November 2012: A policy brief from the Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Program (CCAFS) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) describes early experiences with the development of nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) in the agriculture sector.

The brief highlights the intersection of food security, mitigation and adaptation in agricultural NAMAs. It outlines common NAMAs in the sector related to agricultural technology and practices, such as restoration of grazing land, use of improved seed varieties, agroforestry, and no-tillage agriculture, providing examples from Kenya, Costa Rica, Peru and Indonesia. The brief describes the process for developing NAMAs, as well as the crucial role of government support, from concept generation to funding.

In terms of challenges in NAMA development, the brief highlights weak institutional capacity to develop NAMAs in many countries, and the vague national and international NAMA policy framework. It outlines agriculture-specific challenges related to potential contradictions between mitigation and adaptation goals in the sector, and the lack of experience in developing carbon projects in many countries. The brief further stresses the need to identify synergies between mitigation, adaptation and food security goals in the implementation of NAMAs, and calls for pilot implementation. [Publication: Paving the Way for Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions in the Agriculture Sector]