Research Discussion Meeting

Delhi, 19 November 2002

Working on the output from the Indo Gangetic Plain meeting held in Delhi, 15-16 March 2002, and the overview paper prepared subsequent to that meeting, this discussion meeting aimed to deliver a succinct set of interdisciplinary, researchable issues which collectively address the overarching questions as formulated in March. Output from the workshop will set the agenda for a larger meeting in early April 2003 at which a research proposal will be planned in detail.

Participants

Research Discussion Meeting Output

GECAFS IGP Study: Key Issues and Information Needs

The IGP food system is both threatened by GEC and contributes to further GEC “forcing”.

In the face of GEC, policy requirements are to develop strategies that promote:

agricultural competitiveness while limiting further environmental degradation;
food provision systems which enhance the social security of the more vulnerable; and
rural employment opportunities thereby reducing intra-IGP labour migration and urbanisation.

The GECAFS study needs to recognise marked socioeconomic and biophysical differences across the region:

IGP Western Region

high investment in infrastructure, institutions and effective policy support
intensive agriculture; high use of agrochemicals and ground-water for irrigation
high productivity – food surplus region: responsible for national food security
seasonal in-migration of male labour: social conflicts

IGP Eastern Region

high risk of both flooding and drought
poor infrastructure and limited capacity for private investment
largely subsistence agriculture
low productivity – food deficit region: poverty, hunger and malnutrition
out-migration of male labour: increased involvement of women and children

Key Information Needs for policy development in relation to GEC

GECAFS Theme	Western IGP	Eastern IGP
Theme 1 Vulnerability and Impacts	How will GEC (especially climatic variability) and increasing non-farm demands affect change in water supply and demand and consequent food system vulnerability?	How will GEC affect vulnerability of resource-poor farmers to flooding and drought, and how will this exacerbate existing socioeconomic inequities?
		What early warning systems of environmental change and its potential impacts would assist stakeholders to identify regions and communities of potentially greater insecurity?
Theme 2 Adaptations	How can changes in water management (e.g. through enhanced policy instruments, landuse strategies and community participation) and energy-efficient technologies reduce vulnerability of food systems to climate variability and other aspects of GEC?	What investment policies (e.g. insurance) would encourage farmers and society to adopt available technological options to reduce vulnerability to GEC?
	How can increasing urban and agricultural wastes and water of inferior quantity be utilised in agriculture to adapt to reduced land and water availability?	What infrastructure, market opportunities and technical options need to be developed for diversifying crops (e.g. to aquaculture) to make more effective use of flood and groundwater, and what are the social constraints (e.g. food preferences) to their adoption?
	Where, what forms and how much additional public and private investment would be needed to increase on-farm income, maintain water balance and diversify from rice-wheat system?	What policy interventions are needed to reduce the number of hungry and/or undernourished people (especially women and children) considering that food production systems may become even more risk-prone?
	How can policies and institutional arrangements best be adapted to promote adoption of existing technology options to enhance production in the face of GEC while conserving natural resources?	What new institutional mechanisms in research and extension (e.g. involvement of NGOs and private sector) would facilitate generating, adapting, disseminating and utilising knowledge in managing increased risks due to GEC?
Theme 3 Socio-economic and environmental consequences	What will be the consequences of alternative approaches to water management and resource-conservation strategies on rural livelihoods, intra-regional trade, carbon sequestration and GHG emissions, and water tables?	How would diversification and increased government interventions (e.g. markets, roads, credit, flood control and extension services) affect food provision, rural income, equity, labour migration and employment, water use and quality, biodiversity, and GHG emissions?
	What would be the consequences of diversifying from rice-wheat system on food production, government procurement, energy use, income and employment potential, resource conservation and GHG emissions?

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