Agricultural Technologies For Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Developing Countries Web

Agricultural Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Developing Countries: Policy Options for Innovation and
Technology Diffusion
Issue Brief No. 6
By Travis Lybbert and Daniel Sumner, May 2010
ICTSD-IPC Platform on Climate Change, Agriculture and Trade
ICTSD
International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development
Agricultural Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Developing Countries: Policy Options for Innovation and Technology Diffusion
By Travis Lybbert and Daniel Sumner
Travis Lybbert is an Assistant Professor of Agricultural & Resource Economics and Daniel Sumner is a Junior Professor and Director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center at the University of California, Davis.
Issue Brief No. 6
ICTSD
International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development
Agricultural Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Developing Countries: Policy Options for Innovation and Technology Diffusion Published by International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) International Environment House 2 7 chemin de Balexert, 1219 Geneva, Switzerland Tel +41 22 917 8492 Fax +41 22 917 8093 E-mail: [email protected] Visit ICTSDs website at: www.ictsd.org And International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council (IPC) 1616 P St., NW, Suite 100, Washington, DC 20036, USA Tel +1 202 328 5056 Fax +1 202 328 5133 Visit IPCs website at www.agritrade.org Charlotte Hebebrand, President/CEO of IPC, and Marie Chamay Peyramayou, Manager of the ICTSD Global Platform on Climate Change, Trade Policies and Sustainable Energy, are the persons responsible for this initiative. Acknowledgements We are grateful to Marco Ferroni of the the Syngenta Foundation, Charlotte Hebebrand of IPC and Ahmed Abdel Latif of ICTSD for their review and comments on the paper. A draft of this paper was presented at an ICTSD-IPC Roundtable on Climate Change and Food Security held in Paris in February 2010 - http://www.agritrade.org/events/ParisPlatformMeeting.html. This paper was produced under The ICTSD Global Platform on Climate Change, Trade Policies and Sustainable Energy - An initiative supported by DANIDA (Denmark); Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland; the Department for International Development (U.K.); the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway; Oxfam Novib; and ICTSDs institutional partners and project supporters such as the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Netherlands Directorate-General of Development Cooperation (DGIS), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA); and the Inter American Development Bank (IADB). IPC wishes to thank the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and all of its structural funders for their generous support. ICTSD and IPC welcome feedback and comments on this document. These can be forwarded to Marie Chamay Peyramayou, [email protected] and/or Christine St Pierre, [email protected]. Citation: Lybbert, T., and Sumner D. (2010). Agricultural Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Developing Countries: Policy Options for Innovation and Technology Diffusion, ICTSDIPC Platform on Climate Change, Agriculture and Trade, Issue Brief No.6, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, Geneva, Switzerland and International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council, Washington DC, USA. Copyright ICTSD and IPC, 2010. Readers are encouraged to quote and reproduce this material for educational, non-profit purposes, provided the source is acknowledged. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ICTSD and IPC or the funding institutions. ISSN 2075-5856
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CONTENTS
FOREWORD EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. INTRODUCTION 2. BACKGROUND: CLIMATE CHANGE & AGRICULTURE 3. AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION & ADAPTATION 4. INNOVATION & DIFFUSION CONSIDERATIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES 5. POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES & PRIORITIES 6. CONCLUSION REFERENCES 13 22 27 28
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FOREWORD
Climate change will almost surely make life even harder for the worlds poorest and most vulnerable populations; we must avoid restricting their capacity to adapt by limiting their options. Technology options, in particular, must become more available. Climate Change exacerbates the already daunting challenges facing the agricultural sector, and this is particularly the case in developing countries. Innovations in agriculture have always been important and will be even more vital in the context of climate change. The ICTSD-IPC Platform on Climate Change, Agriculture and Trade is pleased to present this thoughtful discussion about the need for effective policy responses to encourage the development, transfer and diffusion of appropriate agricultural technologies to promote food security, agricultural development and climate change adaptation and mitigation. This paper by Dan Sumner and Travis Lybbert highlights technological and institutional innovations required to meet these challenges, the constraints to their development, transfer and dissemination and importantly suggests ways to overcome such constraints. Although there are no panaceas or silver bullets, the solutions are certainly not beyond our grasp. Indeed, policy recommendations on technology transfer to facilitate climate change adaptation and mitigation largely mirror those proposed as effective ways of promoting agricultural development. In this sense, climate change perhaps presents us with an opportunity: it reinforces the need to make greater progress on the transfer and dissemination of existing knowledge and technologies and to speed up the development and transfer of new innovations.
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Ricardo Melndez-Ortiz Chief Executive, ICTSD
Charlotte Hebebrand, President /CEO, IPC
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Climate has obvious and direct effects on agricultural production. Greenhouse gas (GHG) implications of agriculture are also obvious and large. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reported that agriculture is responsible for over a quarter of total global greenhouse gas emissions. Given that agricultures share in global gross domestic product (GDP) is about 4 percent, these figures suggest that agriculture is highly GHG intensive. This paper describes the potential role innovative agricultural practices and technologies can play in climate change mitigation and adaptation and aims to address the question: what policy and institutional changes are needed to encourage the innovation and diffusion of these practices and technologies to developing countries? We focus on developing countries in general with some specific references to Africa. Concerns about mitigating and adapting to climate change are renewing the impetus for investments in agricultural research and are emerging as additional innovation priorities. In the coming decades, the development and effective diffusion of new agricultural practices and technologies will largely shape how and how well farmers mitigate and adapt to climate change. This adaptation and mitigation potential is nowhere more pronounced than in developing countries where agricultural productivity remains low; poverty, vulnerability and food insecurity remain high; and the direct effects of climate change are expected to be especially harsh. Most new technologies change the use of farm inputs, often in ways that alter the impact of weather on production and of production on carbon emissions. We describe some technologies that seem particularly promising in mitigating or adapting to climate change and use these as a platform for exploring the policies and institutions necessary to support the development and diffusion of current technologies and to provide incentives for technological breakthroughs in the future. While new traits, varieti es and crops will play an important role, the range of relevant practice and technologies is much broader than this, including water management, production practices, post-harvest technologies, information and forecasting, and insurance. Creating the necessary agricultural technologies and harnessing them to enable developing countries to adapt their agricultural systems to changing climate will require innovations in policy and institutions as well. In this context, institutions and policies are important at multiple scales. Impediments to the development, diffusion and use of relevant technologies can surface at several levels from the inception and innovation stages to the transfer of technologies and the access to agricultural innovations by vulnerable smallholders in developing countries. Potential constraints to innovation involve both the private and public sectors in both developing and developed countries. While the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has been invaluable to developing countries as a source of agricultural innovation for nearly 40 years, many countries have a long history of large, direct government intervention in both input and output markets in agriculture that have stifled the formation of vibrant private firms and accompanying incentives to innovate. The process of transferring agricultural innovations across agro-ecological and climatic zones is often subject to agronomic constraints. Agricultural biotechnology has relaxed some of these agronomic constraints, but it raises a new set of potential impediments in the form of biotechnology regulations. Although intellectual property (IP) can also constrain technology transfer, it is almost never the most important barrier. Where IP seems to pose a problem, recent institutional and legal innovations provide a point of departure for effective remedies.
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Often, the most binding constraints occur at the adoption stage, with several factors potentially impeding poor farmers access to and use of new technologies. These include static, poorly functioning or poorly integrated input or output markets; weak local institutions and infrastructure; inadequate or ineffective extension systems; missing credit and insurance markets. From these considerations, we derive six policy principles. (1) The best policy and institutional responses will enhance information flows, incentives and flexibility. (2) Policies and institutions that promote economic development and reduce poverty will often improve agricultural adaptation and may also pave the way for more effective climate change mitigation through agriculture. (3) Business as usual among the worlds poor is not adequate. (4) Existing technology options must be made more available and accessible without overlooking complementary capacity and investments. (5) Adaptation and mitigation in agriculture will require local responses, but effective policy responses must also reflect global impacts and inter-linkages. (6) Trade will play a critical role in both mitigation and adaptation, but will itself be shaped importantly by climate change. These principles lead to several specific investments and policy priorities: (a) investing in public agricultural R&D in developed countries, (b) rebuilding and expanding public agricultural research capacity in developing countries, (c) harnessing agricultural biotechnology as a potentially important option, (d) encouraging complementarities between public and private agricultural research, helping to mitigate risk, (e) investing in better information and forecasts, (f) supporting competitive & responsive agricultural markets, and (g) encouraging investments that improve spatial market integration.
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1. INTRODUCTION
Climate has obvious and direct effects on agricultural production. The effects of agriculture on GHG emissions are also large. Agriculture is a major part of the global economy and uses substantial fossil fuel for farm inputs and equipment. Animal agriculture also releases substantial GHGs in the form of nitrogen and methane. Furthermore, and probably more importantly, land clearing and preparation releases carbon from the living biomass that is removed from the land. The 2010 World Development Report draws on analysis of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007) to calculate that agriculture directly accounts for 14 percent of global GHG emissions in CO2 equivalents and indirectly accounts for an additional 17 percent of emissions when land use and conversion for crops and pasture are included in the calculations (World Bank, 2009).1 Given that agricultures share in global GDP is about 4 percent, these figures suggest that agriculture is highly GHG intensive. centuries, often with the goal of increasing output per unit of land, water, labor or other input. More recently, reducing the negative environmental spillover effects of agriculture has joined improving crop yields and other simple productivity indicators as a research pursuit. With a growing global population, with especially rapid population growth in some of the poorest places, with improved diets for the poor an imperative, and with evident local environmental impacts, agricultural innovation has never been more important. Climate issues add to this already challenging agenda.
Concerns about mitigating and adapting to climate change are now renewing the impetus for investments in agricultural research and are emerging as additional innovation priorities. In the coming decades, the development and effective diffusion of new agricultural technologies will largely shape how and how well farmers mitigate and adapt to climate change. This adaptation and mitigation potential is nowhere The climate implications of agricultural more pronounced than in developing countries production and practices have broadened the where agricultural productivity remains low; agricultural agenda over recent years to include poverty, vulnerability and food insecurity remain responses to climate issues, and the climate change high; and the direct effects of climate change are agenda has similarly subsumed agricultural expected to be especially harsh. production as both a contributor to climate change and, through adjustment in practices, a Creating the necessary agricultural technologies potential mitigating force. This paper describes and harnessing them to enable developing the potential role innovative agricultural practices countries to adapt their agricultural systems and technologies can play in climate change to changing climate will require innovations in mitigation and adaptation and aims to address policy and institutions as well. In this context, the question: What policy and institutional institutions and policies are important at multiple changes are needed to encourage the innovation scales. Impediments to the development, diffusion and diffusion of these practices and technologies and use of relevant technologies can surface at to developing countries? Our focus throughout is several levels from the inception and innovation on developing countries in general, but we draw stages to the transfer of technologies and the on specific features and examples from Africa to access to agricultural innovations by vulnerable highlight the importance of this question and smallholders in developing countries. For answers to it. example, cutting-edge agricultural technologies often emerge from developed countries. Thus, Organized research and innovation have been the institutional research capacity, human capital central to agricultural policy for nearly two stock, innovation incentives and policies of
uch accounting is difcult in part because assigning activities to a particular part of the economy is often arbitrary. S For example, is trucking materials to and from or even within the farm considered agriculture or transportation and is fertilizer processing considered agriculture or manufacturing?
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wealthy regions typically set the global pace in agricultural innovation. Within developing countries, research and innovation capacity is similarly critical because applying new agricultural technologies generally requires careful and creative modification to reflect local agro-ecological and production conditions. National and local conditions are critical, including the structure and degree of integration of local input and output markets, the quality of infrastructure, and access to information and effective agricultural extension services. Policies and institutions that relate to market structure, IP rights, and investments in education, training and research capacity directly shape both the creation and diffusion of new agricultural technologies many of which can help farmers mitigate or adapt to climate change. This paper begins with a brief background on
the relationship between agriculture and climate change. In Section 3, the paper describes several technologies that may be useful to climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. Keeping in mind these technologies which are intended to be an illustrative rather than comprehensive set Section 4 explores a variety of important considerations to their development, transfer and use. These considerations, which include both constraints and potential remedies, set the stage for our discussion in Section 5 of policy principles and priorities that could facilitate climate change mitigation and adaptation in poor countries by improving the innovation and diffusion of important agricultural technologies. The final section summarizes the paper and frames the discussion in a broader context of economic development in an era of greater complexity and greater urgency due to climate change.
2. BACKGROUND: CLIMATE CHANGE & AGRICULTURE

