June 2017: Climate change adaptation practices, climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and strategies to restart agricultural livelihoods hit by disasters have been at the forefront of recent developments in the field of adaptation and loss and damage.

A project of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), financed through a US$3 million grant from the Government of New Zealand, seeks to help over 10,000 farming and fishing households in the Province of Cotabato, the Philippines, to restart agricultural livelihoods through, inter alia, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate resilience training activities. [FAO Press Release]

The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and partners published a special issue on CSA titled ‘Agriculture for Development.’ The publication discusses, inter alia: CSA strategies, policies, partnerships and investments; strategies to put CSA into practice; the mitigation pillar of CSA; agricultural diversification as an adaptation strategy; scaling CSA through climate services and insurance; closing the gender gap in agriculture under climate change; ways for the “data revolution” to contribute to climate action; and climate change and CSA in the current political climate. [Agriculture for Development] [CCAFS Press Release]

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) issued a publication titled ‘Assessing farmer use of climate change adaptation practices and impacts on food security and poverty in Pakistan.’ The study finds that farmers in Pakistan that practice climate change adaptation strategies, such as adjusting sowing time, adopting new crops and planting drought tolerant varieties, have higher food security levels and are less likely to live in poverty than those that do not engage in climate change adaptation. [Assessing Farmer Use of Climate Change Adaptation Practices and Impacts on Food Security and Poverty in Pakistan] [CIMMYT Press Release]

CCAFS published a working paper titled ‘Smallholder farmers’ perceptions and strategies for adaptation to climate change in Brong Ahafo and Upper West Regions of Ghana,’ documenting farmers’ perceptions of climate change and adaptation strategies. Farmers’ adaptation strategies include: using drought tolerant maize varieties; growing different crops; and engaging in mixed cropping and changing planting dates. [Smallholder Farmers’ Perceptions and Strategies for Adaptation to Climate Change in Brong Ahafo and Upper West Regions of Ghana] [Publication Landing Page]