Eight countries discuss how to integrate agriculture in their National Adaptation Plans

Representatives of Ministries of Agriculture and Ministries of the Environment from Nepal, Kenya, the Philippines, Thailand, Uganda, Uruguay, Viet Nam and Zambia are for the first time actively engaged in discussing how to ensure the integration of the agriculture sectors and sub-sectors in national adaptation planning processes.    

As part of the Programme "Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans", FAO together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are hosting a Global Capacity Development Workshop on this topic in Rome, Italy from 5-7 April 2016.  

During the first day of the workshop, discussions focused on climate change adaptation and food security from the perspective of different agriculture sectors: livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture. Countries also looked at the synergies between climate change adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction as well as the co-benefits of adaptation and mitigation. Mainstreaming climate change adaptation and the entry points for adaptation in development planning and budgeting was also discussed. 

“The programme is assisting us to build systems for example applying risk analysis and the economic appraisal of adaptation options. This should be done through national and sub-national experts and institutions,” said Maikut Chebet, Commissioner/Head of the Climate Change Department of the Ministry of Water and Environment in Uganda. 

Climate Change poses very diverse impacts on agriculture sectors in different countries, and even within countries. When speaking about the challenges Mr L.N Acharya from the Ministry of Agriculture in Nepal explained that “the rise in temperatures in the Himalayan region can result in melting glaciers and burst lakes which can cause unprecedented flooding resulting in loss of land, agricultural production, livestock, human life and ultimately food and nutrition insecurity in the country.” 

Detailed technical conversations at the meeting include topics such as: developing a common understanding on the NAP process, challenges related to sector and sub-sector integration, boosting national capacity and how to build evidence and get support for implementation. The meeting is also part of the peer-to-peer exchange between countries on adaptation strategies and approaches. 

The second day of the workshop will look at building an evidence base for climate change adaptation in agriculture and leveraging support for NAPs.

About the programme   

"Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans" is a FAO-UNDP programme that was launched last year. It is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) to respond to the challenge of climate change in the agricultural sectors. FAO and UNDP are specifically working with ministries of agriculture, environment, finance, and planning in the eight partner countries. They support these countries to identify and integrate climate adaptation measures in the agriculture sectors into relevant national planning and budgeting by: 

• strengthening local technical skills in the use of climate risk management strategies,

• adjusting planning and budgeting processes to incorporate climate change risks, and

• supporting farmers - especially women - in adopting best practices in climate change adaptation.

Presentations

Opening Session

Thematic Session 1: Climate change adaptation (CCA) and food security

Thematic Session 2: Mainstreaming CCA into development planning

Thematic Session 3: Building an evidence base for climate change adaptation in agriculture

Thematic Session 4: Leveraging support for NAP

Thematic Session 5: Supplements to the NAP Technical Guidelines