Forecasting climate change is imperfect, complex, important, and often controversial. While ICTSD - IPC disputes remain, the consensus foresees accelerating increases in average annual temMore generally, developing countries are vulnerable perature and changes to climate change because in precipitation coupled with increasingly they depend heavily on agriculture, they tend to be erratic intra-annual relatively warm already, weather patterns. they lack infrastructure to Stemming from these respond well to increased two primary dimenvariability, and they sions of climate change lack capital to invest in (higher averages and innovative adaptations. more volatility) are melting glaciers and ice caps, rising sea levels and more frequent and more severe extreme weather events. Some of these changes will likely be shared globally most places will get hotter but other changes will vary geographically. For agriculturally important agroecological zones, higher level forecasting of daily weather extremes (frosts, the intensity and form of precipitation, extreme temperature, etc.) is crucial but even more demanding.
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Despite these complex spatial differences in climate change, forecasts agree that many developing country climates will become less suitable for the agricultural practices they now undertake because places that now tend to be warm and humid will be disadvantaged relative to places that are now cooler (typically in the North). More generally, developing countries are vulnerable to climate change because they depend heavily on agriculture, they tend to be relatively warm already, they lack infrastructure to respond well to increased variability, and they lack capital to invest in innovative adaptations. Whereas the Stern report (Stern, 2007) projected that a 2 C increase in average temperatures would reduce world GDP by roughly 1%, the 2010 World Development Report of the World Bank (2009) focuses on developing countries and estimates that without offsetting innovations, climate change will ultimately cause a decrease in annual GDP of 4% in Africa and 5% in India. At current growth rates, reductions of this magnitude would essentially offset GDP gains due to growth. Moreover, within these already
To understand the economic impact of this reduction in agricultural productivity, one must consider other predictable ways in which 2080 will be different than today, namely: population growth Estimating how climate change will affect (which will remain positive at least until 2050, agriculture adds complexity and uncertainty to but continue to slow in coming decades); income already complex climate change models.2 Amidst growth (which combined with population growth this complexity and imprecision, a fairly consistent will expand food demand); and productivity gains pattern of direct agricultural impacts emerges: in agriculture (which will continue to increase agriculture in temperate North America, Europe yields even with climate change). Thanks to these and Asia is likely to benefit from higher mean technology gains, global agricultural production is temperatures and longer growing seasons, while expected to increase substantially, albeit less than agriculture in much of the rest of the world will likely if climate change could have been avoided. The suffer declines in productivity. Higher temperatures impact of climate change on food markets net of in already-hot regions will likely reduce crop these other effects is more ambiguous, however, yields and effectively shorten the growing season because food demand is expected to continue by introducing (longer) periods of excessive heat. to expand with population and income growth. The best estimates currently available, which Overall, in 2080 we will likely produce more combine forecasts from the agronomic and limited food than we currently do, but food may well economic modeling approaches, suggest that the be more expensive in real terms. This seemingly aggregate impact of these effects will reduce global benign global snapshot is vastly incomplete, agricultural production by 6% by 2080 from what however, because it conceals dramatic regional would otherwise occur. and distributional impacts of these changes.
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poor regions, the largest effects will be on the poor who tend to earn their livelihoods in farming.
Figure 1. Projected impact of climate change on 2080 agricultural production assuming a 15% carbon fertilization benet (SOURCE: Cline 2007).
2 Part of this added complexity is due to the agronomic responses to anticipated changes in average temperatures and
precipitation. The agronomic impacts associated with more volatile weather patterns are even tougher to capture and add to the uncertainty. Much of the remaining complexity is due to the economic and technological responses to climate change: whereas climate is a natural system (albeit potentially inuenced by humans), agriculture is a human activity that constantly changes in response to changing conditions. Thus, while agronomic models assess the impact of changes on crop yields and may explicitly dene the scope of feasible technical adjustments producers make in response to these changes, the net effect depends at least as much on how producers respond to changing constraints and market incentives induced by these changes. Changes in the economic landscape follow from the fact that climate change affects global supplies and demands that in turn affect local market conditions and hence drive actual behavior of producers and consumers. Economic models include the impact of climate change across regions on relative prices and the value of agricultural production Kurukulasuriya, P., R. Mendelsohn, R. Hassan, J. Benhin, T. Deressa, M. Diop, H. Eid, K. Fosu, G. Gbetibouo, and S. Jain. 2006. Will African Agriculture Survive Climate Change? The World Bank Economic Review 20(3):367.. Economic models therefore account for adjustments suppliers and demanders make in response to changes in market incentives as well as local climate.
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Regional disparities around the global average impact are substantial. India and Africa are projected to see reductions of agricultural output by 30% or more (Cline, 2007). Figure 1 summarizes the composite estimates compiled by Cline (2007) and shows how variable this impact is, with developing countries particularly hard hit. Such results focus on production potential and do not fully incorporate the increases in commodity prices that would accompany the reduction in production potential (relative to projected gradual declines that would occur without climate change). Higher commodity prices usually mean that farmers gain because demand for food and other farm output is price inelastic so that quantity demanded falls little when price rises, which implies that farm revenue is higher when output is lower. There are, however, important nuances to this observation. First, most poor farmers in poor countries have limited productive resources and are consequently net buyers of food. Higher real food prices hurt most poor farmers as a result. Second, farmers in less favored regions who continue to produce traditional crops that subsequently compete in global markets would lose out to farmers in more favored regions. The number of farms in developing countries is expected to decline by 2080 even without climate change as a function of general economic development, but with climate change
this transition will happen even faster as many marginal areas in Africa and India may be forced to abandon agriculture altogether. The political tensions and urban pressures associated with this transformation could be particularly problematic. There are many caveats associated with the forecasts for developing country agriculture displayed in Figure 1. Some see these forecasts as overly pessimistic because the models allow for only limited adaptation. Others see these models as overly optimistic because the models focus on the impact of changing averages rather than increasing weather volatility, which will also likely hit developing countries hardest in the form of extreme droughts, excessive rainfall and heat, and severe hurricanes. Two dimensions of higher variability (among many) the forecasted changes in length of dry periods and rainfall intensity are shown in Figure 2 (World Bank, 2009). While explicitly incorporating the effects of multidimensional volatility changes into agricultural impact forecasts is extremely difficult, these dramatic effects may well be the most important for local agricultural impacts and for thinking about policy and institutional responses. These policy and institutional responses will critically shape the impacts on developing countries in the coming decades.
Source: The World Climate Research Program CMIP3 Multi-model Database (https://esg.llnl.gov:8443/). Analysis by the World Bank. Note: The maps show the median change (based on 8 climate models using SRES A1B) in annual values between 2030 and 2049, compared with 1980-1999. A dry day is dened as one with precipitation less than 1 millimeter whereas a rainy day has more than 1 millimeter. Precipitation intensity (SDII, or simple daily intensity index) is the total projected annual precipitation divided by the number of rainy days. White areas show areas of high model disagreement (fewer than two-thirds of the models agree on the sign of change).
Figure 2. Projected changes in length of dry periods (top) and rainfall intensity (bottom) (SOURCE: World Bank, 2009).
Almost certainly, climate change will be severe in most developing countries and will directly and, in some cases, dramatically hurt agricultural production in these countries. Moreover, the mix of adopted policies and institutions may play an even greater role determining the winners and losers from climate change. Over the decades required for climate change to occur, we
can reasonably hope that most countries will see strong improvements in living standards. Yet, development cannot be taken for granted and the dual burden of climate change adaptation and mitigation may make economic transformation more difficult. These realities suggest an even more important role for appropriate agricultural policies and institution.
3. AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION & ADAPTATION

