Climate resilience
Climate change is a leading driver of hunger
Global warming is affecting weather patterns and causing weather events to occur more frequently and with greater intensity The impact on food security is significant: reduced crop and livestock productivity, lower nutrient content in staple crops, increased prevalence of foodborne pathogens and an acceleration of food spoilage.
This has a significant impact on low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) where agriculture is often the backbone of their economies.
Mapping the evidence for agricultural interventions that enhance climate resilience and food security
Under the aegis of the Hesat2030, CABI, the Juno Evidence Alliance and the Shamba Centre for Food & Climate, have launched a project to compile and map the evidence for the 7 most promising agricultural interventions to enhance climate resilience and food security in low- and middle-income countries.
​
These agricultural interventions have measurable impacts on food security and climate resilience in smallholder agricultural systems. The selection is informed by the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land which synthesises evidence on how land management practices affect climate and food systems. Each intervention addresses a crucial facet of agricultural systems exposed to climate risk and, taken together, potentially illustrates how an integrated approach can simultaneously strengthen food security of smallholder farmers in LMICs and reduce the degradation of environmental resources.​
Seven most promising agricultural interventions
Access to extension services
Crop diversification
Market access, value chain development, and financial services
Soil conservation
Agro-forestry
Improved water management
Post-harvest management and storage
Defining causal pathways
To complement the framing of interventions, a conceptual model visually maps the potential relationships between the seven interventions and the dual outcomes of climate resilience and food security. This conceptual model illustrates potential mechanisms on how integrated agricultural interventions may simultaneously strengthen food security and climate resilience.
By breaking down complex relationships into interconnected steps, the causal pathway provides a clearer understanding of how specific interventions contribute to resilience and food security within vulnerable food systems. This approach identifies potential synergies and trade-offs among interventions, thus promotes a holistic understanding of their cumulative impacts.
