17 June 2015: The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) has released three working papers examining: progress on mainstreaming of long-term climate information into governments’ decision making; projected impacts of climate change on crops in Africa; and scientific evidence on the impacts of climate change on livestock production.

One working paper, titled ‘Identifying Constraining and Enabling Factors to the Uptake of Medium- and Long-Term Climate Information in Decision Making,’ finds that much potential remains for countries to integrate long-term climate information into development planning and investments. Defining “longer-term climate information” as projections that extend beyond a year into the future, the authors’ review of academic literature on the subject finds that, while governments in Europe and North America are beginning to use long-term climate information in their policymaking, developing countries are falling behind in incorporating such analysis.

Among the factors that enable mainstreaming this information into policy processes, according to the report, are: training of policymakers; better resolution data; changing research processes to match the needs of policymakers; mutual trust among climate scientists and decision makers; and flexible institutional structures. Numerous constraints were identified as well, including: lack of long-term incentives for politicians; lack of financial resources; and differing risk perceptions between policymakers and scientists.

Another paper, titled ‘Climate Change Impacts on African Crop Production,’ analyzes the projected climate change impacts on ten African crops. The paper highlights the importance of taking adaptation measures, finding that many of the crops (banana, Arabica coffee, common bean, finger millet and maize) will lose suitable area (30-50%) across the continent. In addition, significant yield losses are expected for the common bean in Sub-Saharan Africa, and production of certain crops is anticipated to migrate to more suitable areas.

Finally, a paper titled ‘Climate Change Impacts on Livestock’ summarizes scientific findings on the effects of climate change on livestock, especially in Africa. Overall, the authors find that information in this area remains limited, particularly in comparison to the body of work on climate effects on crop production. As reported in the paper, while the effects of temperature increase on feed intake, forage quality and livestock productivity are documented, there is little research on how rainfall variability will affect livestock, recent impacts of climate change on livestock systems, and the aggregated impact of climate change on these systems with or without adaptation.

The CCAFS working papers are intended to inform policymakers, climate negotiators and others seeking scientific input for negotiations and decision making. [CCAFS Press Release, Working Paper 113] [Publication: Working Paper 113: Identifying Constraining and Enabling Factors to the Uptake of Medium- and Long-Term Climate Information in Decision Making] [CCAFS Press Release, Working Paper 119] [Publication: Working Paper 119: Climate Change Impacts on African Crop Production] [CCAFS Press Release, Working Paper 120] [Publication: Working Paper 120: Climate Change Impacts on Livestock]