The core challenge of climate change adaptation and mitigation in agriculture is to produce (i) more food, (ii) more efficiently, (iii) under more volatile production The core challenge of conditions, and climate change adapta(iv) with net retion and mitigation in ductions in GHG agriculture is to produce emissions from (i) more food, (ii) more food production efficiently, (iii) under and marketing. more volatile production As long as climate conditions, and (iv) with change and policy net reductions in GHG responses it inemissions from food produces do not induction and marketing. terrupt long-term income growth or alter the long-term decline in relative food prices so much that the path towards improved diets is reversed, aggregate food demand will continue to grow along with population and income growth. As climate change affects input availability, especially water in many places, input use efficiency must increase with these productivity demands. Carbon emission polices may simultaneously encourage or force producers to recognize GHG emissions as an important and costly input in production processes and open new opportunities and incentives for on farm GHG mitigation. Producers will grapple with these growing demands and shifting incentives amidst more volatile production conditions. Agricultural technologies will play a central role in enabling producers to meet these core challenges. Because agriculture is inseparably linked to climate and feedback runs in both directions, most agricultural technologies have direct or indirect climate linkages. Most new technologies change the use of farm inputs, often in ways that alter the impact of weather on production and of production on carbon emissions. While most agricultural technologies therefore have climate implications, there are a handful of current and emerging technologies with particular relevance to developing country agriculture and climate change. In this section, we describe some of these technologies in order to discuss policy and institutional considerations in the subsequent section. Some of these technologies have straightforward connections to climate change, but for others these connections are more nuanced. It is a fools errand to attempt to fully catalog in any comprehensive way agricultural technologies with potential for climate change mitigation and adaptation over the next seven decades. If history is any guide, the most important such technologies have yet to be developed or even conceived. Hence, our objective is to highlight some specific relevant technologies or categories and to use these as a platform for exploring the policies and institutions necessary to support the development and diffusion of current technologies and to provide incentives for technological breakthroughs in the future.
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Increasing agricultural productivity requires technological advances in crop yields. In contrast to developed counties, which have seen dramatic yield gains in the past century through investments in agricultural innovation and operate close to the technological frontier, much of developing country agriculture is far from this frontier (see Figure 3). The greatest latent productivity potential therefore resides in developing countries generally and in Sub-Saharan Africa in particular. In these places, profitable adaptation and farmer adoption of suiSince land use changes, table varieties and crops including deforestation could spark substantial and conversion to agricultural production ac- yield gains. These productivity gains could confer count for 17% of global CO-2 emissions produc- a substantial mitigation tivity gains represent benefit in the form of foregone land conversion a significant mitigation or even reversion of some mechanism in agriculture. sensitive lands to grass or forests. Since land use changes, including deforestation and conversion to 6 agricultural production account for 17% of global ICTSD - IPC CO-2 emissions (World Bank, 2009), productivity gains represent a significant mitigation mechanism in agriculture. New varieties and traits can also lead to less intensive use of other inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides and the associated equipment.
New Traits, Varieties & Crops
In addition to increasing productivity generally, several new varieties and traits offer farmers greater flexibility in adapting to climate change, including traits that confer tolerance to In addition to increasing drought and heat, productivity generally, tolerance to sali- several new varieties and nity (e.g., due to traits offer farmers greater flexibility in adapting rising sea levels in to climate change, incoastal areas), and cluding traits that confer early maturation tolerance to drought and in order to shor- heat, tolerance to salinten the growing ity (e.g., due to rising sea season and reduce levels in coastal areas), farmers exposure and early maturation to risk of extreme in order to shorten the weather events. growing season and reThese promising duce farmers exposure to new traits and va- risk of extreme weather rieties, which are events. mostly still in development, can emerge from traditional breeding techniques that leverage existing varieties that are well suited to vagaries of the local production environment as well as from more advanced biotechnology techniques such as marker assisted selection and genetic modification. In many places, new traits and varieties for the crops farmers have traditionally cultivated will confer sufficient scope for adaptation. In other places, shifting to a totally different mix of crops will be required to cope with dramatic changes in rainfall or temperature, and cropping systems will fundamentally change as a result. Even if adaptation does not imply an entirely new mix of crops, many producers will benefit from new crops and varieties as they diversify their production portfolios as a means of stabilizing their revenue or local production of basic foods in the face of more volatile conditions. These diversification benefits will be important because many households and many regions will continue to produce their own food even decades from now, when transportation, communication and financial
Figure 3. Average cereal yield by region (Source: WDR 2009).
infrastructure has penetrated many areas that in cellulosic ethanol production. However, are currently poor and remote. it is not clear whether these crops can compete successfully with farm, forest and urClimate change will also lead to new pest and ban waste products as bioenergy feed stock. disease pressures. The nuances of temperature And, of course, to the extent demand for biofuel changes e.g., higher low temperatures and feedstock draws on agricultural resources, such fewer freezes could shorten dormant periods, as land and water, it may drive up prices of food speed pest and disease growth and change the dy- crops and tend to create additional resource namics of these populations and their resistance. pressures, especially for additional land use. Crops, varieties and traits that are resistant to Without compensating yield increases, shifting pests and diseases will improve producers abi- agricultural resources from food to fuel produclity to adapt tion intensifies challenges facing poor consumers to climate already under stress from climate-induced deCrops, varieties and traits change. To clines in food productivity. Similar competition that are resistant to pests the extent that with food production could also emerge from and diseases will improve these varie- active aforestation efforts that permanently take producers ability to ties reduce the agricultural land out of production. While such adapt to climate change. To the extent that these need for pesti- aggregate tradeoffs between food production varieties reduce the need cides, they also and other land uses are unlikely to create widesfor pesticides, they also reduce carbon pread long-run food shortages because they are reduce carbon emissions by emissions by governed by market and political pressures, they decreasing pesticide demand decreasing pes- generate serious distributional concerns since as well as the number of in- ticide demand higher food prices and local land use conflicts field applications. Since as well as the tend to predominantly harm the poor. In this 7 a substantial proportion number of fray of competing land uses, more productive ICTSD - IPC of the GHGs produced by in-field appli- traits, varieties and crops will soften the blow to agriculture are attributable cations. Since these vulnerable sub-populations. to the production and a substantial application of nitrogen proportion of For the development of fertilizer alone (Stern, the GHGs traits and varieties that For the development of 2006), breakthroughs in traits and varieties that nitrogen use efficiency produced by help to mitigate and help to mitigate and could substantially mitigate agriculture are adapt to climate change, adapt to climate change, attributable to agricultural biotechnoemissions in agriculture. agricultural biotechnolthe produc- logy stands out as an ogy stands out as an estion and appli- especially promising pecially promising set of cation of nitrogen fertilizer alone (Stern, 2006), set of tools. While it tools. While it remains breakthroughs in nitrogen use efficiency could remains controversial controversial in some substantially mitigate emissions in agriculture. in some policy arenas policy arenas and public and public fora, agrifora, agricultural bioThe mitigation potential of new crops and va- cultural biotechnology technology has produced rieties extends to direct carbon sequestration has produced dramadramatic improvements and perhaps to second generation biofuel crops. tic improvements in in yield and reductions in production costs and inThere are several second generation biofuel crops yield and reductions in put use intensity. (i.e., beyond sugar cane and maize) that appear production costs and promising as fuel sources (e.g., miscanthus, a input use intensity. focus of Mendel Biotechnology). These and Many of the promiothers yet to be discovered likely require sing traits and varieties discussed above complementary innovation, for example, owe their existence to biotechnology, in-
cluding genetically modified crops with pest resistance (Bt) and herbicide tolerance (Roundup Ready) and conventionally bred varieties that benefit from breeding tools such as marker selection and tissue culture. The drought and salt tolerant traits that are beginning to emerge are largely the product of biotechnology, including the Water Efficient Maize for Africa project and other partnerships between public research institutes and private agricultural biotechnology firms such as Monsanto.
Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) Project
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In March 2008, Monsanto announced a publicprivate partnership to develop drought-tolerant maize varieties for Africa. The partnership, Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA), links Monsanto with the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and research systems in Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique and Uganda. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation are contributing $47 million to fund the first five years of the project. WEMA aims to develop drought-tolerant African maize varietiesusing conventional breeding, marker-assisted breeding and biotechnology. The goal is to eventually offer the drought-tolerance trait to small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, royalty-free, so they are able to produce more reliable harvests. During moderate drought, the new varieties are expected to increase yields by 24-35 percent. (See http://www.monsanto.com/monsanto_today/2009/revisiting_wema.asp)
In 2007 alone, a In 2007 alone, a year when GM year when GM crops crops were grown were grown on only on only 7% of 7% of arable land in the world, the total arable land in the reduction due to both world, the total the direct and indirect reduction due to emission effects of GM both the direct crops amounted to over and indirect emis14,200 million kg of sion effects of GM CO2 the equivalent of crops amounted to removing over 6 million over 14,200 mil- cars from circulation. lion kg of CO2 the equivalent of removing over 6 million cars from circulation (Brookes and Barfoot, 2009).
Water Management & Irrigation
Genetically modified crops have benefited agriculture in many ways and in many locales and they have simultaneously reduced GHG emissions by reducing demand for cultivated land and fossil fuel-based inputs. These reductions are most direct in the case of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops, which require fewer pesticide sprays. Although less direct, herbicide tolerance can also reduce emissions by enabling farmers to more readily adopt reduced- or no-till systems. These conservation agriculture techniques (discussed in greater detail below) save fuel by reducing the need to plow and add carbon to the soil and thereby sequester carbon.
In the midst of increasing urban and environmental demands on water, agriculture must improve water use efficiency generally. Adding climate change to this mix only intensifies the demands on water use in agriculture. With hotter temperatures and changing precipitation patterns, controlling water supplies and improving irrigation access and efficiency will become increasingly important. Climate changes will burden currently irrigated areas and may even outstrip current irrigation capacity due to general water shortages, but farmers with no access to irrigation are clearly most Climate changes will vulnerable to preburden currently irricipitation volatigated areas and may even lity. Since Africa outstrip current irrigaonly irrigates 6% tion capacity due to gen(13.6 million hec- eral water shortages, but tares) of its arable farmers with no access land in contrast to to irrigation are clearly 20% worldwide most vulnerable to pre(FAO Stat, 2007), cipitation volatility. African farmers are in desperate need of techniques, technologies and investments that improve water management efficiency, access to irrigation or to find ways to improve incomes with less secure and more variable water availability. It could be the case that in some
Source: Milly and others 2008; Milly Dunne, and Vecchia 2005. Note: The colors note percentage changes in annual runoff values (based on the median of 12 global climate models using the IPCC SRES A1B scenario) from 2041 to 2060 compared with 1900 to 1970. The white denotes areas where less than two-thirds of the models agree on whether runoff will increase or decrease. Runoff is equal to precipitation minus evaporation, but the values shown here are annual averages, which could mask seasonal variability in precipitation such as an increase in both oods and droughts.
Figure 4. Change in water availability by mid-21st Century (SOURCE: World Bank, 2009)
marginal areas, agricultural land use will cease difference in productivity. With dwindling and populations will migrate permanently. water supplies, such deficit irrigation techniques will become increasingly important. In nonAcross the Middle East and North Africa, Cen- irrigated areas, water conservation and water tral Asia and Southern Africa, water availability harvesting techniques may be farmers only 9 is projected to decline dramatically with cli- alternative to abandoning cultivation agriculture ICTSD - IPC mate change and population growth in the next all together. Adopting such practices may not be several decades technology intensive, but will almost certainly (see Figures 2 require investments in capacity building and African farmers are in desand 4). It is no agricultural extension. Furthermore, in some perate need of techniques, e x a g g e r a t i o n places, such investment simply will not pay technologies and investthat the future and investments in helping the population to ments that improve water of agriculture prepare for other occupations in other regions management efficiency, acin these regions may be the appropriate course. cess to irrigation or to find hinges primarily ways to improve incomes on improving Whether a particular zone expects to become with less secure and more the efficiency wetter or drier on average in the coming devariable water availability. of existing irri- cades, water management is central to farmers gation systems adaptation to climate change. Expansion and and, where profitable, extending irrigation improved efficacy of water storage is fundainfrastructure. Drip irrigation systems are im- mentally important to portant on farmers fields, but inefficiencies in account for increasing Whether a particular delivery (e.g., canal construction and mainte- rainfall intensity and zone expects to become nance) are often more glaring than field-level longer stretches of dry wetter or drier on average inefficiencies in application (e.g., flood versus days around the world in the coming decades, drip irrigation). (see Figure 2). In addiwater management is tion, where agriculture central to farmers adapIn places with limited access to irrigation, well- relies on snow pack for tation to climate change. timed deficit irrigation can make a substantial early season storage,
changes in the timing and form of precipitation place added emphasis on the need for improved water management and storage.
Other Production Inputs
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Improvements in crop yields per unit of land are crucial as an alternative to extensive conversion of grassland and forestland to crops. Therefore practices or technologies with potential to increase the intensity of land use can yield mitigation benefits. This may even include application of additional fertilizer or pesticide inputs, where the first round GHG implication may not look favorable. There are, however, other amendments such as biochar, a charcoal soil amendment, that may offer both improved soil fertility and serve as a carbon sink (Lehmann, et al., 2006). Similarly, herbicides and other inputs that reduce competition from weeds can improve productivity and thereby serve to mitigate GHG emissions associated with bringing additional land under cultivation. Furthermore, since potential cropland in different regions has very different capacities to sequester carbon, shifting crops to the land with the least negative carbon implication may have net GHG benefits. This may mean farming dry regions under irrigation which allows use of land that otherwise would not contribute to mitigation.
otherwise disturbing the soil structure. By increasing the organic matter in soils, conservation agriculture improves the moisture capacity of the soil and thereby increases water use efficiency. The practice also reduces carbon emissions by reducing tilling, although it also requires more sophisticated pest and disease control because the system is not re-booted at each planting. An array of other production management practices and technologies could similarly improve farmers mitigation and adaptation to climate change, including equipment and information that enables more precise application of inputs, especially fertilizer. The key challenge is to assure that such practices do not reduce yields so that the demand for additional land offsets the benefits from onfield sequestration.
Marketing & Supply Chains
Production techniques may be as important as production technologies in climate change Production techniques adaptation and mitigation. may be as important as One such technique production technologies stands out in particular: in climate change adaptation and mitigation. conservation or reduced tillage agriculture. This One such technique technique aims to build stands out in particular: up organic matter in conservation or reduced soils and create a healthy tillage agriculture. soil ecosystem by not This technique aims to build up organic mattilling the soil before ter in soils and create a each planting. Seeds healthy soil ecosystem by are planted using seed not tilling the soil before drills that insert seeds to each planting. a precise depth without
Production Management & Practices
Whereas this paper considers mainly farm practices and technologies, the potential for GHG mitigaAlthough local food production is currently a tion after products fashionable response to leave the farm is the GHG emissions atalso crucial. It is tributable to shipping well known that food, in many cases the transportation is a greatest net reduction major contributor in GHG emissions may of GHG emissions. come from producing Post harvest GHG crops where they can be emissions per unit grown most efficiently of consumption and investing in immainly depend proved efficiency transon efficiencies of port to move the food to transport (rail verconsumers. sus road, ocean shipping versus land shipping, and large loads versus small loads) rather than distance traveled. Improvements in transportation efficiency are therefore as important to reducing agricultures GHG emissions as they are to other sectors of the global economy. Although local food production is currently a fashionable response to the GHG emissions attributable to shipping food, in many cases the greatest net reduction in GHG emissions may
Post harvest losses represent one of the single greatest sources of inefficiencies in food production worldwide and therefore one of the best opportunities for effectively improving crop productivity.
come from producing crops where they can be grown most efficiently and investing in improved efficiency transport to move the food to consumers.
Post harvest losses represent one of the single greatest sources of inefficiencies in food production worldwide and therefore one of the best opportunities for effectively improving crop productivity. These losses which are due to poorly timed or executed harvesting, exposure to rain, humidity and heat, contamination by microorganisms, and a host of other sources of damage and deterioration often get far less attention than they deserve. Half or more of the total harvest of some crops can be lost post harvest.3 Investments in improved harvesting, processing, storage, distribution, and logistics technology and necessary training investments can pay off as well as improved crop yields in terms of gains to As climates become consumers and hotter and precipitation the climate. As more erratic, the potential climates become for post-harvest losses hotter and premay increase and thus cipitation more improved transport and erratic, the postorage become even more tential for postimportant. harvest losses may increase and thus improved transport and storage become even more important.
events can respond by planting more appropriate crops or varieties (say barley rather than maize if a dry year is expected.) Such improved forecasts would also affect planting even in regions unaffected by the weather events in response to price expectations and opportunities for trade. Furthermore, inter-temporal arbitrage in the form of storage or forward contracting would be used to Major innovations in offset changes in expecresponse to climate varted harvests. Thus major iability will take the innovations in response form of improved inforto climate variability will mation through global take the form of impromonitoring and foreved information through casting. global monitoring and forecasting (Hallstrom and Sumner, 2000, Sumner, et al., 1998). Improved micro-climate modeling can also enable more accurate interpolations between actual weather stations and, in effect, create virtual weather stations for nearly any location. These improved interpolations could lead to improved short term forecasts, which could be disseminated via SMS using ra11 pidly spreading cell phone networks. Lastly, betICTSD - IPC ter and more timely information can also help to forecast impending slow onset weather events such as drought more effectively and thereby improve response times and adaptation (Mude, et al., 2009).
Innovations in microfinance generally and in micro-insurance products specifically may aid farmers capacity to adapt to climate change. This is especially true in production settings Innovations in microfithat are exposed to greanance generally and in ter variability and more micro-insurance prodInformation frequent extreme events ucts specifically may As farmers and others deal with changes in climate (see Figure 2). Although aid farmers capacity to and more variability in weather, history becomes microfinance has seen adapt to climate change. a less reliable guide. Under these conditions there widespread success as a This is especially true in is greater payoff to improvements to forecasts of development intervenproduction settings that weather events and inter-seasonal weather proba- tion, many poor farmers are exposed to greater bilities. For example, warmer ocean temperatures continue to lack low-cost variability and more are likely to make el nio events more frequent access to financial services frequent extreme events and severe. Farmers with foreknowledge of such such as savings and credit.
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Insurance
For a complete discussion and other resources on post harvest losses in Africa, see http://www.phlosses.net/.
In the absence of these services, farmers often face serious constraints in their responses to both good and bad harvests and in their ability to adopt new technologies. The microfinance movement has significant momentum and will likely continue spreading into poor rural areas. The dramatic expansion of mobile phone networks into rural areas of developing countries and the emergence of SMS-based banking services will only speed farmers integration into financial markets.
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although potentially just as important (Barrett, et al., 2007). Yet, the history of crop insurance in developed countries is not encouraging in the sense that large government subsidies to farmers and insurance companies have been required to maintain widespread use of multi-peril (e.g., rainfall, hail, drought, pests, etc.) insurance (Glauber, 2004). Beginning in the late 1990s, the World Bank and others began to experiment with weather risk insurance products based on weather or other indices. The payout of Compared to microfinance, micro-insurance these index insurance products is based on an innovation and availability is much more limited index that correlates strongly with farmers production outcomes and that is commonly constructed based on remote sensing data. Livestock Insurance Based on Satellite Data in Presently, there are index insurance pilots and Kenya products being launched in many developing Pastoralists in East Africa have adapted their livelihood countries. Although the impetus for these efforts to a remarkably harsh setting, yet regional climate changes will likely create volatility in rainfall patterns has primarily come from the public sector that are extreme even by East African standards. The development community, private banks and International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) part re-insurance firms are actively involved. India, of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural for example, has a growing and dynamic private Research (CGIAR) with funding from USAID and micro-insurance sector. The challenge is to collaboration with Cornell University, University of develop a sustainable insurance system that does Wisconsin-Madison, and Syracuse University has developed an index-based livestock insurance contract to not require such a large subsidy that it acts to help vulnerable pastoralists to cope with severe drought raise expected incomes rather than as insurance losses. The index uses measures of greenness (NDVI) against downside variability.
based on satellite imagery to proxy for rangeland (and, by extension, the herd and livestock mortality risk). Researchers have worked closely with insurance companies to ensure that the design of the NDVI index tracks livestock mortality experience as closely as possible, that herders understand how the insurance product works, and that the pricing, marketing and distribution of the product preserve value to the herders. During pilot testing, pastoralists were very interested in the insurance product. In January 2010, Equity Bank of Kenya formally launched the product with the backing of international re-insurers and without government subsidization. While the herders themselves are the target clientele of this product, there is substantial interest in the product among NGOs and humanitarian agencies. One of the biggest problems in famine response continues to be substantial response lags due to normal delays between the onset of famine and the receipt of donations. These parties hope to use NDVI index insurance not to insure against livestock mortality per se but to ensure that they have financial resources on hand to more quickly mobilize famine relief efforts in the region. (For more details about the project see http:// www.basis.wisc.edu/live/ilbi_summary.pdf )
These index insurance products rely on measured weather outcomes and thereby reduce several practical problems associated with traditional production outcome (e.g., yield, livestock mortality) insurance, including adverse selection and moral hazard problems and administration and monitoring costs (Dischel, 2002, Hess, et al., 2002). For example, in arid and semi-arid rainfed systems, a cumulative rainfall index or one based on weekly weights according to the importance of rainfall timing within a growing season (e.g., Stoppa and Hess, 2003) can be highly correlated with production outcomes and therefore offer substantial value to producers if yield variability is a substantial contributor to income variability. In arid pastoral settings, index insurance that protects against severe drought losses will soon be available to East African pastoralists and appears to be promising (Mude, et al., 2009).
While the innovation frontier for index insurance products is expanding quickly and these products appear to improve agricultural producers capacity to adapt to climate change, two limitations are worth noting. First, getting these products to smallholders may be difficult and costly. Demand for insurance among isolated smallholders may be weak because farmers fail to understand the value of insurance or because the insurance is not adequately correlated (negatively) with the main sources of risk as for example when local prices are inversely correlated with yield, which serves as a natural hedge. Delivering the products to smallholders may be especially costly due to administration costs (e.g., the cost of preparing, processing and delivering relatively small indemnity checks to smallholders with small insurance policies can be prohibitive). In many settings, it may therefore be more effective to target financial or humanitarian intermediaries as the primary clientele for these index insurance products. Financial intermediaries with protection against extreme weather events should be more willing to provide services to producers who are directly vulnerable to these extreme events. NGOs and other humanitarian intermediaries may be able to respond more quickly to localized food
production shortfalls (Chaniarat, et al., 2008) an important improvement given that delays in response time continue to be the most important impediment to effective food aid responses. A second limitation is that weather index insurance products in their current form seem to be most effective in relatively simple production environments that are heavily driven by a single weather outcome. Productivity in arid and semi-arid settings are often driven almost entirely by rainfall, which makes them especially well suited for index insurance products. In more complex, diversified production settings, a much broader set of weather events matters to production outcomes, including cumulative rainfall, extreme temperature or rainfall events, wind events, etc. Furthermore, the impact of the timing of these events on production varies widely across crops, which is precisely the diversification benefit. Designing an index product that reflects a broad set of relevant weather events and the diversification of household productive activities is challenging, but also necessary if micro-insurance is to help smallholders in tropical developing countries adapt to climate change.
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4. INNOVATION & DIFFUSION CONSIDERATIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES

This section describes impediments to the innovation and diffusion of agricultural technologies that could help producers mitigate or adapt to climate change. It also offers some discussion of potential remedies to these impediments. Together, these constraints and potential remedies set the stage for exploring the policy responses necessary to support the development and use of these technologies. While the section builds on the set of technologies described above, many of the considerations we describe are also relevant to the innovation of new technologies that have yet to be conceived. We structure our discussion of constraints and potential remedies according to the innovation and diffusion process. We begin by describing relevant innovation considerations related to the conception, development or modification for developing country contexts of new agricultural technologies to address climate change. We then address transfer considerations, including constraints that can impede the delivery of these technologies to farmers and recent work to overcome these impediments. We conclude the section with access and use considerations that determine whether and how farmers or sub-sets of farmers in poor countries actually benefit from these technologies in practice.
Potentially important impediments to innovation exist at multiple levels. Growth in public sector agricultural R&D has lagged in recent decades with disconcerting impacts on productivity gains (Alston, et al., 2009). For example, growth of U.S. public spending on agricultural R&D fell to 0.8 percent per year from about 2.2 percent for the whole period since 1950 (Alston, et al., 2009). This general trend in declining growth rates in public investments in agricultural R&D broadly constrains the innovation of technologies related to climate change, but tends to fall heaviest on developing countries that rely even more on public research in agriculture. Since 1990, public investments in agricultural R&D grew faster in developing 14 countries than in developed countries. Public ICTSD - IPC agricultural R&D in developing countries is now about half the world total compared to about 40 percent three decades ago (Alston et al. 2009). However, while large countries such as China, India and Brazil, which account for hundreds of millions of farmers, have relatively strong domestic research capacity in agriculture, most developing countries including most of Africa have weak capacity and limited resources and infrastructure for conducting useful research. Promising efforts to develop local R&D capacities in the past have been squandered by a lack of In developed countries continuity and sustained private sector agricul- investment. Moreover, tural R&D has grown limited local capacity more rapidly than that has limited the ability in the public sector and, to adapt new traits and in the United States, varieties to local condifor example, the private tions. Private R&D has sector now accounts for grown in importance, more than half of all agbut remains mostly in ricultural R&D . developed countries. In-
This general trend in declining growth rates in public investments in agricultural R&D broadly constrains the innovation of technologies related to climate change, but tends to fall heaviest on developing countries that rely even more on public research in agriculture.
Innovation Considerations
deed, 95 percent of private sector agricultural R&D is performed in developed counties. In developed countries private sector agricultural R&D has grown more rapidly than that in the public sector and, in the United States, for example, the private sector now accounts for more than half of all agricultural R&D (Alston et al. 2009).
Developing countries have often leaned heavily on the resources and research of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which was established in 1971 to continue and extend foundation-supported international agricultural R&D, in order to provide useful inputs to national systems in developing countries. As an extension of efforts that had begun in the 1940s and expanded through the 1960s, the CGIAR system of centers grew rapidly, but budgets have become more constrained as the perceived mission of these centers expanded past productivity growth. As a cumulative effect of the slowing in public investments in productivity-enhancing innovations, the rate of agricultural productivity growth has diminished and the flow of innovations tailored to the agricultural production conditions in poorest countries has slowed. Innovation constraints in many developing countries stem from deeper problems in the agricultural sector. Many of these countries have a long history of large, direct government in-
Developing countries have often leaned heavily on the resources and research of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which was established in 1971 to continue and extend foundation-supported international agricultural R&D, in order to provide useful inputs to national systems in developing countries. As an extension of efforts that had begun in the 1940s and expanded through the 1960s, the CGIAR system of centers grew rapidly, but budgets have become more constrained as the perceived mission of these centers expanded past productivity growth.
tervention in both input and output markets in agriculture. This legacy often creates static and bureaucratic seed sectors, for example, which can stifle the formation of vibrant private firms and accompanying incentives to innovate. There are notable exceptions, including India where a dynamic private seed sector thrives and faces clear incentives to innovate in ways that matter to their demanding clientele (which commonly include even the smallest of smallholders), but developing countries research capacity and resources in agriculture are typically not managed in response to innovation incentives. Indeed, their capacity and resources are limited in part because of the absence of a responsive and dynamic seed sector that relays clear market incentives. Other institutional constraints can hamper innovation. For more advanced technologies, for example, the level of intellectual property (IP) protection in developing counFor more advanced tech- tries can have an nologies, for example, impact on R&D the level of intellectual investments. Comproperty (IP) protec- bined with their tion in developing counown weak research tries can have an impact on R&D investments. capacity, this conCombined with their own straint can create weak research capacity, this orphan crops that constraint can create or- suffer from the lack phan crops that suffer from of attention from the lack of attention from private firms and private firms and the lack the lack resources resources and capacity and capacity from from the international and the international domestic public sector. and domestic public sector. Although some have proposed creative remedies to this constraint such as offering research prizes (Masters, 2004, Masters, 2005), the diversity and complexity of agriculture may pose challenges to such remedies even if similar approaches are workable in the pharmaceutical industry: human physiology and responses to clinical treatments vary far less than do agroecological conditions and agronomic responses to
growing conditions. Arguments for public funding of agricultural research have often hinged on the positive externalities associated with enhanced agricultural productivity. Similar arguments may soon be heard to support funneling public agricultural R&D funds toward climate change mitigation and adaptation. As long as carbon is not incorporated into pricing, however, there will be insufficient incentives for agricultural technologies that may mitigate climate change. Conversely, putting a price on carbon, may create incentives for research and innovation in agricultural technologies and practices (e.g., Kaonga and Coleman, 2008, Woelcke and Tennigkeit, 2009). Creating functional carbon markets that can incorporate the full GHG impacts of agricultural practices or technologies is, however, a challenging endeavor. Measuring carbon credits associated with changes in agricultural practices or technologies can be particularly difficult. For example, a practice that reduced fertilizer use at the expense of lower yields may reduce emission for the affected field but may increase global emission as foregone productivity is replaced by opening new land in another location. Current efforts to measure these emission changes tend to ignore market implications, a fatal flaw that may create false carbon credits for changes in practices or technologies that actually increase rather than decrease GHG emissions. While functional carbon markets may create more socially efficient incentives for agricultural innovation, getting these markets to properly convey these incentives will require more sophisticated and comprehensive carbon measurement.
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Transfer Considerations
Developing countries often rely heavily on agricultural research conducted internationally (e.g., within the CGIAR and by both the public and private sectors in rich countries) and therefore on the international transfer of new technologies and research tools. The process of transferring
agricultural innovations across agro-ecological and climatic zones is often subject to agronomic constraints. The classic constraint of this sort stems from the fact that new varieties and crops must be suitable to the growing conditions of a particular locale before it can be successfully inUpstream research, introduced. Here, the discluding breeding lines and breeding tech- tinction between early or niques and equipment, upstream research stages is often relevant across a and later, more locationdownstream wide range of crops and specific varieties and therefore research stages is imporrelatively transportable. tant. Upstream research, Downstream research, in including breeding contrast, often requires lines and breeding techsubstantial investments niques and equipment, to resolve location-specif- is often relevant across a ic problems and develop wide range of crops and varieties for local growing varieties and therefore conditions. relatively transportable. Downstream research, in contrast, often requires substantial investments to resolve location-specific problems and 16 develop varieties for local growing conditions. ICTSD - IPC Transfer constraints are more likely to pose problems at downstream research stages. Thus,
while many developing countries can in principle benefit from upstream international agricultural research, limited local research capacity can make it difficult to capitalize on this global stock of agricultural research in practice.
There are natural spillovers between similar agro-ecological zones. Having the good fortune of sharing similar growing conditions with a country with cutting-edge research capacity and resources can therefore remedy many of these agronomic transfer constraints. In this respect, Africa suffers from a wide diversity of agro-ecological zones, which require substantial modification of promising varieties developed elsewhere (see Figure 5). The impact of this agro-ecological diver-
Agricultural biotechnology has revolutionized plant breeding in ways that relax some of these agronomic constraints. For example, breeders can now transfer and insert new crop traits with near surgical precision. These techniques can streamline the process of adapting varieties for local conditions, but they can also raise a new set of potential impediments in the form of biotechnology regulations and IP constraints.
Figure 5. Agroecological zones that can complicate the transfer of agricultural technologies (see http://harvestchoice.org/production/biophysical/agroecology)
sity on technology diffusion and the returns to agricultural R&D have been carefully documented by researchers at IFPRI as part of the HarvestChoice program (Wood and Pardey, 1998). Agricultural biotechnology has revolutionized plant breeding in ways that relax some of these agronomic constraints. For example, breeders can now transfer and insert new crop traits with near surgical precision. These techniques can streamline the process of adapting varieties for local conditions, but they can also raise a new set of potential impediments in the form of biotechnology regulations and IP constraints. A lack of biosafety regulations in developing countries, in addition to restrictions on GM crops emanating from developed countries, have made it difficult for developing countries to take advantage of new downstream technologies. Non existing or overly restrictive GM crop regulations obviously constrain downstream research stages, including the release and diffusion of new traits and varieties, but so can intellectual property rights (see Blakeney, 2009 for a careful exposition of IP issues related to agriculture). The role of patents as a potential impediment to access to essential medicines in poor countries has received substantial attention in a host of venues. In 2001, the WTO addressed this issue, in the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, by reiterating and expanding slightly the built-in flexibilities of the TRIPS Agreement. These flexibilities, allow countries, among other things, to issue compulsory licenses in order to promote access to medicines that are deemed critical to resolving national emergencies. The Declaration leaves to each Member the right to grant compulsory licenses and the freedom to determine the grounds upon which such licenses are granted as well as to determine what constitutes a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency.
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Recently, some have drawn parallels between the patents and access to medicines debate and the transfer of climate change technologies to poor countries. Indeed, IP-related discussions in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have borrowed many of the same arguments and created similar battle lines and alliances as the essential medicines debate (see box). Despite these apparent parallels, the role of patents in impeding access to agricultural technologies in general and those related to climate change adaptation or mitigation is more subtle. Agroecological diversity and the other transfer constraints discussed above imply that agricultural technologies cannot be popped like pills with the same effect anywhere. Consequently, countries are less likely to issue a compulsory license for a patented agricultural technology because removing barriers to technology transfer is not just a matter of dealing with patents.4
The UNFCCC Discussions on Technology Transfer & Intellectual Property Rights
Derived from discussions to enable the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention through longterm cooperative action, now, up to and beyond 2012, the 2007 Bali Action Plan identified technology development and transfer as a priority area. Since then, intellectual property rights have emerged as a particularly controversial issue in climate change discussions relating to technology transfer. On the one hand, a number of developing countries and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have advocated the use of the flexibilities available within TRIPS to enhance technology transfer of climate friendly technologies to developing countries. On the other hand, many technologically advanced countries and business associations consider that strengthened intellectual property rights play an essential role in encouraging the innovation, transfer and diffusion of climate friendly technologies. As a result, current references to intellectual property rights in the UNFCCC draft negotiation text are still under negotiation. While the Copenhagen Accord mentions the establishment of a Technology Mechanism to accelerate technology development and transfer, the role of intellectual property rights is not mentioned explicitly. Discussions on this issue are likely to continue until the United Nations Framework Convention meeting in Cancun in 2010 and beyond.
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lthough the compulsory licensing of essential medicines has increased since the Doha Declaration in 2001, it continues to A be used only rarely and primarily as a bargaining chip in negotiations with patent holders rather than as a viable licensing strategy. In the case of agricultural technologies, compulsory licensing is rarer still. A number of countries (e.g., Canada, Japan and Brazil) were nonetheless careful to include provisions allowing compulsory licensing in their plant variety legislation. The potential use of compulsory licensing in this area, while surely limited, should not be disregarded outright.
The development of new varieties, particularly through agricultural biotechnology, often draws on several sources of more basic IP and adjudicating ownership or share in the returns from the final product is at the very least complex and in more extreme cases may eliminate the incentive to develop the applicable product at all.
That the link is more subtle does not imply that IP issues do not matter in agricultural technology transfer. Rather, IP constraints are often less direct in agriculture than in health. Patented research tools or protected varieties and breeding lines technically constrain upstream as well as downstream research, but associated problems have tended to emerge only late in the process. The development of
Golden Rice and the complexity of ownership and control of the technology clearly showcased these concerns (see box). The development of new varieties, particularly through agricultural biotechnology, often draws on several sources of more basic IP and adjudicating ownership or share in the returns from the final product is at the very least complex and in more extreme cases may eliminate the incentive to develop the applicable product at all. These so-called patent thickets can stymie innovation because the resulting anticommons with too many property rights holders can in theory introduce almost paralyzing frictions and produce inefficient outcomes (Heller and Eisenberg, 1998).
