1. Initial situation

Potato and sweet potato based agricultural systems in East Africa are predicted to experience considerable negative impacts of climate change. The IPCC Fourth Assessment emphasizes that adaptation strategies are essential. However, addressing adaptation in the context of small-scale, semi-subsistence agriculture raises special challenges. An important constraint is that data demands are high, because site-specific bio-physical and economic data are required. The development of relatively simple methods for ex ante evaluation of adaptation at the household and system levels is therefore needed.

2. Approach of the project

This project is using the Tradeoff Analysis methodology to evaluate the impacts of new potato and sweet potato technologies and enabling policies to help East African farmers to adapt to climate change. In a multi disciplinary collaboration between CIP scientists, stakeholders and collaborators in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Europe and the US, the project will develop climate change adaptation strategies using innovations in potato- and sweet potato technologies that have been shown to increase resilience of agricultural systems and reduce vulnerability of poor farm households to climate change.

3. Major results achieved

Stakeholder workshops in the three project countries revealed the most important vulnerability indicators of the agricultural systems at hand. Farmers, scientists and local policy makers furthermore identified already existing or possible future adaptation strategies in the context of climate change. The multi disciplinary research teams in the project have been trained in using the Tradeoff Analysis methodology and the first available datasets are currently being analyzed.

4. Expected impact

Specific outputs include:
1) Regionally-specific technology and policy strategies to reduce vulnerability of poor farm households to climate change;
2) Enhanced national and international capacity to utilize new research methods for analyzing impacts of technologies and policies affecting farmers’ adaptation to climate change;
3) Policy impact pathways identified and actual and expected policy changes assessed.

Websites:

www.cipotato.org/regions/CIP-SSA/Home.html

www.tradeoffs.oregonstate.edu