Climate change adaptation in Latin America and the Caribbean: CGIAR research Rodomiro Ortiz (CIMMYT, on behalf of CGIAR) Regional Consultation Meeting on the Development of the Global Climate Change Network in Latin America and the Caribbean UNEP, May 2009, Mexico City, Mexico Rodomiro Ortiz (CIMMYT, on behalf of CGIAR) Regional Consultation Meeting on the Development of the Global Climate Change Network in Latin America and the Caribbean UNEP, May 2009, Mexico City, Mexico

The Centers of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

Some approaches in CGIAR climate change agenda Better forecasts, policy options: provide local and regional information that combines forecasting knowledge with expertise in farming systems Developing climate-ready crops capable of withstanding increased temperatures, drought, and flooding More efficient use of resources: improving farmers’ ability to use water efficiently and to better manage fragile soils essential to adapt to the shocks of climate change

Impact of Climate Change At least US$ 7 billion per year in additional funding is required to finance the research, rural infrastructure, and irrigation investments needed to offset the negative effects of climate change on human well-being The mix of investments differs by region: Sub-Saharan Africa requires the greatest overall investment and a greater share of investments in roads, Latin America in agricultural research, and Asia in irrigation efficiency Source: Nelson, G.C. et al Climate Change Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation. IFPRI, Washington D.C.

Daily per capita availability Source: Nelson, G.C. et al Climate Change Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation. IFPRI, Washington D.C.

Sector analysis: Colombia 50-60% farmers (about 70% of the agricultural work) are smallholders Agriculture accounts ~50% of national GHG emissions (Colombia accounts 0.37% of global GHG emissions) 28.6% of agricultural products from above 1200 m Permanent crops (66.4% GDP) will be severely affected Source: Andrew Jarvis, CIAT, personal communication

Evaluating technology options: cassava improvement Grey areas would get no benefit from drought or flood tolerance. Blue areas benefit from drought tolerance improvement Purple areas benefit from flood tolerance improvement

An international SGRP initiative hosted by Bioversity International Goal “To enhance the sustainable management and use of agrobiodiversity for meeting human needs by improving our knowledge of all its different aspects”

A new project undertaken by the Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research and partners Improve the information available to researchers and others on use of agrobiodiversity to help cope with climate change Identify some key characteristics of production systems around the world where agrobiodiversity is likely to be particularly important for coping with climate change Explore ways of improving access to, and availability of, new crop diversity from ex situ genebanks to rural communities and indigenous peoples Example: Working with indigenous peoples in Bolivia and Sarawak together with PROINPA and the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre Source: Toby Hodgkin, Bioversity International, personal communication

Genetic dissection of drought tolerance at CIMMYT 10 segregating populations F 2/3, F 3/4 and RIL families / hybrids Mexico, Zimbabwe, Kenya 30 stress environments About 350 morphological traits About 70 physiological parameters About 3,000 QTL data points Source: M. Bänziger et al., CIMMYT

CIMMYT heat-tolerance screening (leaf chlorophyll content - LCC) for 2,225 wheat landraces (Reynolds et al. 1999)

Cropping systems ID {“hot spots”} Passport data analysis of accessions from heat-stress prone areas (GIS tools) Characterization data available from thermo- screening Multi-site testing temperature data and crop performance or any other assessment Modeling “heat impacts” on crops in target population of environments

Germplasm enhancement by design Guided- crop physiology H 0 testing (leading to defining ideotypes for crop breeding) Temperature component fine-tuning in crop models Instrumentation from remote sensing to trait recording in the experimental fields or greenhouses Molecular trait analysis – reverse genetics Allele discovery, comparative biology (synteny) Cross-breeding targeting “hot spots” MAIN OUTPUT: Genetically-enhanced seed- embedded technology (GESET) to “beat the heat” and water stresses

Conservation agriculture: saving resources and money Conservation agriculture includes minimal soil disturbance, retaining an adequate cover of crop residues, and use of economically viable crop rotations Conservation tillage leads to net savings of diesel use per hectare, greatly reduces water use, and lower CO 2 emissions Resource conserving technology practices provide a better soil cover, moderate soil temperatures, and reduce the evaporation of irrigation water

N 2 O a potent greenhouse gas generated through use of manure or N fertilizer Reduced emissions (50% less) possible in intensive irrigated wheat systems by proper amounts and timing of N applications. Use of infrared sensor to measure yield potential as plants grow Normalized Differential Vegetative Index (NVDI) Reducing emissions of nitrous oxide Source: I. Ortiz-Monasterio, CIMMYT

Climate change in the Semi-Arid Tropics Source: D. Hoisington, ICRISAT, personal communication

The innovation paradigm in agriculture Impacts = [Info, Knowledge, Technology]  Agro- Ecosystems  Management  Policy  Institutions  People  indicates multiplicative interactions

The CGIAR Challenge Program on Climate Change, Food Security and Agriculture A CGIAR-Earth System Science Partnership joint undertaking with other partners

Further information CGIAR Climate Change Challenge Program: Bruce Campbell, Director, CGIAR Challenge Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, Agro-biodiversity: Marleni Ramírez, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Bioversity International, Agro-forestry: Tony Simons, Deputy-Director General, World Agroforestry Center, Arid Zones: Marteen van Ginkel, Deputy-Director General of Research, ICARDA; Fishery: Patrick Dugan, Deputy-Director General, WorldFish Center, Food Policy: Mark Rosegrant, Director for Environment and Production Technology, IFPRI, and Production Technology Forestry: Robert Nasi, Program Director, CIFOR, Livestock: John McDermott, Deputy Director General, ILRI, Maize, wheat (incl. conservation agriculture in respective cropping systems): Marianne Bänziger, Deputy-Director General for Research & Partnerships, CIMMYT, Potato, sweetpotato, Andes: Charles Crissman, Deputy-Director General, CIP, cip- Semi-Arid Tropics: David Hoisington, Deputy-Director General of Research, ICRISAT; Tropical agriculture (including bean-, cassava-, forage-, fruit- and rice- cropping systems): Andrew Jarvis, Program Leader on Decision and Policy Analysis, CIAT, Water: David Molden, Deputy-Director General, IWMI,