10 best bet innovations for adaptation in agriculture
This working paper (PDF) by CCAFS aims to identify best bet innovations for adaptation in agriculture, which can help achieve food security under a changing climate, while also delivering co-benefits for environmental sustainability, nutrition and livelihoods. CCAFS compiled 10 best-bet innovations to illustrate the benefits that adaptation measures in agriculture can have: 1) Agroforestry: an adaptation measure that increases soil water retention and creates suitable micro-climates for crops. 2) Aquaculture: farming of fish provides an additional source of nutrition, and of income in cases of crop failure. 3) Stress tolerant varieties: for example the use of drought-tolerant maize varieties can improve yields. 4) Improving smallholder diary: climate-smart practices are needed to increase production and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. 5) Alternate wetting and drying in rice systems: which can reduce methane emissions and irrigation water. 6) Solar powered irrigation: which can help smallholder farmers cope with climate-induced uncertainties. 7) Digital agriculture: can increase precision, productivity, and profitability for farmers through the use of interactive technology and data analytics. 8) Climate-informed advisories: can reduce uncertainties and the risk of investments and increase returns by improving decision-making. 9) Weather index-based agricultural insurance: triggers pay-outs to farmers when rainfall falls below threshold. 10) Blended finance: improves governments’ ability to persuade private parties to invest in adaptation measures, so that these can reach scale rapidly. No single innovation by itself will offer a solution, and a portfolio of innovations is needed, supported by a conducive, enabling environment which encourages innovative business models to scale up, and creates the right incentives for the flow of finance. A framework for prioritizing investment is developed to lead policy-makers and project managers through the assessment of possible climate-smart agriculture practices, identification of best options, calculation of costs and benefits, and development of a portfolio.
This working paper is a supplement to the UNFCCC NAP Technical Guidelines – (PDF), which helps countries integrate adaptation measures into their national decision-making