Climate Change
Smallholder systems exist under a broad range of climatic conditions. There are some basic considerations, however, that apply in nearly every set of conditions.
Soil and water conservation
Productivity of both crops and animals depends on the availability of water and fertile soil. Where there is no possibility of irrigation, look for ways to harvest/collect rainwater, keeping it on the fields where it can infiltrate the soil instead of eroding valuable topsoil. Pursue any available options to improve access to water for irrigating small farms and gardens, using water resources as efficiently as possible. In terms of soil fertility, adapt practices that conserve topsoil, build soil organic matter, and maximize the efficiency of fertility inputs.
Diversification for resilience
Together with practices that guard water and soil resources, diversify crop selection and animals for resilience. Select crops and livestock breeds that are best suited to prevailing conditions. In deciding which crops are appropriate for an area, observe the annual and perennial plant species already present. Annuals are an indicator of recent weather patterns while the perennial species provide clues as to the prevailing climate. If the landscape, for instance, features a lot of acacias or palms, the chances are that the area does not receive a great deal of rainfall.
Use of alternative energy sources
Increasing food production is important, but it is also wise to consider other aspects of small-farm systems. How is the food stored and cooked? What fuels are used for cooking? These questions lead to considerations of alternate energy sources. There are ways, for example, to greatly reduce the volume of wood or charcoal needed for food preparation.
--- BPN #2
Resources reviewed and revised by ECHO Interns Emily Kinzer and Emma Buchanan, 2020
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Key Resource2020/07/17 ECHO recognizes climate change as a profound reality faced by small-scale farmers. Many of our publications have focused on helping farmers cope with related challenges such as heat and drought.Increasing farmer resilience and minimizing risk have been key elements of the practices we have...
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2020/10/16 How can smallholder farmers help mitigate against climate change? An article in EDN 148 described principles on which the strategies presented in this follow-up article are based. Key to any agricultural approach for dealing with climate change is dialogue with farmers, whose knowledge,...
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Key Resource2015/07/23 Climate change will have a huge impact on the world’s poorest people. Crop yields have already gone down in the tropics and are projected to drop by 15-30% by 2080 in Africa, South Asia, and Central America (Hoffman 2013). Some countries could reach a 50% loss of agricultural productivity; in...
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Key Resource 2016/01/01 The 2015 Paris Climate Summit attempted to define specific actions related to the sequestration of atmospheric carbon, which continues to reach ever greater concentrations (currently over 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide). To curb climate change, 350 parts per million or less is regarded...
- 2017/04/18 Review “At this point in time, theDrawdownbook is exactly what is needed; a credible, conservative solution-by-solution narrative that we can do it. Reading it is an effective inoculation against the widespread perception of doom that humanity cannot and will not solve the climate crisis....
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2016/09/27 Les changements climatiques constituent un réel problème dans notre région ouest-africaine. S'il est vrai que les manifestations des changements climatiques sont souvent comme des facteurs extérieurs incontrôlés par l'Homme, il n'est pas moins vrai que face aux sinistres crées par les changements...
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2017/11/15
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2008/01/20 THE threat of global climate change has caused concern among scientists as crop growth could be severely affected by changes in key climatic variables (i.e., rainfall and temperature) and agricultural production and food security could be affected both globally and locally. Although the effects...
- Achieving the goals of Feed-the-Future and theGlobal Food Security Strategyrequires careful consideration of the impact of relevant climate science on agricultural production, while at the same time considering other cross-cutting issues that influence agricultural growth, poverty alleviation and...
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To ensure a food-secure future, farming must become climate resilient. Around the world, governements and communities are adopting innovations that are improving the lives of millions while reducing agriculture's climate footprint. These successful examples show the many ways climate-smart...
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2019/10/02 Climate smart agriculture provides new opportunities for addressing the need for local adaptation, livelihoods, agro biodiversity conservation, and better nutrition.Climate smart villages provide platforms for ensuring that various interventions converge where it matters the most: local levels....
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2017/07/31 This week’s guest post is an interview with ECHOcommunity member Shibesh Das who has been very helpful in sharing information and ideas with the network. This interview is reposted with permission from Food Tank. TheDoba-based Livelihood Programis an initiative of the Rajadighi Community Health...
