This technical paper details findings and outcomes from the workshop hosted by the Climate Change Unit of Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Kenya, along with the FAO, ICRAF and CCAFS. The process engaged stakeholders from research, practice and policy and to interactively share and analyze scientific evidence and field experience from over 40 projects related to climate-smart agriculture (CSA) within integrated farming systems in Kenya.

This study was conducted in Werii watershed (1797 km2) of Tekeze river basin, through integrative use of hydrological and climate models with the objective of estimating the impact of climate change on groundwater recharge and groundwater potentials. Statistical downscaling model (SDSM) was used to downscale precipitation and temperature outputs from REMO (REgional climate MOdel) which in turn was used as input to the WetSpa model to simulate future water balance changes based on A1B and B1 SRES emission scenarios.

Soil nitrogen (N) cycling is an important factor in terrestrial ecosystems, including grasslands. Understanding the effects of grazing on nitrogen cycling in grassland ecosystems is critical for better management and for improving knowledge of the mechanisms underlying grassland degradation and can provide basic information for sustainable development in grassland ecosystems. In this study, in situ incubation in intact soil cores was used to measure seasonal changes in soil nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in the meadow steppe of the Hulunber grasslands of northeastern China.

Seedlings of Artemisia herba-alba grown in glasshouse were watered with differing salinities (0, 150, 250 or 350 mM NaCl) and watering frequencies of 3, 7, 14 or 21 days for a period of 6 weeks. At the end of the study, plant survival, dry matter yield, biomass allocation (shoot and root), leaf area, relative growth rate (RGR), net assimilation rate (NAR), specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf area ratio (LAR) were recorded. When watered with 0 mM NaCl, Artemisia herba-alba plants had similar (P> 0.9) final dry matter weight and 100% survival regardless of watering frequency.

Small landholders can implement a range of climatesmart agricultural (CSA) practices and technologies, in order to minimize the adverse effects of climate change and variability, but their adoption largely depends on economic benefits associated with the practices. To demonstrate the potential economic benefits of CSA practices, we conducted a study with smallholder farmers in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) of India.

Rural people in Nepal and other developing nations are part of complex, social-ecological systems. Efforts to provide assistance to these people must integrate knowledge from a variety of perspectives. This report documents the use of a role-playing game, supported by an agent-based model, to demonstrate the interaction between migration, social capital and the effectiveness of water storage. The importance of these interactions was highlighted by fieldwork conducted at several sites in the Koshi River Basin.

Voluntary certification programs are one type of intervention used to incentivize the commodity agricultural sector in tropical forest landscapes to reduce deforestation and improve sustainability. These programs encourage supply-chain actors to produce and source products according to agreed standards. We review the cases of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) voluntary certification program in Indonesia, and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) voluntary certification program for cattle in Brazil.