In line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) this study defines climate change as any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity.

The study report is based on case studies from Bangladesh (Sulaiman, 2010), Bolivia (Pafumi and Ulloa, 2010), DR Congo (Mbaye, 2010) and Ghana (Adjei-Nsiah and Dormon, 2010) which were carried out with the purpose of assessing needs and gaps with regard to the provision of innovation support services for climate change adaptation. It took the form of desk-studies complemented with key informant interviews. Research results showed that climate change adds urgency to the need for adaptation in its widest sense in the natural resources sphere (agriculture, forestry, natural resources management, livestock and fisheries). The main message from the study is that not only is technical change for farm-level adaptation and mitigation needed, but also a change of policy and institutional regimes that govern agricultural production, value chains and natural resource management.

This report is a shortened version of the final study report, produced on request of FAO. The purpose of the shortened report is twofold: (1) to serve as a planning document to sharpen the climate change focus of research, extension and communication for development institutions (including FAO’s) in developing effective and relevant support activities for their partners and (2) to communicate the climate change support activities implemented by FAO in this field to potential partners and inform them about possible strategies and specific approaches that will enhance the role of extension, research and communication institutions and services for climate change adaptation (CCA). Besides introduction into the topic (section 1) the report discusses the context of climate change adaptation and its linkages with food security (section 2) and the analytical framework which has been used for the study (section 3). Subsequently, lessons learned from the case studies (section 4) are presented. A sketch of a new-style role for agriculture innovation support service agencies, including FAO (section 5) is provided. Finally, Annex 1 provides a more detailed conceptual framework linking agriculture innovation to the work of research, extension and communication for development.