ActionAid
The Time is Now: Lessons from Farmers Adapting to Climate Change, 2008
This report presents recommendations to the UNFCCC for agricultural and food security programs and funding based on case studies of programs in areas likely to be most affected by adverse climate impacts. These regions include: Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, Malawi and Vietnam, all of which have implemented programs to face food shortages and agricultural production issues resulting from climate effects on the environment. Sustainable, low-input, climate-resilient agricultural techniques have proven successful in addressing food security in the face of climate challenges, while large-scale industrial agriculture has been unable to do so in a manner that promotes ecological preservation and food sovereignty. As such, UNFCCC support for food and agricultural programming should be based on these successful case studies: enhancing farmers ability to respond quickly and effectively to shocks in order to maintain food production; advancing farmers’ capacity to employ strategies that will enhance soil quality; increase food security and reduce exposure to climate shocks; supporting innovative, farmer-controlled practices based on local knowledge and traditional practices; allowing farmers to decrease dependency on foreign inputs; and supporting community-level organization.
Action Aid
Climate Change and Smallholder Farmers in Malawi: Understanding Poor People’s Experiences in Climate Change Adaptation, 2006
The effects of climate change are already being felt by small farmers in many of world’s poorest nations. Based on field studies in two regions of Malawi, this report finds that environmental disaster events attributable to climate change, such as increases in flood and drought frequency and increases in temperature, are having serious effects on agricultural productivity and threaten both the economic viability and food security of the regions. Some successful climate adaptation strategies have been implemented; however, governmental policies relating to crop production methods and the privatization of seed companies have made agriculture unprofitable for many small-scale farmers. Action Aid calls on African governments to change their policies and on major carbon-emitting nations to assist in financing the resources these populations lack in their transition to sustainable, climate-resilient agricultural practices.
PDF Available Here
Climatic Change
Robert W. Kates. Cautionary Tales: Adaptation and the Global Poor. In Climatic Change, April 2000.
Climate Research
Peeter Karing, Ain Kallis, and Heino Tooming. Adaptation Principles of Agriculture to Climate Change. In Climate Research, August 1999.
Commission on Climate Change and Development
Closing the Gaps: Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation to Climate Change in Developing Countries. 2009.
Cornell University
David Pimentel, Paul Hepperly, James Hanson, Rita Seidel, and Daivd Douds. Organic and Conventional Farming Systems: Environmental and Economic Issues. July 2005.
Danish Foreign Office
Dialogue on Climate Change Adaptation for Land and Water Management. November 2008.
Environmental Working Group
Kari Hamerschlag. California’s Climate Change Policy Leaves Agriculture in the Dust: Major Missed Opportunities for Synergies in Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation. September 2009.
ETC Group
Who Will Feed Us? Questions for the Food and Climate Crisis. November 2009.
European Journal of Agronomy
Francesco N. Tubiello, Marcello Donatelli, C. Rosenzweig, and Claudio O. Stockle. Effects of Climate Change and Elevated CO2 on Cropping Systems: Model Predictions at Two Italian Locations. In European Journal of Agronomy, August 2000.
Friends of the Earth & Compassion in World Farming
Eating the Planet? How We Can Feed the World Without Trashing It. November 2009.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Low Greenhouse Gas Agriculture: Mitigation and Adaptation Potential of Sustainable Farming Systems
2009
This Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) article promotes mitigation and adaption potential of sustainable agriculture. It examines and evaluates current farming practices with regard to their effects on climate change and provides detailed background information such as scientific databases, tables, graphics etc. Recommendations to reduce GHG emissions made by The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are summarized and compared to data from organic agriculture. These recommendations relate to crop rotation and farming system design; nutrient and manure management; livestock management; pasture and fodder supply improvement; fertile soil maintenance; and restoration of degraded land. The article outlines the advantages of organic agriculture over conventional agriculture in contributions to mitigate GHGs as well as the ability to cope with climate change. Examples for these advantages include: the reduced reliance on external inputs; better soil management; and the enhancement of biodiversity in organic agriculture. The authors conclude that sustainable and organic agriculture offer “multiple opportunities to reduce GHGs and counteract global warming” and that an optimum organic scenario could mitigate up to “65 percent of agricultural GHG.”
Global Crop Diversity Trust
Food Security and Climate Change: A Call for Commitment and Preparation
November 2009
International Food Policy Research Institute
Gerald C. Nelson, Mark W. Rosegrant, Jawoo Koo, Richard Robertson, Timothy Sulser, Tingju Zhu, Claudia Ringler, Siwa Msangi, Amanda Palazzo, Miroslav Batka, Marilia Magalhaes, Rowena Valmonte-Santos, Mandy Ewing, and David Lee. Climate Change: Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation. September 2009.
International Fund for Agricultural Development
Climate Change and the Future of Smallholder Agriculture. How Can Rural People Be a Part of the Solution to Climate Change? February 2008.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
J. M. Reilly and D. Schimmelpfennig. Agricultural Impact Assessment, Vulnerability, and the Scope for Adaptation. In Climatic Change, 1999.
Oxfam
Adaptation 101: How Climate Change Hurts Poor Communities – and How We Can Help. April 2008.
Stanford University/Science (Magazine)
David B. Lobell, Marshall B. Burke, Claudia Tebaldi, Michael D. Mastrandrea, Walter P. Falcon, and Rosamond L. Naylor. Prioritizing Climate Change Adaptation Needs for Food Security in 2030. In Science, February 2008.
Third World Network
Miguel A. Altieri and Parviz Koohafkan. Enduring Farms: Climate Change, Smallholders and Traditional Farming Communities. 2008.
Third World Network
Sustainable Agriculture: Meeting Food Security Needs, Addressing Climate Change Challenges Briefing Paper 1
By Lim Li Ching, 2009
The effects of climate change on agriculture are inherently linked to environmental conservation and food security. Furthermore, it has become apparent that agricultural systems contribute to climate change. In order to meet the various challenges posed by the relationship between climate change and agriculture, such as food insecurity, economic stability, and environmental conservation, a new approach to agriculture must be adopted. This report emphasizes the ability of sustainable and organic methods of agricultural production to meet global food demand, increase the income of farmers in developing countries, and mitigate and adapt to climate change. In order to do so, the agriculture sector will need collaborative efforts between farmers, communities, and policy makers.
United States Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change: Issues of Longrun Sustainability
Report Available Here
United States Department of Agriculture
World Agriculture and Climate Change: Economic Adaptations
Report Available Here
