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Greetings from C-CIARN Agriculture Since our last C-CIARN Agriculture update, the idea of ADAPTATION appears to be gaining ground in many circles. As the Kyoto meetings closed in India, the official press release included the following statement as one of its first items: “…in addition to mitigation, high priority must be given to adapting to the adverse impacts of climate change…” The Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry is heeding such advice as they begin a round of meetings to determine what the main issues are for agriculture and forestry adaptation across Canadian regions. C-CIARN Agriculture has been actively involved in assisting with briefs and presentations. When final drafts are completed, they will be available through our web site. Adaptation is also in the news with reports of how consumers must adapt by paying more for food due to drought related increases in input costs. A Globe and Mail article SUMMER DROUGHT STARTS TO HIT CONSUMERS AT SUPERMARKETS, (November 8, 2002) discusses the reasons behind price increases in food supplies. Among them is a drop in both product quantity and quality, a climate change outcome that was also noted by some of the 90 producers from central Canada we surveyed during the Outdoor Farm show last September. Among other things, we document that: · 73% of respondents said climate change was evident in their regions during the past 5 years; · 63% of those who experienced impacts from climate change cited drought or extreme heat as the most significant challenge; · 46% of respondents altered practices (or intend to) to address the impacts they have encountered. A complete report will soon be available on the C-CIARN Agriculture web site. With adaptation issues gaining more currency, we continue to search for more funding opportunities to support research into agriculture adaptation issues. A call for proposals from the Climate Change Action Fund on Landscapes and Ecosystems could be relevant for some aspects of agricultural adaptation research. However a call for proposals directly related to agriculture is due any day. We will send out a notice as soon as it is made public. In the meantime, be sure to check our recently updated web page for additional sources of research project funding. You may also want to check this site for a SSHRC/Biocap funding initiative. Results from adaptation research are gaining more profile. A recent example was reported by AGNet from in the London Free Press and describes how successful a private company has been with introducing a new (to Canada) variety of millet that does well in drought conditions. Agriculture Canada scientists have been testing it and report many beneficial outcomes associated with producing the adapted form of pearl millet from West Africa. Examples such as this will be the focus for our annual C-CIARN Agriculture meeting tentatively scheduled for Winnipeg, Feb 23-24, 2003. Please keep those dates in mind; you will receive more details in the near future. If you have not done so already, please visit the national web site for C-CIARN and fill in a membership form so that we have more information about your interests in the network. We also have a listserv for those who want more frequent updates and information and want to communicate directly with others on climate change adaptation issues as they pertain to the agri-food sector. All for now, Ellen |
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