By: Julianna White (CCAFS Low Emissions Development)

Expected population growth and increasing consumption of dairy and meat are driving demand for climate-smart livestock production in East Africa.

Livestock—key to livelihoods and food and nutrition security for millions—is responsible for 40% of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture. And emissions are increasing year upon year, as production increases. One way to bend the curve of emissions is to reduce the emission intensity of dairy and meat, which means producing the same amount of dairy or meat with fewer emissions.

Reducing emission intensity is especially important for countries like Ethiopia and Kenya, where the livestock sector accounts for 12% and 25% of gross domestic product (GDP), respectively, and current livestock production is emission-intensive. As both Ethiopia and Kenya raised livestock as a component of their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to global climate change mitigation, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)—with its partner the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)—recently published reports on the feasibility of various low-emission livestock options in the countries and an investment case for one LED option.

Read More

By:Kathlee Freeman (CCAFS) and Tatiana Gumucio (IRI)

Newly produced materials from CCAFS to assist experts in implementing gender-based research in climate work in order to fulfill the needs of both men and women farmers.

Climate change brings with it erratic and shifting weather patterns. The first five months of 2018 have been exceptionally warm, with hurricanes, floods, heat waves, and droughts wreaking havoc across much of the world. Receding ice in Antarctica also spells disaster for coastal regions as ocean levels continue to rise.

For smallholder farmers in developing communities, accessing weather information is essential, especially as the weather becomes harder to predict using traditional methods. Women smallholders, in particular, face a number of constraints when accessing weather information. Financial limitations often prevent women from owning information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as a cell phones or radios, making it difficult for such information to reach them. Gender-based differences in education levels and household duties may make it difficult for women to access, interpret, and make use of climate information. Extension services and other interventions may also miss women due to their exclusion from decision-making processes or social norms concerning their mobility and interactions in male-dominated spaces.

Given these constraints, projects aiming to improve access to climate services and insurance schemes must account for gender-based realities and needs. Researchers for the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Gender and Social Inclusion (FP5) and Climate Services and Safety Nets (FP4) Flagships recently developed a number of materials to assist project leaders, researchers, and other stakeholders in meeting the needs of men and women.

Read More