Vice Minister supports CoCoon initiative at CIAT

Colombia’s Vice Minister of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development, Claudia Mora, was at CIAT today, to speak at the Conflict and Cooperation over Natural Resources (CoCoon) Matchmaking meeting.



The two-day conference at CIAT’s headquarters in Palmira has brought together experts to help strengthen regional ties in Central and South America. The resulting regional consortium, along with those formed in Africa and Asia/East Europe, will submit proposals to the WOTRO Science for Global Development on a natural resources projects that they hope to improve or manage. The projects will strive meet the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals.

After her opening speech, Mora said she was grateful for the invitation. “The project comes at a time when there is ongoing work on conflict resolution in Colombia due to inequitable distribution of land and other natural resources. This could also boost the reception of national water policies that have just been put in place here,” she said.



CIAT’s Director General Ruben Echeverría was delighted to host the meeting: “The diversity of participants, who range from the indigenous people, to grassroots groups, to technical and social scientists, is a good way of starting to improve integration. We are happy to host CoCoon and look forward to a fruitful gathering.”

At the close of day one, CIAT’s Andy Jarvis presented to a group of delegates on the benefits of payments for ecosystems services. You can see his presentation here.



The meeting continues tomorrow with presentations and discussions on scientific research and action, capacity development, and alliances and partnerships for conflict management. For more about the CoCoon program, click here

How suitable is your crop? Climate change and agriculture in 2020

On Thursday morning, Andy Jarvis led the KSW 2009 special session on climate change and CIAT research.

He started by introducing the various global climate models and emission scenarios. They generally show a world that is warmer everywhere, in some places much warmer. It will also be wetter in most places, though some areas will be a bit drier.

Taking account of the different levels of uncertainty in each model and scenario, CIAT can use this data to project conditions in different research locations in 2020 and 2050.

Overall, he stated, global suitability for the top 50 crops increases. The question is which ones, and where.

He described models used by CIAT and partners to 'map' the broad suitability of different crops in different regions, now and in 2020 and 2050.

These maps show many changes. Suitable conditions for some crops will increase; others will decrease. Some regions that currently grow, for example, maize or coffee, will no longer have conditions suited to these crops. Areas currently unsuitable, to cassava for instance, will become suitable. Production is likely to move to other, more suitable areas. Farmers will need to find substitute crops.

Some regions will be hard hit. In Southern Africa, conditions are likely to change so that maize will become unsuitable. Major agricultural - and even cultural - changes will be needed. The entire value chain of a product, he argued - from producer to consumer - will be affected, and will need to be transformed.

These models can also help in priority setting. The results of research, such as increasing a crop's suitability through improved heat or drought tolerance, can be included in the models to can help indicate the likely impacts of different CIAT research investments in different locations.

His conclusions for CIAT:

• There is no single panacea in breeding strategies for most CIAT crops;
  
• Regions face challenges at both ends of the spectrum – heat, drought, too wet;
  
• Increased work is needed on the socio-economic implications;
  
• Research needs to design now for 2020 climate conditions;
  
• We face a serious scientific gap in understanding crop substitution, current models assume that a maize farmer today will be a maize farmer tomorrow. In reality, many will need to select a different crop to what they have now.
  

See also the KSW 2009 poster on 'The shifting geographies of crop suitability and the implications for food and nutritional security' gives more details / See a report on his March 2009 presentation in Copenhagen on this topic.