a lack of adaptation consideration in granular planning tools. This study sheds light on how to better utilize strengths of regional governments, and how to integrate interventions within broader policy frameworks to overcome common adaptation barriers.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051610)
(0.80 MB)
In this paper, we critically examine the gendered impacts of climatechange related extreme events upon workers in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. Climate change impacts disproportionately affect the livelihoods of women engaged in informal work like weaving from their homes and street vending. Existing research suggests that women are more likely to be among the most vulnerable in such extreme events as well as are vital agents to develop climate resilience within their communities. We draw upon unique quantitative and qualitative data to critically examine the lived experiences of female informal workers from Leh, Ladakh (India). Drawing on the work of Duchek (2020), we explore how women informal workers navigate their daily strategies of anticipating, coping, and adapting toward climate change. From this analysis, we offer novel empirical evidence about gendered climate resilience and suggest broad recommendations for building climate resilience within mountain communities.
12 Ires, Idil. 2022. Concept note for national policy hubs under Ukama Ustawi. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Initiative on Diversification in East and Southern Africa. 4p.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051678)
(271 KB)
National policy hubs aim to improve the enabling institutional and policy environment to guide climate-resilient agricultural transition in ESA. Specific hub activities can be described as the 4Ds (diagnose, design, develop, and deploy). Policy hubs diagnose the needs and knowledge gaps related to sustainable intensification and diversification of maize -mixed farming, de-risking through digitized agro-advisory services, agribusiness, empowerment, and multilevel scaling by aggregating research-based findings from the work packages and partners of Ukama Ustawi Initiative. This step is followed by designing and developing multistakeholder dialogues to communicate these findings with stakeholders, and consequently, informing policymaking and implementation on this basis. The first dialogue takes place in Zambia in August 2022, followed by Kenya and Zimbabwe. Finally, the hub will guide governments and other partners to deploy policies and strategies and follow up with policymaking and implementation through effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
13 Mateva, K. I.; Tan, X. L.; Halimi, R. A.; Chai, H. H.; Makonya, G. M.; Gao, X.; Shayanowako, A. I. T.; Ho, W. K.; Tanzi, A. S.; Farrant, J.; Mabhaudhi, T.; King, G. J.; Mayes, S.; Massawe, F. 2023. Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.). In Farooq, M.; Siddique, K. H. M. (Eds.). Neglected and underutilized crops: future smart food. London, UK: Academic Press. pp.557-615. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-90537-4.00021-1]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051766)
(0.79 MB)
Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) represents an untapped potential for developing robust food systems. This promising but underutilized African grain legume has high nutritional qualities comparable to popular and widely consumed legumes, as well as exceptional resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. In addition, the crop can grow on a range of soils, fix atmospheric nitrogen, and enhance soil fertility, making its production truly climate-resilient. Third to peanut (Arachis hypogaea L) and cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) in terms of production and consumption in sub-Saharan Africa, Bambara groundnut is set to increase in importance as current food production systems become more diverse, and this is also evident in the steady increase in yield and area harvested across the west, east, and southern Africa over the past 25 years. Despite these relevant characteristics, the potential of Bambara groundnut in improving food systems is hindered by a lack of agricultural policy around the value chain, consistent phenological development, i.e., sensitivity to long photoperiods, and a phenomenon referred to as hard-to-cook (HTC) during poststorage processing. Over the years, research efforts have led to a more optimistic outlook for Bambara groundnut’s ability to overcome these challenges. However, a concerted policy push by African governments, with technical and financial support from regional organizations, is still required to boost research uptake to realize the crop's full potential. This chapter provides comprehensive evidence of Bambara groundnut as a “future smart food.” It details the challenges that need to be addressed and production systems thinking solutions to harness the full potential of this less-mainstream crop.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H051770)
(5.44 MB)
15 Urfels, A.; Mausch, K.; Harris, D.; McDonald, A. J.; Kishore, A.; Balwinder-Singh; van Halsema, G.; Struik, P. C.; Craufurd, P.; Foster, T.; Singh, V.; Krupnik, T. 2023. Farm size limits agriculture's poverty reduction potential in Eastern India even with irrigation-led intensification. Agricultural Systems, 207:103618. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2023.103618]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051731)
(4.48 MB) (4.48 MB)
CONTEXT: Millions of people living in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGP) of India engage in agriculture to support their livelihoods yet are income poor, and food and climate insecure. To address these challenges, policymakers and development programs invest in irrigation-led agricultural intensification. However, the evidence for agricultural intensification to lift farmers' incomes above the poverty line remains largely anecdotal.
OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study is to use a large household survey (n = 15,572; rice: 8244, wheat: 7328; 2017/18) to assess the link between agricultural intensification and personal daily incomes from farming (FPDI) in the rice-wheat systems of the EGP – the dominant cropping system of the region.
