Climate change is already affecting crop production, and in some cases is undermining the viability of current crop systems. Crop research and development plays a critical role in developing the technologies and practices farmers need to maximize productivity and manage the increasing risks they face. This paper investigates how transformative adaptation - long-term, systemic change to fundamental aspects of systems in response to or anticipation of severe climate change impacts – can be sped up and scaled through crop research and development. The paper explains why transformative adaptation is needed in cropping systems, how seeds systems play a key role in these systemic shifts, and what changes are needed in crop research and development to enable climate-resilient transformations. The paper concludes by providing recommendations for researchers, policymakers, and adaptation funding entities.

As climate change increasingly affects agriculture around the world, reliable, timely, and targeted information about weather and climate conditions is becoming an ever more urgent requirement for adaptation decision-making. This paper considers how transformative adaptation – long-term, systemic change to fundamental aspects of systems in response to or anticipation of severe climate change impacts - could be accelerated by enhancing climate services and how they are applied. The paper explores how components of climate services – defined as systems to develop and provide climate information to meet users’ needs - could be enhanced for building and implementing transformative pathways. It looks at current challenges and opportunities in climate service design and suggests how different types of information and data can be used to better integrate climate services into adaptation and development plans for systemic change. The paper concludes by providing recommendations for researchers, policymakers, and adaptation funding entities.

This working paper examines case studies of three communities in Bhutan, Ethiopia, and Costa Rica that are already experiencing severe impacts of climate change. These case studies explore the incremental and transformative adaptation measures they have adopted or will need to in the future. They focus on challenges that include water scarcity, degraded landscapes, and failing crop production. The paper also identifies the drivers of transformative adaptation as well as gaps in these communities’ transformative pathways to long-term resilience. Based on findings from community focus group discussions, expert interviews, and project documents, the authors provide a series of recommendations to inform policies and practices on how governments, adaptation funders, researchers and practitioners can support communities across the world to build long-term climate resilience at scale.

In 2019, nearly 750 million people faced food insecurity, with that number expected to increase in the coming years. Climate change could significantly depress global crop yields, but adaptation efforts could help decrease this risk. The Blueprint for Digital Climate-Informed Advisory Services lays the conceptual foundation for building the climate resilience of at least 300 million small-scale agricultural producers by 2030. Digital climate-informed advisory services (DCAS) are tools and platforms that integrate climate information into agricultural decision-making. These services include digital mobile apps, radio and online platforms, as well as to digitally enabled printed bulletins based on climate models and extension services that use climate information platforms. DCAS can help agricultural producers and other value chain actors build resilience to climate impacts that threaten present and future agri-food systems. Scaling up efforts, while leaving no one behind, is critical to safeguarding the millions of small-scale producers vital to our global food security. This working paper outlines key principles for good practice, explores how to build the resilience of at least 300 million small-holder producers by 2030 and provides a preliminary typology of how to target investments so they reach the most vulnerable and under-resourced. Additionally, it puts forward potential next steps to accelerate growth in this community of practice and increase meaningful investment in these services. The blueprint was created by more than 150 stakeholders organized into three working groups on data quality and governance, equity and co-creation, and financially sustainable business models. These working groups were led by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University, the World Food Programme and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, respectively. In addition to working group reports, the blueprint was developed based on an extensive literature review and expert consultations undertaken by the World Resources Institute and the Global Center on Adaptation.

This report examines how climate change is impacting agriculture and threatening national and global food systems, particularly in climate hotspots, and how these trends are projected to intensify over the coming decades. The report defines and details transformative adaptation for agriculture and why such longer-term, systemic approaches are needed to protect the lives and livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers and herders. Transformative adaptation in agriculture promotes long-term resilience by continually shifting the geographical locations where specific types of crops and livestock are produced, aligning agricultural production with changing landscapes and ecosystems, and/or introducing resilience-building production methods and technologies across value chains. The report presents evidence to support a call for urgent action by: Agricultural research organizations, to build and share knowledge regarding transformative approaches; Governments, to integrate this knowledge into plans and policies by establishing and implementing transformative pathways; and Funding entities, to increase financial support for agricultural adaptation and design sustainable financing mechanisms with the right incentives and disincentives to support transformative adaptation. Strategic investments in resilient food systems are crucial to manage intensifying climate change impacts and feed a global population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. Planning for transformative adaptation should center on inclusive, participatory processes that engage a diverse range of stakeholders who may otherwise be marginalized in decision-making, such as women, youth and Indigenous peoples.