Golden Rice: The Catalyst for Intellectual Property & Licensing Innovations Aimed at Humanitarian Use Technology Transfer
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Golden Rice was catapulted into the global spotlight in 2000 when it graced the cover of Time magazine along with its inventor Ingo Potrykus. It was heralded as a potential solution to the long standing problem of vitamin A deficiency and its damaging effects on eyesight, particularly among children and pregnant and lactating women. Through the application of biotechnology, Potrykus had devised a clever technique for shifting the production of beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, in the rice plant from the foliage and other parts of the plant to the edible grain. Due to the timing of its arrival, Golden Rice was quickly harnessed in the potent confluence of debates about agricultural biotechnology and globalization.
While the willingness of In 2000, a detailed analysis of the intellectual property dimensions to the patent holders to negodevelopment of Golden Rice was published (Kryder, et al., 2000), which tiate was certainly eldocumented roughly 70 patents and patent applications that were implicated evated by the high proin the development of Golden Rice. Although a patent thicket of this size file and almost symbolic could be difficult or impossible to navigate in order to get freedom to operate (Heller and Eisenberg, 1998), it ultimately did not pose serious probstatus Golden Rice had lems because Golden Rice was intended to be distributed to relatively poor achieved, it nonetheless farmers in poor countries. This facilitated the negations with patent holders catalyzed careful thinkin two ways. First, many of the 70 patents that were implicated in the ing and institutional intechnology were not effective in poor countries. Indeed, many poor countries novation that will benefit had no patent restrictions on Golden Rice at all because the inventors had lesser technologies with not sought patent protection in small poor countries (and as a matter of lower profiles for years to practice often do not). Second, there was essentially no overlap between the come. target clientele of Golden Rice (poor farmers) and the target clientele of the commercial patent holders. This created substantial scope for humanitarian use negotiations, which ultimately defined the humanitarian use market as those farmers in selected developing countries earning less than $10,000 per year from farming (see Lybbert, 2002 for discussion of humanitarian use licensing).
While the willingness of patent holders to negotiate was certainly elevated by the high profile and almost symbolic status Golden Rice had achieved, it nonetheless catalyzed careful thinking and institutional innovation that will benefit lesser technologies with lower profiles for years to come. In particular, it created an institutional framework for resolving intellectual property issues related to access to technologies among the poor through humanitarian use licensing, including the Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture (PIPRA) and the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF). (For a case study of Golden Rice and intellectual property negotiations, see http://www.iphandbook.org/handbook/case_studies/cs03/ .)
While these IP frictions are real, they are not insurmountable. Again, the Golden Rice case is insightful: it not only illustrated the potential problem in the case of agricultural technologies and the poor, but also catalyzed substantial efforts and investments to remedy the problem. A variety of remedies to this technology transfer constraint have emerged, including humanitarian use licensing (Lybbert, 2002), patent pools and public-private partnerships. While patent pools have a history among private firms (Lerner and Tirole, 2004), they have recently emerged as a potentially promising mechanism for facilitating the licensing of technologies within the public sector and between the public and private sectors. Still, implementing patent pools in practice, especially in developing countries, can face numerous challenges, which merit careful consideration and further research (Cannady, 2009). A host of other potential remedies for IP issues with climate change technologies more broadly including the built-in flexibility of the TRIPS Agreement of the WTO have been explored elsewhere (ICTSD, 2009, Maskus, 2009). Two specific efforts to leverage such remedies in the case of agricultural technologies are worth highlighting here. First, the Public Intellectual Property Resource for Agriculture (PIPRA) (Atkinson, et al., 2003) was conceived in the wake of efforts to understand the IP implications of Golden Rice (see box) and is supported by a consortium of over 50 institutions in 15 countries. As a consortium of public sector and non-profit institutions, PIPRA offers a variety of services partly via a network of pro-bono attorneys that aim to facilitate access to public innovations, especially among the poor in developing countries. A look at some of PIPRAs services sheds light on specific and important transfer constraints: IP analysis and training, commercialization strategies, drafting and negotiating licensing agreements, and structuring public-private
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partnerships. In conjunction with the Center for the Management of Intellectual Property and Health Research and Development (MIHR), PIPRA published an online handbook of best practices that is specifically aimed at improving access to agricultural and health technologies in developing countries (see http://www.iphandbook.org/). The handbo ok includes case studies, sample licensing agreements, including those with humanitarian use terms, and detailed discussions that will be valuable to the management of IP aimed at improving the transfer of relevant agricultural technologies for climate change adaptation or mitigation. The second public-private initiative that is particularly relevant is the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), which was similarly conceived in the wake of the Golden Rice case 5 as an institutional innovation to reduce frictions in the transfer of agricultural technologies to smallholder farmers in Africa. The AATF is a non-profit organization that promotes public-private partnerships for the access and delivery of appropriate proprietary agricultural technologies for use by resource-poor smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. (see http://www.aatf-africa.org). It offers expertise and know-how that facilitates the identification, access, development, delivery and utilization of proprietary agricultural technologies with the aim of reducing food security and poverty reduction in SubSaharan Africa. Among other things, it plays a primary coordinating role in the WEMA project described above. Since IP issues typically figure prominently in discussions of technology transfer, we conclude this subsection by taking stock of implications for agricultural technologies to mitigate or adapt to climate change. It is important to recognize that for many of the agriculture technologies described above, IP issues play
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ecognition of potential frictions in agricultural technology transfer related to intellectual property and their particular R relevance to developing countries was building before the Golden Rice case. Given the high prole Golden Rice quickly assumed, however, it provided a powerful impetus to the donor community to take these potential constraints seriously and to support innovative efforts to offer remedies.
to incorporate into Notice this tradeoff: with local varieties, esless location-specificity, pecially as capacity agroecological differences to use these techmay matter less, but this niques continues implies less physical sepato spread. Notice ration between profitable this tradeoff: with and humanitarian uses and legal IP constraints less location-specimay become more bindficity, agroecologiing as a result. cal differences may matter less, but this implies less physical separation between profitable and humanitarian uses and legal IP constraints may become more binding as a result. More broadly, the segmentation between these markets will blur How relevant might these institutional innova- as a result of continued economic development tions be for facilitating the transfer of climate in many of todays developing countries. In the change technologies? In response to this ques- process, some of todays poor farmers will gradution, it is important to note that these institu- ally emerge from poverty, increase their investtions have emerged in part because the com- ment in inputs and technologies, and become plexity and diversity in agriculture (see Figure important clients to private agricultural firms. 5) effectively segments markets for agricultural This may increase disparities among farmers in technologies. This segmentation between poor poor countries and make it more difficult to seg20 farmers in developing countries and rich farmers ment an entire poor country as a humanitarian ICTSD - IPC elsewhere can make public-private partnerships use market. a low risk proposition for While the distance and private firms and implies Finally, it is worth differences between This segmentation be- that royalty-free, human- emphasizing that these market segments tween poor farmers in itarian use licensing may despite the conprovide a useful point of developing countries not pose a threat to firms ventional rhetodeparture for negotiaand rich farmers else- profitable, royalty-bear- ric, these IP retions, broader technolowhere can make publicing markets. With some lated concerns g y stewardship concerns private partnerships a of the climate change involve much ranging from liability, low risk proposition for technologies discussed more than roybiosafety, technolog y private firms and immanagement, and pubabove, however, the segalties. While the plies that royalty-free, lic relations must also humanitarian use li- mentation between prof- distance and difbe addressed. Successful itable and humanitarian ferences between censing may not pose a negotiation of partnermarket threat to firms profit- use markets could blur these ships, preferential liable, royalty-bearing in the coming decades. segments provide censing terms, or other markets. With some of Many of these technolo- a useful point of cooperation often hinges the climate change tech- gies may be less sensitive departure for nemore on these stewardnologies discussed above, to agroecological condi- gotiations, broadship concerns than on however, the segmenta- tions than traditional er technology royalty concerns. tion between profitable crop varieties can be. For stewardship conand humanitarian use example, with biotech- cerns ranging markets could blur in nology, techniques may from liability, biosafety, technology managethe coming decades. become increasingly easy ment, and public relations must also be ad-
only a minor role. Where IP issues arise, they are at times complicated but not impenetrable. As a practical matter, many of the IP issues that are likely to arise with climate change mitigation and adaptation in developing countries are familiar. Consequently, some of the IP remedies discussed above are directly relevant to the transfer of future technologies related to climate change. Best practices related to humanitarian use licensing, for example, may reduce frictions in the transfer of technology to the rural poor in important ways. Initiatives such as PIPRA and AATF have created a meaningful space in which ongoing institutional innovation can occur.
dressed. Successful negotiation of partnerships, preferential licensing terms, or other cooperation often hinges more on these stewardship concerns than on royalty concerns. Technology transfer constraints and concerns deserve continued attention: The past decade has stimulated some creative institutional innovation to remedy some agricultural technology transfer constraints. Initiatives such as PIPRA and AATF, though useful, also have inherent limitations. Inevitably, new technologies will continue to demand novel thinking about IP arrangements that encourage greater access by the poor. Demands of new technologies and continued economic development will require further innovation on this front.
to new crops and introducing substantial market risk. The lack of carbon pricing prevents farmers from internalizing reductions in GHG emissions and may likewise discourage the adoption of new technologies or practices that mitigate climate change.
The state and strength of local institutions and infrastructure often directly shape farmers access to and use of new technologies frequently in ways that weaken innovation incentives and limit the two-way information flow between researchers and farmers. For example, inadequate or ineffective extension systems in some countries seriously limit the adoption of new techniques and technologies. While information from input providers, local growers associations and cooperatives can help to remedy these problems by building Access & Use Considerations farmer networks and facilitating training, Even after promising technologies are devel- these can also raise difficulties of their own. oped, modified to local conditions, and of- Physical infrastructure such as roads and fered to farmers other transportation and communication in poor countries, networks can affect the dissemination of both A dysfunctional or un- several factors can technologies and ideas. Missing credit and responsive input sector impede access to insurance markets can discourage the adoption not only hampers pri- and use of these of new technologies as well. vate sector innovation new technologies. incentives, but can also act as a weak link in the Many of these In a similar way, government management of delivery of new technol- constraints stem agricultural output markets can stifle growers ogies developed by the from the same do- ability or incentives to adopt new varieties and domestic or internation- mestic roots that crops. Lack of direct incentives to adapt to new create innovation market conditions because market prices are al public sector. constraints as de- not allowed to flow through to farmers, means scribed above. In that they often continue to cultivate traditional particular, static and poorly functioning input crops or varieties even when more profitable markets, including very limited private sector opportunities emerge. As climate change makes investment and involvement in the seed sec- dynamic responses to new opportunities and tor, can severely limit farmers access to new market signals more important, the costs of varieties. A dysfunctional or unresponsive in- output market rigidities become even higher. put sector not only hampers private sector innovation incentives, but can also act as a weak Even when input and output markets are suflink in the delivery of new technologies devel- ficiently flexible and local institutions and oped by the domestic or international pub- policies are appropriately and sufficiently suplic sector. Similarly, poorly integrated output portive, other potential access constraints can markets can discourage farmers from adopt- be relevant. The adoption of some technoloing more productive technologies by reducing gies and techniques particularly those that transmission of price signals, inhibiting shifts confer stochastic or inter-temporal benefits
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The adoption of some technologies and techniques particularly those that confer stochastic or inter-temporal benefits involves a complex learning process for farmers.
involves a complex learning process for farmers. Consider, for example, the introduction of a new drought tolerant maize variety to African farmers. Compared to the same variety without drought tolerance, such a variety would reduce losses during drought but be indistinguishable otherwise. Too severe a drought can also eliminate any benefits associated with the drought tolerant variety. Stochastic relative benefit streams such as this are notoriously difficult for breeders to assess and even tougher for poor farmers to evaluate given their relative lack of control over other production factors (Lybbert and Bell, 2009). In contrast, early maturation, a trait that can reduce a farmers drought risk in the late growing season, is observable nearly every season and is therefore easier to learn.
Access and use constraints often differ across farmers. Many of the above constraints are particularly severe for small farmers on land that lacks adaptation options. These farmers are also likely to be the most vulnerable to negative impacts of climate change. Small farmers often are typically less integrated in both input and output markets and lack access to financial markets and services. In some regions, these farmers are also subject to more unpredictable growing conditions, which can hamper their ability to assess the value of new technologies such as drought tolerance. Private seed companies, for example, are frequently unable to justify investing in research that targets small farmers operating on land with severe constraints. Adoption of innovations by these growers tends to lag because there are simply too many production factors out of their control for farmers to observe how a new variety is different or better than the old one.
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5.
POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES & PRIORITIES