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Focali (Forest, Climate, and Livelihood research network) is a Swedish research network focusing on forest / bio-energy, climate change and poverty issues. Several Swedish universities and institutions are represented in the network. The purpose is to contribute to the provision of relevant...
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2018/10/20 Abstract/Description Like many smallholder farmers in Africa, the farming families of southern Ethiopia are facing three major challenges: the need to intensify and diversify their farm production, on very small areas, in a context of high population growth. In these rural areas, given the...
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While disasters are largely unavoidable--and are projected to increase as a result of climate change--their impacts can be lessened through disaster "preparedness." The world needs to prepare for disaster before they occur, reducing risk, raising resilience and promoting preparedness. The future...
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Proceedings of a symposium held in Anaheim, CA, Dec. 1988. A detailed review of the current research. Several international agronomists assess the current status of scientific knowledge about the existing role of greenhouse gases in global climate change and report their findings.
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2019/02/14 Session: Pollinators are a key component of global biodiversity, providing vital ecosystem services to crops and wild plants. There is clear evidence of recent declines in both wild and domesticated pollinators, and parallel declines in the plants that rely upon them. Here we describe the nature...
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Land-restoration challenges have been presented in the past, great solutions proposed, and targets set at local, regional, national and global levels, however, vast areas of agricultural land remain degraded on the African continent, often well beyond the global average of 20 percent. Sad but...
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Abstract, New Phytologist, 2018 Dec Forest ecosystem methane (CH4) research has focused on soils, but trees are also important sources and sinks in forest CH4 budgets. Living and dead trees transport and emit CH4 produced in soils; living trees and dead wood emit CH4 produced inside trees by...
- 2014/06/23 Amazon Description : Biochar is the carbon-rich organic matter that remains after heating biomass under minimization of oxygen during a process called pyrolysis. Its relevance to deforestation, agricultural resilience, and energy production, particularly in developing countries, makes it an...
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Abstract, Science Advances, 2018 July Humanity faces the grand challenge of feeding a growing, more affluent population in the coming decades while reducing the environmental burden of agriculture. Approaches that integrate food security and environmental goals offer promise for achieving a more...
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Abstract, Biogeosciences, 2015 There are national and regional efforts aimed at increasing fertilizer use in sub‐Saharan Africa, where nitrogen (N) inputs must be increased by an order of magnitude or more to reach recommended rates. Fertilizer inputs increase N availability and cycling rates and...
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Abstract, Science Advances, 2018 Nov Testing our understanding of crop yield responses to weather fluctuations at global scale is notoriously hampered by limited information about underlying management conditions, such as cultivar selection or fertilizer application. Here, we demonstrate that...
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This value chain analysis was completed by Nadezda Amaya as part of the international Programme “Linking agrobiodiversity value chains, climate adaptation and nutrition: Empowering the poor to manage risk” supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the European Union...
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The evidence continues to mount: melting ice caps, rising temperatures, increasingly frequent natural disasters. As the devastating effects of global warming come into sharper focus, societies must work to both mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to ongoing and inevitable climate change....
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2019/10/04 The more than 7000 islands that comprise the Philippine archipelago is vastly rich in natural resources and is considered one of only 17 mega-biodiverse regions in the world. Diversity is a recurring theme in these islands as the people speak more than 130 different languages, sublanguages and...
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2019/01/20 The Resilient Seed Systems Handbook Second Edition, developed by a multidisciplinary team of Bioversity International researchers and research partners, is a tool that supports research and capacity building on resilient seed systems in the context of adaptation to climate change. The first...
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1979/01/01 Theobject of this publication is to illustrate a method deriving the best production periods for given crops from minimal amount of environmental information. The required data can generally be found for most locations, even in the tropics. Where exact data is lacking the relative magnitude or...
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2008/12/20 Farmers and sorghum in Nicaragua's northern region Using radio to share farmers' adaptation strategies Climate change Climate field schools in Indonesia Livestock and climate change Adaptive agriculture in flood affected areas Cultivating resilience - lessons from the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka...