What do we do?
The Adaptive Agriculture programme supports those working in agri-food production systems to tackle the impacts of growing demand, climate change and natural resource decline. We help stakeholders to assess the technical, strategic and institutional alternatives, and thus bring about innovative solutions.
We address challenges
The world faces enormous challenges:
- Feeding the growing population
- Adapting to climate change
- Producing and processing food sustainably
- Emerging diseases.
In tackling these challenges, agriculture has a key role to play. But our crop and livestock systems need to change if we are to produce and distribute more and better products with fewer resources, and less waste. CDI supports development practitioners and policy makers in this adaptive process, providing a careful mix of technical and institutional interventions.
We are technical specialists
Our team members are specialists in agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, aquaculture, agro-forestry, gender, environment, and HIV&AIDS. We speak the language of technical people as well as that of managers, policy makers and civil society actors. Our strength is translating between theory, policy and practice in the world of agricultural and rural development.
We are strategic players
At a strategic level, we are an active player in the emerging debate on the role of agriculture in development and climate change adaptation. This is complemented by much of the work we do for the Dutch ministry of agriculture across the globe on organisational development, sector restructuring, and facilitating dialogue and change processes.
We shape conducive institutional environments
Robust agricultural output requires effective services and inputs in a conducive institutional environment. We provide support for new forms of agricultural research, extension and service provision that better integrate the inputs from government, agribusiness, NGOs and producer organisations.
