This document outlines CCAFS's strategy for climate services. It has four objectives: 1) local risk management to build resilient rural livelihoods, 2) improved food system risk management to enhance food security, 3) providing climate information and services to support food security and rural livelihoods, and 4) integration for decision making. CCAFS aims to identify adaptation practices for agriculture, support inclusion of agriculture in climate policies, and enhance adaptive capacity. It works to develop climate information, assess risks, support services, and foster effective use of information through projects in locations like Kenya, Senegal, India, and Mali. CCAFS fills research gaps and bridges climate information providers and agricultural decision-makers.

1. CCAFS Strategy for Climate Services
Jim Hansen, CCAFS Theme 2 Leader
March 2013

2. CCAFS objectives
1. Identify and develop pro-poor
adaptation and mitigation
practices, technologies and
policies for agriculture and food
systems.
2. Support the inclusion of
agricultural issues in climate
change policies, and of climate
issues in agricultural policies, at
all levels.

3. Framework and Themes
Adapting Agriculture to a
Variable and Changing Climate
Technologies, practices, partnerships
and policies for:
Improved
1.Adaptation to Progressive Climate Environmental
Improved
Change Health
Rural
2.Adaptation through Managing Livelihoods Improved
Climate Risk Food Security
3.Pro-poor Climate Change
Mitigation
Trade
-offs a
4. Integration for Decision Making nd Sy
n ergies
•Linking Knowledge with Action
•Assembling Data and Tools for
Analysis and Planning
•Refining Frameworks for Policy
Analysis
Enhanced adaptive capacity
in agricultural, natural
resource management, and
food systems

4. Where we work

5. Theme 2 Strategy
Resilient food
Objective 2: Improved, climate- systems,
Food System Risk
Management informed responses Improved food
security
•Goal: Enhanced food
security
Target: food system (trade, key gaps: Objective 3:
Fill
crisis response, etc.) Climate Information and
•Knowledge Services
•Tools & Methods Goal: Enhance products and
•Evidence services to support food security
and rural livelihoods
•Capacity
•Target: climate community,
Objective 1: •Coordination communication intermediaries,
Local Risk
Management
Goal: Resilient rural GENDER & EQITY
livelihoods LENS
Enhanced support Resilient rural
•Target: rural communities for managing risk
& markets; supporting livelihoods
institutions & policies

6. Value-added climate information
Remote Station Satellite Seasonal
sensing met data met data predictors
updates
• Daily historic weather data
BLENDING
reconstruction methodology, data
sets, capacity-building Remote Weather:
sensing:
•vegetation • historic
• Seasonal rainfall risk and prediction •soil moisture • monitored
analysis and maprooms for S. Asia
DATA DOWNSCALING,
• Crop and rangeland forecasting ASSIMILATION
FORECAST
INTEGRATION
methods, tools, capacity
Static data: CROP
• Dynamic climate-food security risk •soil
•cultivar
/RANGELAND / P /
D MODEL
•management
atlases
outputs
INTERFACE:
STATION BLENDED SATELLITE •Spatial
•Analytical

7. Improving delivery and communication
• Evaluation of agrometeorological
advisory services in India & Mali
• Review of knowledge on gender
and social equity challenges in
climate services for farmers
• Synthesis report on status, gaps,
priorities for climate services for
agriculture in Africa & S. Asia
• Workshop on Scaling Up Climate
Services for Farmers in Africa and
South Asia (Dakar, 10-12 Dec)

8. Fostering effective use
• Piloting & evaluating downscaled
seasonal forecasts, farmer training,
forecast-based advisories, Makuene,
Kenya & Kaffrine, Senegal
• Video on farmers’ experience with
climate risk and information services
• Enhancing the use of climate
information for government decisions
in Ethiopia

9. CCAFS “niche”
• Research for development (R4D). Address gaps:
– Knowledge
– Methods and tools
– Evidence
• Strengths:
– Impact evaluation
– Value-added climate information
– Understand decisions
• Boundary organization:
– Give agricultural decision-makers a voice, ownership
– Bridge climate service providers and users
• Need, flexibility to partner with development organizations

10. CCAFS “niche”
• Research for development (R4D). Address gaps:
– Knowledge
– Methods and tools
– Evidence
• Strengths:
– Impact evaluation
– Value-added climate information
– Understand decisions
• Boundary organization:
– Give agricultural decision-makers a voice, ownership
– Bridge climate service providers and users
• Need, flexibility to partner with development organizations