8. Need For Study and Research

At the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), we believe climate change will make dryland agriculture even more risk-prone especially in the developing world. Thus, for farmers struggling under the burden of cultivating land under the ever-present threat of drought, floods, mid-season dry spells, land degradation, and water scarcity, such problems associated with climate change will have to be answered more frequently.

Unless the livelihoods and resource base of such vulnerable rural communities can be made more resilient, coping with climate change may be next to impossible for poor dryland farming communities. Working over decades with poor farmers in the drylands of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, ICRISAT's research shows that a combined effort to deal with current climate uncertainty, land degradation, and water scarcity is the only way by which the resilience of these communities can be brought about.

With improved tools becoming available in studying climate uncertainty, it has now become possible for decision-makers and investors to formulate a development agenda integrating short, medium, and long-term timeframes. Short-term seasonal forecasting enables farmers and other stakeholders to plan more effectively and fine-tune their strategies for the coming season. Medium-term understanding enables them to predict the impact and profitability of improved agricultural practices. Long-term understanding helps them predict the likely impact of climate change on rain-fed farming systems, and their future development and productivity. [1]