Implications of climate change for sustainable agricultural production systems: Getting communication strategies right - Executive summary

In October 2008 CTA organized an international seminar on the implications of climate change for sustainable agricultural production systems in ACP countries. It brought together about 200 participants from the ACP region, EU national institutions and regional and international organizations. The CTA Seminar identified ways of improving access to climate change information in ACP countries.

Outputs of the seminar included:

• Experiences and knowledge of climate change management mechanisms shared;
• New strategies for lessening the harmful impact of climate change on the crop and stock farming communities of ACP countries identified;
• Recommendations on appropriate strategies for information and communication management made;
• Decision makers awareness of the harmful effects of climate change on agricultural production systems increased;
• Proposals made for the regional action groups established to monitor and implement recommendations;
• Direct contact established between the stakeholders.

The seminar focused on how climate change affects interactions between the main ACP agricultural production systems and the cross-cutting issues that threaten agricultural sustainability and rural development. The agricultural production systems most commonly found in ACP countries are cropping systems (rice, sugar cane, cotton, etc.); mixed agriculture-livestock production systems; pastoral systems and the livelihood systems of coastal communities. The processes that threaten their sustainability have been identified as land degradation; the demand for renewable energy (biofuels), reduced primary production; water management problems; migration; unstable markets, the erosion of biodiversity, declining ecosystem services and an overall increase in vulnerability and risk.