by Alexandra Teixeira, International Fund for Agricultural Development

1. HOW TO DO NOTE: FORMULATING A CR-CVP
Lessons from Brazil
Alexandra Teixeira
Rural Development Specialist
08 February 2023

2. Challenges
Key constraints
• lack of awareness of climate change and its impacts
• limited knowledge of how to adapt productive system at different stakeholder levels
• poor community organization and institutional set-ups for NRM
• lack of proper capacity-building
• inadequate access to technical assistance and rural extension
• weak mechanisms to coordinate collective learning and adaptive actions
• low ownership by the community
Community-level approach may be insufficient  a broader strategy may be needed (basin level etc.)
Example: Pró-Semiárido Project (PSA, Brazil) participatory targeting strategy
• subprojects organized in rural territories, composed of 3 to 4 contiguous/nearby communities
• Territorial Investment Plans  diagnosis of the territory’s environmental, social & productive status
• participation, effective targeting, demand-driven investments

3. Key constituents of CR-CVPs
Networks of cooperatives
• Central da Caatinga Network (Bahia) connects family farming cooperatives
to markets in Brazil / global
• Provides technologies and commercial solutions
• strategic commercial spaces specialized in the diversity of products from
family farming & solidarity economy
Youth (PSA)
• youth from the communities act as Rural Community Agents (ACRs)
• strengthen local organizations & support implementation of project activities
• assure community ownership, proximity & trust
• Income and job opportunities for youth
Youth (PVSA)
• integrated through Family Farming Schools (escola família agrícola)
• Training in nutrition education, climate-resilience practices & development of
nurseries and agroforestry systems
• Field days  sensitization on importance of preserving Caatinga biome

4. IFAD’s best practices in Brazil
PRIORITIZATION OF ADAPTATION OPTION
Small-scale Social Technologies (ST) for Climate-Resilient Agriculture
 small-scale water-and-energy access interventions
• household cisterns
• underground dams
• greywater reuse systems
• Biodigesters
• efficient eco-stoves
• wind and solar systems
 ST: low-cost, developed and applied in the interaction with the population,
largely and successfully tested, frequently managed by women and allow
improving living conditions.
 significant production diversification, directly impacting on dietary patterns,
nutritional status of families, increase in food security & income

5. IFAD’s best practices in Brazil
PRIORITIZATION OF ADAPTATION OPTION
Re-Caatingamento
• recover degraded areas, restore & conserve the biodiversity / ecosystem
services of the Caatinga biome
• active participation of the community  responsible for soil preparation,
fencing, building plant nurseries, producing & planting seedlings
 recognition of communities as "guardians of the Caatinga“
 empowering youth
 formation of strategic forage reserves
 protection of water resources
 adding-value to local biodiversity products
 income-generating activities
 strengthening and valuing the traditional way of life of Fundo de Pasto
communities

6. IFAD’s best practices in Brazil
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CR-CVP
Social Control Commission
• established in the territories
• consultative, monitor project, social control of the project activities, mediate conflicts, plan
ACR activities, coordination beyond the limits of communities and rural territory
• Ensure CR-CVP results in transparent and inclusive decision-making
strengthen the role of project participants, guide & raise awareness of social control
mechanisms among members and ensure participation & transparency in the implementation
of the investment plans
are the result of technical assistance aimed at strengthening local capacities
crucial to ensuring openness, monitoring and transparency in the processes

7. IFAD’s best practices in Brazil
ASSESSMENT OF THE CR-CVP’S PROGRESS
at Impact Level
• outcomes should be shown to be contributing to impacts
 enhanced livelihoods, decreased poverty & vulnerability, decreased deforestation rate, better
nutrition, improved individual & family well-being and biophysical impacts at the ecosystem
level
Economic-Ecological Analysis of Agroecosystems – the Lume Method
• method to calculate the economic return of agroecological investments
• identify the project’s contribution to
• increasing the autonomy of agroecosystems
• social integration of family farming in territorial dynamics of rural development
• includes economic, ecological and political relationships often hidden in conventional economic
theory

8. • CR-CVPs require a comprehensive and integrated multidimensional strategy
• Socioecological resilience is essential; strengthening climate resilience is part of a broader human
development framework, addressing multiple perspectives (economic, productive, social,
environmental, political)
• CR-CVPs should support short-cycle production alongside long-term adaptation techniques
• Technical assistance in CR-CVPs has transformative potential, enhancing sustainability of
investment and diversification in production
• Investment in training technical assistance personnel is crucial for effective climate resilience
initiatives.
Lessons learned and strategic
recommendations

9. THANK YOU!