On Earth Day, we take a look at climate change and agriculture

Climate change poses a threat to the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, exacerbating existing risks like extreme weather and the migration of crop pests and diseases that threaten food security. Already, the climate crisis is accelerating biodiversity loss and the spread of invasive species, which cost Africa’s agricultural sector billions annually. Taken together, this can jeopardize…
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Reflections on COP 28: Conference brought food and farmers to the forefront of climate change negotiations

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After two weeks of discussions, the COP 28 UAE Presidency brought the curtain down on this major event. Dr Lydiah Gatere, CABI’s Climate Change Expert, Africa, attended and took part in a panel discussion – hosted by the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) – which focused on why stronger Sanitary and Phytosanitary Systems matter…
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The climate crisis disproportionately affects women and girls. We need to act on climate change and gender!

The climate crisis does not affect everyone equally. Women and girls are more likely to experience the greatest impacts of climate change. According to the UN Environment Programme, for example, 80% of people displaced by climate change are women. And in an article from 2022, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of…
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Bonn Climate Change Conference 2023 – On the road to COP28: What are the implications for agriculture and smallholder farmers?

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Srijita Dasgupta, CABI Climate Change Expert, Asia, talks about this important pre-COP28 event, including key discussions relevant to the global agriculture and land use sectors that will shape the agenda for COP28. The United Nations Bonn Climate Change Conference 2023 took place in June. After two weeks of intense discussions and negotiations, it laid the…
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How can we help smallholders build resilience to climate change?

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Following Earth Day on 22 April, CABI’s Executive Director, Global Operations, Dr Ulrich Kuhlmann, looks at two fundamental ways in which smallholders can be empowered to build resilience to climate change – access to better evidence-based agricultural information and a more concerted approach by governments in relation to investment and knowledge sharing.
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Helping communities adapt to the impacts of climate change

"Chinyunyu Plant Clinic in Rufunsa district, Zambia."
To mark Earth Day on 22nd April, we’ve highlighted three of our stories on agriculture and climate change from the past year.   The world is witnessing growing incidents of the new “normal” caused by global warming. No longer regarded as a future challenge to be faced in the next few decades, climate disruption is…
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COP27: helping farmers adapt to climate change

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As COP27 continues this week, adaptation is high on the agenda, writes Jonny Casey, CABI’s Climate Change Manager. How can smallholder farmers adjust their practices to adapt to higher global temperatures? A key topic is inclusive, locally-led adaptation approaches to landscape governance. This is a vital component of resilience-building, which CABI has championed through initiatives…
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CABI partners in training to help ensure Pakistan’s food security amid challenges of climate change

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Pakistan, according to a report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank, is one of the world’s countries most at risk from the impacts of climate change with temperatures potentially rising considerably above the global average.
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CABI at COP26

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Some may wonder, yet again, where agriculture was at COP26. Despite agriculture being the sector most vulnerable to climate change impacts particularly in low-income countries, and globally is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, it remains side-lined from the main negotiations.
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Carbon sequestration in Africa at the expense of livelihoods and biodiversity

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By Dr Arne Witt, CABI Africa According to the World Resources Centre, Africa accounts for only 2–3 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions from energy and industrial sources. In fact, Africa’s per capita emissions of carbon dioxide in the year 2000 were 0.8 metric tons per person, compared with a global figure of 3.9…
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