Presented by Lini Wollenberg, Climate Change and food system specialist and leader of the Agroecological TRANSITIONS Digital Tools project (ATDT), on June 6, 2023 at the FARA Africa Agribusiness & Science Week. FARA AASW: https://aasw.faraafrica.org More about ATDT: https://bit.ly/AgLEDxATDT TRANSITIONS Program: https://glfx.globallandscapesforum.org/topics/21467/page/agroecological-transitions

1. B
Climate Change Resilience and
Agroecology: The Evidence
Lini Wollenberg
Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT
June 6, 2023
Digital Tools
Digital tools

2. Climate change hazards are a challenge for
agricultural transformation
Increased temperatures reduced agricultural
productivity growth in Africa by 1/3 since 1961 –
more than any other region globally. WMO 2022
A future 1.5 °C increase will reduce maize yields
by 9% in West Africa and wheat yields by 20%-60%
in southern and northern Africa. WMO 2022
By 2030, ~118 million of the extreme poor will be
exposed to drought, floods and extreme heat in
Africa (Adepolu 2022)
Water risk Aqueduct Water Atlas https://www.wri.org/aqueduct

3. Proliferation of sustainability frameworks
CCAFS Food Systems Transformation Report 2020

4. Banana-coffee agroforestry in Uganda
Legume intercropping in Malawi
Defining agroecology
Social movement, ecological practice, or discipline
10 elements of agroecology (FAO 2018): Diversity, co-
creation and sharing of knowledge, synergies, efficiency,
recycling, resilience, human and social values, culture and
food traditions, responsible governance, circular and
solidarity economy
13 principles of agroecology (HLPE 2019) recycling, input
reduction, soil health, animal health, biodiversity, synergy,
economic diversification, co-creation of knowledge, social
values and diets, fairness, connectivity, governance,
participation.

5. Can agroecology
improve climate
change resilience?
1. Does agroecology significantly reduce the
impacts of hazards such as drought,
flooding or seasonal variability?
2. Does agroecology perform better than
other intensified practices? By what
measures?
3. How do key climate resilience practices
such as irrigation, climate information
services (CIS) and early warning systems
(EWS) relate to agroecology—if at all?

6. Link
Link
What does the science say?
Link
2021
2022
2023

7. Evidence for agroecology’s impacts (Dittmer et al. 2023)
A review of 50 articles with 77 cases of agroecological treatments relative to a baseline of
conventional practices in low- and middle-income countries showed:
• Diversification showed the clearest general impacts (strong evidence, high agreement)
• Organic nutrient sources, diversifying systems with legumes. and integrated pest management
(IPM) led to climate change adaptation across multiple contexts.
• Crop yields were higher for 63% of cases reporting yields.
• Indicators of adaptative capacity--crop diversity, income diversity, net income, reduced income
variability, nutrient regulation, and reduced pest infestation--were associated with 70% or
more of cases.
• Local adaptive processes did not confer significant benefits.

8. Dittmer et al. 2023
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-023-
01816-x

9. • Civil society organisations and
partnerships
• Communication and digital
technologies, especially videos
• Technical advisories, including farmer-
to-farmer knowledge sharing and co-
learning
• National policy
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
National policy Technical advisories, farmer-
to farmer knowledge sharing;
co-learning in practice,
participatory research-
action, bottom-up
approaches
Communication and digital
technologies
Role of civil society
organizations and
partnerships: farmer-
researcher, farmer-
consumer, farmers’
organizations, women’s
organizations, youth
organizations
Number
of
organisation
Most frequently mentioned enabling conditions
Source: Programme interviews with 12 donors and program implementers
Enabling conditions for scaling agroecology
(Sieglinde et al. 2021)

10. Agroecological Transitions Project:
Inclusive Digital Tools
Review of 230 advisory and performance
assessment digital tools
• Few digital tools support agroecology
comprehensively, but many have agroecological
components.
• Exemplary features for technical advisory tools
included context-specific technical options, use of
videos, integration with coaching and hotlines for
questions, and two-way communication.
• <20% of tools supported climate change action.
• Adaptation functions focused on technical
assistance for climate information and early
warning services.
Burns et al. 2022

11. Agroecology and adaptation to climate
change in the Dry Corridor, Honduras
• Irrigation and watershed management
were more important adaptations than
any crop practice.
• Project will analyze how agroecological
systems reduce specific local climate
hazards.
• Recognize limits: Agroecological
practices, as most agricultural
practices, can fail under more extreme
conditions of drought or flooding.
- Humanitarian assistance will be
necessary for the most vulnerable.

12. Conclusions
1. Agroecology can contribute to resilience, especially for
practices related to diversification, organic inputs, and IPM.
2. Yields were mostly better or neutral, but costs seem to
increase.
3. Comparison of agroecology with other sustainability
approaches is a gap. Focus on outcomes to enable
comparison.
4. Prioritize practices with strong evidence, such as
diversification.
5. Integrate best practices for climate change resilience, such as
irrigation and early warning systems.

13. L.Wollenberg@cgiar.org
Project websites
• https://bit.ly/InclusiveAE
• https://bit.ly/InclusiveDTs