Novel strategies for using crop diversity in climate

change adaptationRonnie Vernooy, Genetic resources policy specialist21 September 2016

The challenge

A changing climate

Less predictable weather

More extreme weather events

“Strange things are happening with our

grassland.”

Mongolian herder in 2002

Strange things are happening with crops

too…Bioversity International\R. Vernooy (South Africa)

Impact on agriculture, predicted by 2050Source: Adapted from Mathur 2014.

Crop diversity as a response to uncertainty

Supporting countries to design and implementing a

comprehensive strategy to access and use plant genetic

resources more effectively in the context of climate change

adaptation

Bioversity International\R. Vernooy (South Africa)

Which and whose diversity and how to find it?Bioversity International\R.Vernooy (China)

Eight step methodology

1. Situational analysis and planning

2. Data preparation and selection of software

3. Climate change analysis and identification of appropriate

germplasm

4. Germplasm acquisition

5. Field experimentation

6. Germplasm conservation

7. Participatory evaluation

8. Knowledge sharing and communication

Combining:

• GIS tools +

• Crop modeling +

• Multiple sources of germplasm +

• Crowdsourcing +

• Community-based biodiversity management practices

Novel elements

Climate analogues, for Paro, BhutanSource: Adapted from National Biodiversity Centre of Bhutan (2015)

The greener the higher

the similarity

The redder the higher

the dissimilarity

Paro

Possible gaps in

collection

Mapping of pearl millet against collecting sites and growing

area in India (1993)Source: adapted from Mathur 2015

Crowdsourcing trials in IndiaSource: van Etten 2016

• http://www.seedsresourcebox.org/

• http://www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/detail/resource-box-for-resilient-seed-systems-handbook/

Resources: website and handbook

Module 2: Data preparation and software selection

Introduction

Learning objectives

What do you know already?

1. Data sources: i) climate, ii)

biodiversity

2. Preparing data for importing into

selected software

3. Importing data into DIVA-GIS and

MaxEnt

Testing your knowledge quiz

Applying your new knowledge Bioversity International\R.Vernooy (Nepal)

Module 3: Climate change analysis and identification of germplasm

Introduction

Learning objectives

What do you know already?

1. Classification of germplasm

collections based on climate

2. Climate change analysis

3. Identification of potential

germplasm for testing

Testing your knowledge quiz

Applying your new knowledgeBioversity\R.Vernooy (Burkina Faso)

Module 6: Germplasm conservation

Introduction

Learning objectives

What do you know already?

1. Ex situ and in situ conservation:

two complementary strategies

2. Custodian farmers

3. Community seed banks

Testing your knowledge quiz

Applying your new knowledgeUBINIG (Bangladesh)

Quiz: Situational analysis and planning (module 1)

1. A situational analysis in the context of resilient seed systems

and adaptation to climate change encompasses different steps.

Which step(s) is (are) missing in the following list: a) Community

identification and profiling b) Analyzing with farmers their

perceptions on climate change, variability and adaptation c) The

assessment of a community’s crop diversity and its vulnerability to

climate change d) Participatory adaptation planning.

a) Transect walk

b) Participatory vulnerability assessment

c) Participatory ranking of varieties

d) Village resource mapping

e) Seasonal calendar

f) Stakeholder analysis

Quiz: Data preparation and software selection (module 2)

3. Which of these software tools can be used for data analysis?

a) Ecocrop

b) ModEco

c) OpenModeller

d) DIVA-GIS

e) MaxEnt

f) Google Earth

g) The Climate analogue tool

Quiz: Climate change analysis and identification of germplasm (module 3)

3. How can we identify locally adapted adaptation measures to

climate change?

a) Develop climate models that simulate future conditions and provide a

glimpse of a set of possibilities both spatially and temporally.

b) Use General Circulation Models (GCMs), which provide the current

and future scenarios (under different probable conditions) to gauge the

vulnerability of a site to changing climate.

c) Develop improved genotypes that are resilient to any number of

stresses like extreme temperatures, flooding or drought.

Quiz: Germplasm acquisition (module 4)

1. In many cases, germplasm acquisition must follow formal rules

and regulations. What do these rules cover?

a) The scientific aspects of seed production

b) The phytosanitary aspects of seed production

c) The protection of traditional knowledge

d) Access to germplasm

e) The phytosanitary aspects of seed distribution

f) Benefit sharing of germplasm

g) The protection of biodiversity

Quiz: Field-testing (module 5)

4. What is the crowdsourcing field trials approach?

a) An approach used to collect data by large numbers of specialized

researchers and breeders.

b) An approach used by scientists and companies worldwide to collect

data by large numbers of volunteers.

c) An approach enabling farmers to carry out large trials.

d) An approach that usually focus on many crops at the same time.

Quiz: Germplasm conservation (module 6)

3. Which farmers can be characterized as custodian farmers?

a) Farmers in an area where there is a community seed bank.

b) Farmers who have special knowledge and skills to practice seed

conservation and are recognized by the community for this special trait.

c) Members of community seed savers groups.

d) Farmers who breed new varieties on their farms.

Quiz: Participatory evaluation (module 7)

2. Important reasons for using participatory evaluation are:

a) To increase the relevance and effectiveness of the research to

stakeholders

b) To contribute to empowerment and social transformation

c) To create a clearer picture of what has happened according to the

perspectives of women, men, and various age, class and ethnic groups

in the community

Quiz: Knowledge-sharing and Communication (module 8)

1. What is the most important factor in communicating research

results effectively?

a) Simplifying and presenting the content in a clear and structured way

b) Identifying what is expected from the audience and preparing the

content in different ways for different groups, with their inputs.

c) Selecting an interesting communication media that will spark interest

from the audience.

d) Doing an evaluation after the presentation of the research results.

An example from the field: UgandaBioversity International\G.Otieno (Uganda)

Thank you

www.bioversityinternational.org/subscribe

@BioversityInt

Ronnie Vernooy

r.vernooy@cgiar.org