New publication - National integrated mitigation planning in agriculture: A review paper 

This review of national greenhouse gas mitigation planning in the agriculture sector provides national policy makers and others in the agriculture sector with an overview of national mitigation planning processes and aids them in identifying the relevance of these processes for promoting agricultural development. It also provides policy makers and advisors involved in low-emission development planning processes with an overview of mitigation planning in the agriculture sector and highlights the relevance of agriculture to national mitigation plans and actions.

The new publication is based on input from a workshop, ’National mitigation planning and implementation in agriculture’, organized by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and FAO held at FAO headquarters in July 2012.

• Go to National integrated mitigation planning in agriculture: A review paper
• Presentations from the workshop on 'National mitigation planning and implentation in agriculture, can be accessed from the Past events page (scroll down).
• More MICCA Publications

New report on the updated Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use Mitigation Project (AFOLU MP) database

The sixth volume in the MICCA Series presents the second analysis of the AFOLU MP database. This study, which follows up on an earlier 2010 report, includes 575 projects from 12 diff­erent registries. This paper summarizes the insights that have been gained from the analysis of the updated database. It specifically comments on the emerging gaps in the climate change agenda as regards AFOLU projects in developing countries.

• Go to MICCA Series 6: Agriculture, forestry and other land use mitigation project database
• More on the AFOLU MP database
• More MICCA Publications

Greenhouse gases database now available on FAOSTAT

The new domain on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has just been released on FAOSTAT. The newly added GHG database offers a complete time-series of emission statistics for all countries over the period 1990-2010. It provides countries with vital, regularly updated information to help them consistently identify, assess and report GHG emissions from their agriculture, forestry and other land use sectors, as part of the activity data they already report to FAO

For more information on the release of the GHG database, click here.

New policy brief: Helping smallholder farmers mitigate climate change 

The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the MICCA Programme have collaborated on a recently released policy brief on the role of smallholders in climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The brief stresses that carbon payments for mitigation are unlikely to be adequate to incentivize changes in behaviors due to challenges related to low returns, transaction costs and long timeframes for payback. It argues that incentives related to food security and adaptation to climate change are central to promote mitigation, and that policies and investment are required to provide up-front finance and long-term rewards.

• Go to the policy brief: Helping smallholder farmers mitigate climate change.
• Go to the CCAFS press release.

The analysis drew in part on inputs from the expert workshop, "Smallholder Mitigation: Mitigation Options and Incentive Mechanisms", that was jointly organized by CCAFS and MICCA in June 2011. To access the presentations from this workshop, go to the past events page.

Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs)

MICCA and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) recently organized the workshop, 'Nationallly Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs): national mitigation planning and implementation in agriculture'. The presentations from the workshop are now available on line. The workshop was intended to support the development of national mitigation planning to advance climate-smart agriculture. The presentations include country experiences in NAMA development from Brazil, Costa Rica, Kenya, and Indonesia. To access the presentations, go to Past events.

The workshop report has now been released.

One of the workshop participants, was Claudio Forner of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). We asked him about how NAMAs fit into the big picture of global efforts to mitigate climate change in agriculture. To read the interview with Claudio Forner, click here.

Ex-Ante Carbon Balance Tool (EX-ACT) assessments now available

The EX-ACT assessments of the mitigation potential of MICCA Programme's pilot projects in Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania are now on line.

• EX-ACT assessment: Kenya
• EX-ACT assessment: United Republic of Tanzania

The EX-ACT assessments complement the socio-economic surveys and capacity needs assessments carried out in the pilot projects.

• Socio-economic Survey: EADD-MICCA pilot project, United Republic of Tanzania
• Socio-economic Survey: CARE-MICCA pilot project, Kenya
• Capacity Needs Assessment in Kenya
• Capacity Needs Assessment in the United Republic of Tanzania

For more information on the MICCA Programme's pilot projects, click here.

Financing climate change in agriculture

FAO’s Investment Centre Division, in collaboration with FAO’s Climate, Energy and Tenure Division, has published a new report on: “Incorporating climate change considerations into agricultural investment programmes – A guidance document”. Released for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), the guidance document addresses three main areas:

adaptation and mitigation in agricultural sectors;incorporating climate change considerations into agricultural investment; and financing options for climate change activities

Other recent FAO publications on financing climate-smart agriculture:
• Identifying opportunities for climate-smart agriculture investments in Africa
• Climate Change Mitigation Finance for Smallholder Agriculture: A guide book to harvesting soil carbon sequestration benefits
• Linking Climate Change Financing And Sustainability - Implications For Agriculture
• Carbon Finance Possibilities for Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use Projects in a Smallholder Context
•  More FAO publications on climate change mitigation in agriculture

FAO also contributed to the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) Report 7: Towards Policies for Climate Change Mitigation: Incentives and benefits for smallholder farmers. Go to the CCFAS Reports and Policy Briefs.