The 2014 CCAFS Annual Report: Acting locally, informing globally

Impact through policies and partnerships

Tacking issues of climate change within major development initiatives can be a reall challenge. CCAFS partners with nearly 900 diverse organizations, including governments, research organizations and farmer networks to bridge the gap between research and policy.

• The 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report cited CGIAR research 173 % more than the 2007 report in chapters on agriculture, forestry and land use

• OECD used the IMPACT model developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to estimate adaptation costs for agricultural research and development

• At the launch of the Global Alliance on Climate-Smart Agriculture, CGIAR announced that it will bring climate-smart agriculture innovations to 500,000,000 farmers by 2030

Enhancing capacity to deliver impact

Enabling people to enhance their own capacity is likely to be more effective than attempting to "deliver" capacity development. This is especially important for less empowered stakeholder groups, such as resource-poor farmers.

• The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) worked with Ethiopian researchers to anayse past and future climate data from 50 weather stations

• A Senegalese delegation visited Colombia to share experiences and lessons learned in climate change, agriculture and food security

• Bioversity International trained 230 African scientists in 10 highly participative training courses about neglected and underutilised "superfoods"

Breakthrough science and innovation

CCAFS collaborates with research organizations across the globe to ensure that its science is as well informed and inclusive as possible. Scientists, for instance, created innovative experiments, tested tools, did market research to improve farmers' adaptation to climate change.

• Through the use of lasers to level lands the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) made 500,000 hectares of land climate friendly

• Scientists at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) developed climate forecasts with big data techniques that helped 170 rice farmers in Colombia to avoid economic loss estimated at 3,600,000 USD

• Scientists at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) developed a mathematical model that predicts how plants will photosynthesize under different climatic conditions

Communications for development

Variable rainfall from year to year makes it difficult for farmers to plan on which crop to plant and when to plant it. CCAFS is dedicated to develop tools that enable farmers to have access to climate information services such as improved forecasting and information about historical climate patterns to help them make their decisions.

• The Shamba Shape Up TV show that presents climate-smart agriculture to East African smallholders has 11,000,000 viewers a month

• The Rice Crop Manager mobile app developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) puts the power of information into farmers’ hands and helps them make tricky crop management decisions in the face of climate change challenges

• A media project in Nepal by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) seeks to create broad societal awareness on how climate change affects poor people

Addressing gender and social inequality

Women are more vulnerable than men to the effects of climate change and they represent the majority of the world's poor. They produce less as they have less access to important services and information. To address gender and social inequality, CCAFS has made the need to understand and transform gender dynamics in relation to climate change one of its most important priorities.

• The Gender and Social Inclusion Toolbox co-developed by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) supports integration of gender and social perspectives in climate research and program development

• Researchers from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and partners interviewed nearly 500 rice farmers in Peru to explore differences in men and women’s perceptions of the changing climate

• An action research project in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Honduras focuses on the important role women farmers play in local innovation

"Much work remains to be done," conclude Bruce Campbell and Ruben G. Echeverria in their opening remarks. "In 2015, CCAFS, under lead centre CIAT, will turn its attention to providing assessments of the wide range of CSA practices, assisting countries to prioritize their portfolios of investments, working with partners to establish a global aspirational target for greenhouse gas emission reductions in agriculture, renewing attention on gender and climate change, and helping shape agriculture in COP21 and beyond."

To read the stories from 2014, go to the online Annual Report 2014 site.