Good start to the seminar

Today was the opening of the seminar and it marked a good start to the week. Controversary, debate and some hard questions. If you weren’t convinced about the impact of climate change on agriculture, you would have been at the end. Excellent presentations, which while at the same time pointing out the challenges, also made sure to note that there was hope. Amazingly, they also all made it clear that any positive change would only be possible through joint action. Eric Bettelheim gave a particularly enticing and big money presentation. The hope there would be that all that glitters can really be gold.

Radio Scripts Focus on Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for African Farmers

A broadcaster from Radio Salus in Rwanda has won the grand prize in a continent-wide scriptwriting competition on climate change adaptation strategies for African farmers, while 14 other radio broadcasters and producers also won prizes for their entries.

In October 2007, Farm Radio International, in collaboration with the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), launched African Farmers’ Strategies for Coping with Climate Change, a radio scriptwriting competition for African radio organizations.

The competition was timely, as smallholder farmers in Africa are already experiencing the impact of climate change. Weather patterns are changing, extreme weather events becoming more common, and the threat of food shortages, crop failures, and growing deserts are real and immediate.

Further information here

“Climate change strikes us at the core”

Climate change, environmental degradation and exposure to natural disasters are at present among the greatest agricultural and rural development challenges facing ACP countries. It is for this reason that CTA has decided to promote awareness of how climate change is affecting agricultural and rural development.
“Climate change strikes us at the core”, said CTA Director Dr Hansjörg Neun, speaking to the ACP group of countries. “We have been working with and will continue to work with our constituents to be able to cope with this challenge. More than 70% of those living in ACP countries work in the agricultural sector. Climate change for these people is not a theoretic discussion, it is the difference between life and death. CTA’s programmes have always looked at how to use natural resource management to help rural communities better cope with their environment. As an organisation, we have produced many publications focusing on climate change and its implications; we have sponsored participation in workshops looking at strategies, innovative and sustainable methods to cope with changes. We have looked at different aspects in detail in workshops and other fora, such as in the Brussels Development Briefings and the series of seminars on Food Security. Other programmes such as the Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS) have highlighted the linkages between good governance and environmental sustainability. Finally, we have highlighted the topic in a number of electronic media, including several films co-produced with DevTV and broadcast by the BBC.”
To find out more about CTA’s work on climate change, visit the website for the workshop being held from 26 to 30 October 2008 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso:
http://ctaseminar2008.cta.int

Press Release 24th September 2008

Information and Communication vital to climate change mitigation efforts say preliminary CTA e-discussion results

WAGENINGEN, The Netherlands, 24 September 2008 – An electronic discussion on the major constraints to climate change organised by the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) has identified a variety of issues ranging from the significance of accurate and timely information, participation and training to cope with climate change, to the need for a better connection between national policies related to climate change. Discussants in a variety of fields shared their views on the main constraints associated with each of the seminar themes, which consist of:

• Pastoral and agro pastoral systems
• Cropping systems
• Forestry and agro forestry
• Land and water management
• Bio-energy
• Vulnerability
• Food security

The e-discussion is organised as a run-up activity to CTA’s annual seminar, entitled “The implications of Global Climate Change for Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems in ACP Countries” from 26 to 31 October 2008 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. It aims to allow experts who may not attend the conference the opportunity to contribute their ideas and experiences, thus broadening and deepening the debate.

Moderated by the Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources of the African Union (AU-IBAR), the e-discussion currently has about 800 very active participants, who exchange messages in French and English. The analysis of the first question is currently online. If you would like to participate in the e-discussion, please write to: vuga@cta.int.