In October 2012 the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) held its third Independent Science Panel meeting in Burkina Faso.

The Lesotho cattle industry is characterized by overstocking, range degradation, low marketed offtake, low fertility, and high mortality. The overstocking situation is paradoxically accompanied by an ownership pattern which leaves many households with an insufficient number of cattle for draught purposes, and the abscence of a large commercial beef sector. In this setting a number of analysis have suggested that the increased provision of market outlets would allow Basotho to sell surplus culled animals which would in turn promote reduced stocking and increased productivity.

The CGIAR Research Program Climate Change, Agriculture, Food Security (CCAFS) is a 10-year research initiative launched by CGIAR and the Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP). CCAFS seeks to overcome the threats to agriculture and food security in a changing climate, exploring new ways of helping vulnerable rural communities adjust to global changes in climate.

This document series compiles key indicators from the three levels of the baseline for each site. Indicators include: demography and basic site characteristics of each site, rainfall distribution, changes in farming practices and land management, income sources, food security and food

sources, asset ownership by households and involvement in organisations and more. This CCAFS baseline indicator document was developed for the CCAFS site at Borana/Yabero, in Ethiopia.

2012 will be the second year of operation of the CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). The 2012 business plan lays out the key activities in 2012, situated within the larger strategic framework of CCAFS. At the time of writing, many of the overarching principles for the operation of CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) are still being produced by the Consortium Office (e.g. monitoring and evaluation strategy), so some of the proposed activities in 2012 may need to be modified as the year unfolds.

The 2014 business plan of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) lays out the key activities in 2014, situated within the larger strategic framework of CCAFS.

The University of Aberdeen and CCAFS are developing a simple tool for practitioners to quickly identify and compare mitigation options for agriculture. The CCAFS-MOT tool takes account of current farming practices and growing conditions to suggest a wide range of

mitigation options. The Excel-based tool is free and downloadable from the CCAFS website.

The 2015 program of work and budget of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) lays out the key activities and budget in 2015.