Kyrgyzstan experienced an extremely cold winter in 2012, with heavy snowfall followed by a significant spring run-off. This harsh winter led to considerable livestock mortality and price rises for animal products, with a substantial impact on the welfare of livestock herding households. On average, households affected by the harsh winter experienced a 5 percent reduction in food consumption expenditure in the first year following the shock, and 8 percent reduction four years later with respect to households not exposed to [...]

In sub-Saharan Africa, crop diversification features prominently in many countries’ climate change adaptation strategies. This study focuses on the determinants of adoption and on the impact of seven cropping systems in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia. The work finds that the selection of a high volatile or low productive cropping system increases smallholders’ vulnerability and exposure to food insecurity. The findings suggest that policies supporting private agricultural input and output market development are critical for inducing adoption of more diverse, resilient, [...]

Crop diversification is often promoted as a strategy to achieve climate resilience. However, the benefits to crop diversification may vary depending on household resource endowments. For farm households with few resources, as shown by studies of Burkina Faso, Malawi and Zambia, crop diversification is likely to be an important strategy for managing production and price risk. However, for larger, better capitalized farms, diversification may not be welfare enhancing, because returns to specialization may be higher for these households.

Agriculture-charcoal interactions as determinants of deforestation rates: Implications for REDD+ design in Zambia.

Diversification, climate risk and vulnerability to poverty in rural Malawi

Value chain analyses for Shan tea and Arabica coffee under climate change in the northern mountainous region of Viet Nam.

Climate change mitigation and smallholder agriculture in Zambia

Smallholder productivity under climatic variability: Adoption and impact of widely promoted agricultural practices in Tanzania.

Food security impact of agricultural technology adoption under climate change: Micro‐evidence from Niger

UNFCCC COP20, Lima 2014Expectations for the Lima Climate Talks are high given its proximity to COP 21 in Paris, where in December 2015 an agreement on climate change is to be adopted, with implementation foreseen from 2020. Various meetings in 2014, including the June UNFCCC negotiations in Bonn, the September Climate Summit called by the UN Secretary-General in New York and the ADP June and October meetings in Bonn, sought to enable Parties to decide in Lima the draft elements [...]