Policy Principles
1. The best policy and institutional responses will enhance information flows, incentives and flexibility. With changing cliWith changing climates mates and changand changing policy ening policy environvironments, informaments, information tion for better decision for better decision making is crucial for making is crucial growers, upstream supfor growers, uppliers and downstream stream suppliers marketers. and downstream marketers. Signals from prices and accurate price expectations determine the efficiency of responses to changing incentives. The more incentives reflect true costs and benefits, the more agricultural responses will correspond to needed adaptation and mitigation. Of course, flexibility to respond is also required, and the flexibility premium is all the more important when climate and economic environments are changing.
The set of potentially relevant agricultural technologies is diverse. The survey of technologies in the prior section is indicative of this broad and diverse set, but it obviously misses a vast pool of yet undiscovered technologies that will be critically important to climate change adaptation and mitigation in agriculture. The development and diffusion of all these technologies hinge crucially on policies and institutions. In this section, we explore potential improvements in policies and institutions that could contribute to these development and diffusion processes, which take on new urgency under pressure from climate change and climate policy. We begin by outlining several policy principles that should guide the formulation of new or modified policies and institutions that aim to stimulate more rapid innovation, transfer and adoption of relevant agricultural technologies. We then build on these principles and offer several specific policy options that merit careful consideration.
2. Policies and institutions that promote economic development and reduce poverty will often improve agricultural adaptation and may also pave the way for more effective climate change mitigation through agriculture. When conditions are static, there is little premium to the ability to deal with change. Under dynamic and variable conditions, however, the individual and social payoff to being better able to deal with disequilibrium is substantial. The effectiveness of farmer response to changing conditions is enhanced by improved human capital of farmers (Schultz, 1975). Thus, improved rural schooling, additional farmer training and extension, better communication networks, and similar measures have particular urgency going forward. 3. Business as usual among the worlds poor is not adequate. Many of the worlds poor still live in unacceptably desperate circumstances, and climate change is likely to add further burdens. Food prices, which are so important for poor consumers, are likely to increase and the livelihoods of net food purchasing farmers will be directly threatened. Thus, besides the traditional agenda, development efforts must attend to climate issues. This includes attention to warming, precipitation and increased climate variability, as well as attention to market impacts driven by changes in climate and climate policy (World Bank, 2009). Likewise, climate change financing to support adaptation and mitigation in developing countries must prioritize the agricultural sector. 4. Existing technology options must be made more available and accessible without overlooking complementary capacity and investments. Climate change will almost surely make life even harder for the worlds poorest and most vulnerable populations; we must avoid restricting their capacity to adapt by limiting their options. Technology options, in particular, must become more available. Although agricultural biotechnology remains controversial in some circles, biotechnology-based
products have spread Climate change will alrapidly where they have most surely make life not been severely reeven harder for the stricted by government worlds poorest and policies or related conmost vulnerable popustraints and will gain in lations; we must avoid importance in the con- restricting their capactext of climate change. ity to adapt by limiting Countries that do not their options. Technolyet have biosafety regu- og y options, in particulations should put these lar, must become more into place, and the in- available. ternational community must reach sensible agreement on issues pertaining to traceability and liability. Where biophysical or legal constraints impede access to technology, continued institutional innovation will be required to build and improve on existing models of international agricultural research (CGIAR) and technology cooperation (PIPRA, AATF, etc.). These efforts must also acknowledge the need for complementary investments in the capacity to effectively and sustainably use new 23 technologies, which is often a more binding ICTSD - IPC constraint than intellectual property or other legal constraints. 5. Adaptation and mitigation in agriculture will require local responses, but effective policy responses must also reflect global impacts and inter-linkages. We have outlined how the global climate system interacts with the global economy, implying that global responses must be considered for any policy or institutional change. A policy change in one location will change incentives elsewhere in the global economic system. These off-site responses to policy-induced changes in local behavior are particularly important for climate change mitigation. The so-called indirect land use impacts of biofuels-induced grain price increases provides a canonical example of such global interactions in the agricultural economy, but this is only an indicator of the general proposition. If land conversion or other derived changes in input use are important contributors to GHG emissions, then
If land conversion or other derived changes in input use are important contributors to GHG emissions, then the consequences of any technology or policy for global resource use in agriculture must be a central concern.
the consequences of any technology or policy for global resource use in agriculture must be a central concern. Similarly, assessment of the impacts of new crop varieties and traits on climate change requires careful consideration of how producers respond to these new technologies by changing what they choose to grow and where. The biggest impact of introducing drought tolerant maize varieties, for example, may very well be to change the spatial range over which maize is grown.
more rapid shift in some regional populations out of farming than would otherwise occur and assistance will be required in making these adjustments. Shifts of regional comparative advantage and movement of people out of agriculture defines world history. Wealthy nations such as Norway or Japan can support a few million globally non-competitive farmers, but such an approach cannot be successful for hundreds of millions of small farmers in poor countries. Thus, when considering both adaptation and migration, global agricultural responses must be at the center of the analysis.
Some Specific Policy Priorities
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Policymakers must therefore incorporate global economic linkages in any consideration of the impacts of global climate change on agriculture. Given the right kind of technology or institutional conditions, agricultural adaptation to changes in average precipitation and temperature can occur at relatively local levels. Adaptation to increased weather variability and increased frequency of extreme Rebuild and expand public agricultural events, on the other hand, requires more than b. research capacity in developing countries: local responses. Adapting to such changes will New crop and trait combinations will be demand greater global interdependence via required to meet demands for global food international trade and other global linkages. security while at the same time coping with or even mitigating climate change. 6. Trade will play a critical role in both Policymakers must fund and improve mitigation and adaptation, but will itself public agricultural research capacity in be shaped importantly by climate change. poor countries, especially those facing Climate change will affect the global pattern of severe climate change. The CGIAR system comparative advantage and attempts to block can continue to play a key role in this the force of global markets would be costly and process and can provide a model for noncounterproductive (Nelson et al 2009). Regions agricultural technologies as well (Correa, facing major new climate and market realities 2009), but developing countries must also may respond with large adjustments, say to new prioritize their own national agricultural crops, rather than make marginal adjustments research systems and ensure that these in a futile attempt to compete in markets that systems are functional. Investments have moved. Investing in and encouraging must entail long-term commitments for adoption of marginal new technologies may infrastructure and human capital that are be doomed to failure, however, when major meaningful enough to attract and retain changes, maybe even out of agriculture, are well-trained, cutting-edge scientists. This inevitable. Climate change may entail an even
a. I nvest in public agricultural R&D in developed countries: Increasing public agricultural R&D investments in rich countries is essential; it is the major global engine of agricultural productivity and long term lower food prices for the poor (World Bank, 2009). These R&D investments should target general improvements in agricultural productivity, resistance to more variable growing conditions, water use efficiency, and reduced input intensity.
requires national agricultural research frameworks based on scientific evidence systems to provide stronger, more (Fedoroff, et al., 2010). dynamic professional incentives for their own researchers. Multilateral and bilateral d. Encourage complementarities between investments must target countries where public and private agricultural these reforms and long-term commitments research: Policy should appreciate, are feasible. These and other research leverage and create complementarities demands, many of which are highlighted between agricultural R&D in rich as technologies above, should determine and poor countries and between that research priorities. These priorities emerging from the public and private should also leverage agricultural research sectors. Governments and international from developed countries and ensure institutions can help foster the use of complementarities. The important role biotechnologies to aid in mitigation and for public sector R&D does not preclude adaptation. Industry and government a vital role for profit-driven private sector R&D can play complementary roles. R&D in developing countries. Each part Purely private incentives will likely fail of the whole has a distinct role, with the to generate enough or the right types public sector focusing on technologies of innovation for climate solutions. where property rights and profitable Obstacles to greater applicability opportunities are limited. and use of agricultural technology by developing country producers need c. Harness agricultural biotechnology to be overcome without reducing as a potentially important option: incentives for continued innovation of Agricultural biotechnology use and new technologies. Representatives from trade regulations must be sufficiently both the private and public sectors must flexible that they do not discourage the build and further develop the flurry of transfer or adoption of locally important institutional innovations that aims to innovations. Policy options related to this improve developing country access to flexibility may relate to the protection of agricultural technologies in the recent IP, including continued work to negotiate decade. The momentum behind creative appropriate humanitarian use exemptions remedies to potential IP problems in and preferential treatment. While technology transfer provides a useful governments may be able to help make point of departure, but IP issues should privately-owned technologies more widely also be kept in the proper perspective: in available and accessible by modifying practice other constraints are often far IP rules and taking advantage of the more binding than IP. flexibilities provided by international agreements such as the TRIPS Agreement e. Help to mitigate risk: Risk mitigation at the WTO, public-private partnerships may involve a variety of government and other institutional arrangements may policy and institutions. While government be even more effective in some cases. supported crop insurance in developed Support for agricultural biotechnology as countries has often been highly subsidized an important option in the coming decades with little ability to sustain without of challenging adaptation in agriculture substantial taxpayer support, ongoing is growing, but there remains a critical research suggests that better designed need to get beyond popular biases against insurance products may remedy some of the use of agricultural biotechnology these problems. There is evidence in India, and develop forward-looking regulatory for example, that farmers may be willing
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to purchase weather index insurance products even when these products are not subsidized.
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f. I nvest in better information & forecasts: Continued investments in remote sensing and weather forecasting are as important as ever. Improvements in sensing and communication technology and in modeling techniques have brought sophisticated short-term forecasts to many parts of the world. More must be done to improve longer-term seasonal forecasts and to develop more effective forecasts of slow onset events such as drought. Policies to support the diffusion of this information and to help interpret these forecasts in terms of their agronomic and economic implications are required to help both Improve the measurement of agricultural suppliers and demanders respond well to i. GHG emissions: It may be possible new information. to refine GHG markets that stimulate innovation and adoption of agricultural g. Support competitive & responsive technologies and practices that reduce agricultural markets: Policies and global GHG emission. However, in order institutions that encourage the to harness carbon markets in this way, development of competitive and responsive several challenges must first be met input and output markets in agriculture many of which require a policy response. should take on added urgency in the face One immense challenge involves of climate change. Appropriate responses constructing effective metrics for to new climate conditions or even seasonal GHG credits in agriculture. Creating weather forecasts require the ability to these metrics will require institutional make efficient production adjustments innovation and creative work to better in response to these changing conditions. understand and collect the necessary The single best gauge of efficiency when technological and economic information making these adjustments is provided by needed to measure GHG emissions in price signals in functional markets. Market agriculture. Recognition of the importance rigidities from government price policies, of off-site impacts of changes in farm parastatal restrictions, and dominant practices increases the complexity of buyers (which may be local cooperatives) measurement, reporting and verification all limit the ability of farmers and others of GHG impacts. For example, unless to adapt and adjust to disequilibria in a global impacts, including land use more dynamic and variable world. response, is included in the calculations, metrics developed on a local or regional h. Encourage investments that improve basis may make the climate situation spatial market integration: Poorly worse not better. integrated markets arising from inadequate communication and transportation infrastructure or other factors that create
spatial frictions impede the transmission of price signals to rural producers and limit their ability to respond efficiently. As above, these market frictions will hamper climate change adaptation in agriculture and in agri-food markets more generally. Improvements in communications will no doubt continue without dedicated policy responses to climate change. Cell phones, for example, have penetrated most corners of the world and, in the process, have improved the spatial market integration of agricultural markets (e.g., Jensen, 2007). Rigidities introduced by weak transportation infrastructure and outdated government policies will, however, only be remedied with concerted policy efforts.
6.
CONCLUSION
While the past half century has seen a mixed record of economic development across countries, there have been remarkable successes on every continent and the average human being today is substantially better off than his or her grandparents (thanks especially to impressive economic growth in both India and China). Over the next several decades the same period we are expected to see dramatic climate changes we can optimistically hope that many of todays rural poor in South Asia, Africa and other regions see dramatic economic improvements that will facilitate their capacity for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Even with these hoped for improvements, however, the sensitivity of agriculture to climate change remains a global concern. Agriculture has a unique role in development. It is our primary source of food, has significant potential for mitigation of global 27 GHG emissions, and is particularly sensitive ICTSD - IPC to climate change. Innovations in agriculture have always been important and will be even more vital in Agriculture has a unique the context of climate role in development. It is our primary source change. Thoughtful of food, has significant policy responses that potential for mitigation encourage the develof global GHG emisopment and diffusion sions, and is particuof appropriate agricullarly sensitive to climate tural technologies will change. Innovations in be crucial to enabling agriculture have always an effective technobeen important and will logical response. A be even more vital in careful balance of inthe context of climate stitutional change and change. Thoughtful wise investments is policy responses that enrequired to deal with courage the development and diffusion of approboth the demands priate agricultural techof climate change nologies will be crucial and the demands of to enabling an effective improving lives of technological response. the poor.
As we consider implications of and responses to climate change, continuing concerns for improvements in nutrition, food security, food safety, local environments, and rural communities must not be neglected. Current poverty and the hunger and other tragedies that it entails demand immediate attenCurrent poverty and tion. Agricultural the hunger and other development eftragedies that it entails forts cannot be demand immediate atdiverted even tention. Agricultural dewhile recognizing velopment efforts cannot the importance be diverted even while of climate change recognizing the imporand the interactance of climate change tion between cliand the interaction bemate and other tween climate and other agricultural isagricultural issues. sues. Given the reliance of the poor on agriculture and the sensitivity of agriculture to climate change, impending climate changes will almost certainly hit (currently) developing countries and vulnerable populations within these countries hardest. While this reality seems to make the development process more complex, it should also stimulate greater urgency in addressing rural poverty and vulnerability. These twin imperatives of climate change greater complexity and greater urgency are important to keep in mind when formulating policies and institutions aimed at improving climate change adaptation and mitigation in agriculture. The technologies we have discussed, along with the many more that are yet to be discovered, can each make important contributions, but there are no quick, technological shortcuts. For example, biotechnology has an important role in dealing with several of these issues, but is not a quick and easy solution to addressing climate concerns and other agricultural development issues. Furthermore, its efficacy depends on the broader technological, economic, environmental, and political context.
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Cline, W.R. 2007. Global Warming and Agriculture : Impact Estimates by Country. Washington, DC: Center for Global Development : Peterson Institute for International Economics. Correa, C. Fostering the Development and Diffusion of Technologies for Climate Change: Lessons from the Cgiar Model. International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, December. Dischel, R.S. 2002. Climate Risk and the Weather Market : Financial Risk Management with Weather Hedges. London: Risk Books. Fedoroff, N.V., D.S. Battisti, R.N. Beachy, P.J.M. Cooper, D.A. Fischhoff, C.N. Hodges, V.C. Knauf, D. Lobell, B.J. Mazur, D. Molden, M.P. Reynolds, P.C. Ronald, M.W. Rosegrant, P.A. Sanchez, A. Vonshak, and J.K. Zhu. 2010. Radically Rethinking Agriculture for the 21st Century. Science 327(5967):833-834. Glauber, J. 2004. Crop Insurance Reconsidered. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 86(5):1179-1195. Hallstrom, D.G., and D.A. Sumner (2000) Agricultural Economic Responses to Forecasted Variation: Crop Divesification, Storage and Trade. Palisades, New York, Instituted for Climate Prediction, pp. 285-261. Heller, M.A., and R.S. Eisenberg. 1998. Can Patents Deter Innovation? The Anticommons in Biomedical Research. Science 280(May 1):698-701. Hess, U., K. Richter, and A. Stoopa (2002) Weather Risk Management for Agriculture and AgriBusiness in Developing Countries, ed. R.S. Dischel. London, Risk Books, pp. xviii, 325.
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About the Platform