METHODS: We use the Intensification Benefit Index (IBI), a measure that relates farm size and household size to FPDI, to assess how daily incomes from rice-wheat production change with irrigation-led intensification across the EGP.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Relative to the international poverty line of 1.90 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)$ day-1 and accounting for variations in HH size in the analysis, we found that small farm sizes limit the potential for agricultural intensification from irrigation to transform the poverty status of households in the bottom three quartiles of the IBI. The estimated median FPDI of households with intensified systems in the bottom three quartiles is only 0.51 PPP$ day-1 (a 0.15 PPP$ gain). The median FPDI increases to 2.10 PPP$ day-1 for households in the upper quartile of the IBI distribution (a 0.30 PPP$ gain). Irrigation-led agricultural intensification of rice-wheat systems in the EGP may provide substantial benefits for resilience to climatic change and food security but achieving meaningful poverty reduction will require complementary investments.
SIGNIFICANCE: Transforming the poverty status of most smallholder farmers in the EGP requires diversified portfolios of rural on- and off-farm income-generating opportunities. While bolstering food- and climate security, agronomic intervention programs should consider smallholders' limited monetary incentives to invest in intensification. Irrigation-led agricultural intensification programs and policies should explicitly account for the heterogeneity in household resources, irrigation levels, and degree of dependence on agricultural income.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051872)
(0.32 MB)
17 Tschakert, P.; Parsons, M.; Atkins, Ed; Garcia, A.; Godden, N.; Gonda, N.; Henrique, K. P.; Sallu, S.; Steen, K.; Ziervogel, G. 2023. Methodological lessons for negotiating power, political capabilities, and resilience in research on climate change responses. World Development, 167:106247. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106247]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051901)
(1.09 MB)
Critical scholarship on the intersection of development pathways and climate change responses highlights the roles of power, agency, social difference, intersecting inequalities, and social justice in shaping people’s resilience in a rapidly transforming world. Yet, how to precisely increase the spaces in which people experiencing marginalisation can address power asymmetries and strengthen their resilience, particularly from a methodological perspective, remains poorly understood. Here, we build on recent insights into political capabilities and their relevance for equitable resilience practice to assess the role research methods play in not only locating political capabilities but also enhancing them in the context of climate resilience. We present the findings from an in-depth analysis of 57 articles, out of a larger set of 200+ papers, that have employed co-learning/cooperative inquiries, participatory action research, participatory methods, workshops, and/or interviews combined with other approaches as most engaging and potentially empowering methods. Methodological insights through this analysis allow us to examine if and how resilience-in-the-making materialises across uneven power relations and often flawed decision-making processes. We show the pervasiveness of power differentials, even in research settings designed to be inclusive, and how disempowering processes in adaptation, mitigation, disaster management, and social transformation further marginalise already disadvantaged actors. At the same time, we illustrate the transformative role of alliances, resistance, shared learning, and sustaining inclusive approaches. Such nuanced insights into best processes as well as detrimental pitfalls are essential for development scholars and practitioners to help anchor deliberative resilience practice in the everyday lives of disadvantaged populations and foster political capabilities for more just climate action and policy.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051959)
(0.35 MB) (355 KB)
Climate change is causing serious challenges for smallholder farm households, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The overarching objectives of this study are as follows: (i) to estimate household resilience and vulnerability indices, (ii) identify factors that explain these indices and (iii) to examine the impact of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) on households’ resilience and vulnerability, and (iv) to identify which CSA package performs better in enhancing resilience and reducing vulnerability. For this study, 278 farm households from 4 districts and 8 kebeles from the Central Rift Valley (CRV) of Ethiopia were randomly selected using a three-stage proportional to size sampling procedure. Cross-sectional data applying a structured and pretested survey questionnaire was collected for 2020/21 production season. Household resilience and vulnerability indices were estimated using resilience index and measurement analysis and indicators approaches, respectively. Multinomial endogenous switching regression was used to estimate the average treatment effects (ATEs) of the adoption of CSA practices on households’ resilience and vulnerability. The results show that livestock holding, land size, level of education, and state of food consumption are major explaining factors of resilience, whereas educational level of households, livestock holding, and access to credit are found to be major factors explaining vulnerability. The estimated ATEs indicate that households which adopted more diversified combinations of CSA packages were more resilient and less vulnerable than non-adopter households. The impacts of soil fertility management and conservation agriculture practices have better performance in improving resilience, whereas conservation agriculture and small-scale irrigation performed better in reducing the vulnerability of rural households in CRV. Boosting resilience and reducing vulnerability, hence, requires scaling up CSA among smallholder farmers by diversifying and raising farm households’ income, educational status, and livestock holding.
19 International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 2023. Eight transformative missions for science-based action for future water security. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Transformative Futures for Water Security (TFWS). 4p.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051972)
(1.82 MB)
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052018)
(4.61 MB)
A Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) approach is fundamental to agribusiness transformation in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. Work package 5 aims to bring about inclusive and scalable agribusiness innovations through targeted GESI support to UU ESA work packages 1-6. To achieve this, we produced this GESI framework on social, economic, political, and institutional barriers and opportunities to more inclusive agribusiness in the ESA region. This framework will ensure that planned interventions under UU are designed and implemented to empower more women and youth as farmers, agribusiness owners, and actors with voice and visibility across agribusiness value chains. The GESI framework was produced by reviewing relevant literature and talking to agribusiness stakeholders, especially women and youth, in four initial countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
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