In 2008 the International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council (IPC) and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) launched The ICTSD-IPC Platform on Climate Change, Agriculture and Trade. This interdisciplinary platform of climate change, agricultural and trade experts seeks to promote increased policy coherence to ensure effective climate change mitigation and adaptation, food security and a more open and equitable global food system. Publications include: International Climate Change Negotiations and Agriculture. Policy Brief No.1, May 2009 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Policies and Agriculture: Implications for Production Incentives and International Trade Disciplines. Issue Brief No.1, by D. Blandford and T. Josling, August 2009 Climate Change and Developing Country Agriculture: An Overview of Expected Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation Challenges and Funding Requirements. Issue Brief No.2 by J. Keane, S. Page, A. Kergna, and J. Kennan, December 2009 Carbon Concerns: How Standards and Labeling Initiatives Must Not Limit Agricultural Trade From Developing. Issue Brief No.3, by J. MacGregor, May 2010 The Role of International Trade in Climate Change Adaptation. Issue Brief No. 4, by G. Nelson, A. Palazzo, C. Ringler, T. Sulser and M. Batka, December 2009 Climate Change and Chinas Agricultural Sector: An Overview of Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation. Issue Brief No. 5, by J. Wang, J. Huang and S. Rozelle, May 2010 Agricultural Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Developing Countries: Policy Options for Innovation and Technology Diffusion. Issue Brief No.6 by T. Lybbert and D. Sumner, May 2010
About the Organizations

The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development was established in Geneva in September 1996 to contribute to a better understanding of development and environment concerns in the context of international trade. As an independent nonprofit and non-governmental organization, ICTSD engages a broad range of actors in ongoing dialogue about trade and sustainable development. With a wide network of governmental, non-governmental and inter-governmental partners, ICTSD plays a unique systemic role as a provider of original, non-partisan reporting and facilitation services at the intersection of international trade and sustainable development. More information is available at www.ictsd.org. The International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council promotes a more open and equitable global food system by pursuing pragmatic trade and development policies in food and agriculture to meet the worlds growing needs. IPC convenes influential policymakers, agribusiness executives, farm leaders, and academics from developed and developing countries to clarify complex issues, build consensus, and advocate policies to decision-makers. More information on the organization and its membership can be found on our website: www.agritrade.org.

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Agricultural Technologies For Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Developing Countries Web

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Agricultural Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Developing Countries: Policy Options for Innovation and

By Travis Lybbert and Daniel Sumner, May 2010

ICTSD-IPC Platform on Climate Change, Agriculture and Trade

Issue Brief No. 6

Ricardo Melndez-Ortiz Chief Executive, ICTSD

Charlotte Hebebrand, President /CEO, IPC

2.  BACKGROUND: CLIMATE CHANGE & AGRICULTURE

3.  AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION & ADAPTATION

New Traits, Varieties & Crops

Figure 3. Average cereal yield by region (Source: WDR 2009).

Water Management & Irrigation

Other Production Inputs

Marketing & Supply Chains

Production Management & Practices

4.  INNOVATION & DIFFUSION CONSIDERATIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES

POLICY AND INSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES & PRIORITIES

Some Specific Policy Priorities

About the Platform

About the Organizations

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2. BACKGROUND: CLIMATE CHANGE & AGRICULTURE

3. AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION & ADAPTATION

4. INNOVATION & DIFFUSION CONSIDERATIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES