Adaptation Futures 2025: CGIAR’s Africa‑Focused Contributions and Takeaways.

The Global Imperative for Climate Adaptation 

Climate change is causing increasingly severe and widespread negative impacts, especially on food and water security and vulnerable, marginalized communities. With each fraction of a degree of warming, risks to agriculture and livelihoods escalate, underscoring that adapting our agrifood systems is both a moral and economic imperative. Extreme droughts, heatwaves, and floods are disrupting food production and displacing millions of people. Even limiting warming to 1.5°C will not prevent serious losses, while overshooting that target could trigger irreversible damage to crops, ecosystems and livelihoods that depend on agriculture. The Sixth IPCC assessment warns that climate change could push an additional 32–132 million people into extreme poverty by 2030 if we fail to immediately scale up adaptation. In this context, climate adaptation and the process of adjusting practices, policies, and infrastructures to reduce vulnerability is no longer optional – it is a necessity for global food and economic security and sustainable development. 

At the recent Adaptation Futures 2025 conference in Ōtautahi Christchurch, New Zealand (October 13–16, 2025), researchers, community leaders, and policymakers from around the world convened to share knowledge on how to advance climate adaptation and build climate resilience. One consistent message emerged: adaptation must scale and accelerate with local communities at the center of these efforts. For CGIAR, that means focusing on food, land, and water systems, grounded in science and shaped by local leadership. The need is especially acute in regions that bear the brunt of climate impacts and where action has lagged behind the pace of risk. Furthermore, the conference emphasized translating high‑level ideas into practical, equitable solutions on the ground. 

Africa’s Adaptation Challenges and Opportunities 

Among the global climate hotspots, sub-Saharan Africa stands out as a region facing acute vulnerabilities and challenges. However, although Africa has contributed only about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, climate change has reduced the growth of African agricultural productivity by roughly one-third since 1961. Losses on African farms are nearly double the global average, reflecting a profound injustice: Those who have done the least to contribute to climate change are suffering severe consequences. Prolonged droughts and erratic rains have repeatedly damaged crops and livestock across many African countries in recent years, driving hunger and hardship. These trends make climate adaptation in Africa an urgent priority. 

Furthermore, the resources to adapt have not matched the need. Only about 2% of global climate finance currently targets smallholder farmers in Africa and South Asia, leaving a vast funding gap for climate adaptation on the continent. This shortfall hampers African communities’ ability to invest in water management, resilient infrastructure, and diversified livelihoods. Nevertheless, there are signs of hope and innovation. Across Africa, farmers and local institutions are pioneering solutions from climate-informed farming practices to indigenous ecosystem management that can form the foundation of a more resilient future. African leadership in climate adaptation is growing through initiatives like the Africa Adaptation Initiative and the endorsement of 8 Principles for Locally Led Adaptation by many African governments and organizations. These principles emphasize empowering local communities with decision-making power and addressing structural inequalities (gender, youth, indigenous rights) in adaptation efforts. In practice, this means shifting away from one-size-fits-all, top-down projects and towards approaches that harness local knowledge, prioritize the most vulnerable groups, and ensure adaptation investments reach the community level. 

CGIAR’s Role in Advancing Adaptation in Africa 

CGIAR is the world’s largest agricultural research network and has a long history of working in Africa to build climate-resilient food systems. Leveraging its global science and local partnerships, CGIAR develops innovations that help farmers and communities withstand climate stress. CGIAR scientists have bred and introduced climate-resilient crop varieties that are now grown widely by African farmers. These include drought-tolerant and heat-tolerant strains of staple crops like maize, beans, rice, sweet potato, and cassava, which can better survive erratic rains and higher temperatures. In Ethiopia, CGIAR researchers helped implement a wheat rust early warning system that saved farmers millions of dollars by preventing a climate-driven disease outbreak. Across the continent, CGIAR and its national partners promote climate-smart agriculture techniques – such as improved water harvesting, agroforestry, and sustainable livestock management – to boost productivity while reducing risk. 

Crucially, many of these solutions are co-created with local communities to ensure they fit cultural and economic contexts. In Zambia and Malawi, CGIAR-supported projects are helping farmers diversify incomes through aquaculture and drought-tolerant crops, lessening their reliance on rain patterns that are increasingly unpredictable. Such efforts are in line with broader adaptation priorities in Africa: Securing food and water systems resilient to climate shocks and doing so in ways that also reduce poverty and gender inequality. 

The payoff for investing in these innovations is high. Analyses show that every dollar spent on agricultural research (including CGIAR’s work) yields about $10 in benefits for farming communities through higher yields, better nutrition, and avoided losses. More importantly, these efforts save lives and livelihoods by helping African farmers adapt rather than abandon their way of life. But technology alone is not a panacea. CGIAR’s approach to adaptation has increasingly recognized that social and institutional dimensions are as vital as genetic and technological advancements. This means strengthening local institutions’ capacity to plan for climate risks, involving women, girls and marginalized groups in decision-making, and aligning with government policies so that successful pilot interventions can scale up to large programs. 

CGIAR at Adaptation Futures 2025: Spotlight on African Solutions 

Against this backdrop, CGIAR, led by Area of Work 1 of CGIAR Climate Action Science Programme—had a strong presence at Adaptation Futures 2025, ensuring that African perspectives and scientific evidence featured prominently in the global conversation.  CGIAR was an official sponsor of the conference’s Africa Pavilion, hosting an “Africa Lounge” space where delegates could engage directly with African researchers and practitioners. Throughout the event, CGIAR scientists, partners and Africa focused adaptation delegates showcased successful adaptation projects, shared lessons on scaling up innovations, and facilitated networking discussions on how to channel climate finance to communities at the frontlines of climate change.  

Moreover, seven CGIAR scientists contributed their expertise in panel discussions, workshops, and presentations across the conference program. Notably, Dr. Aditi Mukherji, Principal Scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) ,served on the Adaptation Futures Scientific Program Committee to help shape the conference agenda, ensuring it tackled practical questions of “how” to do adaptation effectively.  

Highlights on CGIAR participation 

Climate Adaptation in Aquatic Food Systems: Co-Benefits, Trade-Offs, and Policy Considerations 

Dr. Michelle Tigchelaar, Senior Scientist at WorldFish (Malaysia), opened the “Food, Water and Biodiversity Nexus – Insights from Fisheries, Aquaculture and Deltas” session with a presentation on “Climate Adaptation in Aquatic Food Systems: Co-Benefits, Trade-Offs, and Policy Considerations.”  

Dr. Tigchelaar underscored a critical gap: while there is broad understanding of what needs to be done to adapt aquatic food systems to climate change, adaptation pathways remain “largely underdeveloped and poorly evidenced especially when it comes to non-technical solutions.” 

Her presentation highlighted that beyond innovations in aquaculture technology or feed efficiency, the next frontier lies in social, institutional, and behavioral adaptations that build long-term resilience. The discussion also explored how adaptation in aquatic systems can generate co-benefits for livelihoods, nutrition, and ecosystems while also presenting trade-offs that must be managed through inclusive, evidence-based policymaking. 

Locally Led, Transformative Systems Change: Lessons in “Doing” Adaptation Differently  

In another session, “Beyond Adaptation – Locally Led Design for Adaptation,” Dr. Jon Hellin of IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) joined a panel to reflect on what it means to turn big concepts like transformative, systems change into reality, paired with locally-led efforts. Dr. Hellin and his co-panelists examined early learnings from initiatives that seek to reimagine how adaptation is understood and practiced. His key message was on brand for turning ‘buzzwords’ into reality: 

“We all have to be a bit more humble… I hope together we can be challenging, business UNusual, constructively disruptive—and move that research power into something different.” 

Dr. Hellin also presented his paper “Nurturing Transformative Adaptation to Climate Change” in the ‘Beyond Adaptation – Transformational Adaptation’ session. Dr. Hellin opened the session, exploring the designing and field testing of a methodology that nurtures inclusive community-led learning and action on equitable climate adaptation.  

Understanding Vulnerability and Resilience Through Community-Led Insights 

Meanwhile, Dr. Joshi’s presentations during the “Food, Water and Biodiversity Nexus – Community, Culture and Conservation” session demonstrated how data and storytelling tools can illuminate local experiences of climate vulnerability and resilience. 

Dr. Joshi’s first paper introduced SenseMaker, a digital ethnography tool designed to capture gendered dimensions of climate vulnerability. When asked whether she would use it again, Dr. Joshi affirmed, “Yes, absolutely. We have used it already since this paper and plan to in the future.” This reflects the innovative nature of CGIAR tools in understanding and empowering marginalized agrarian communities.  

In her second paper, “Recalibrating the Tipping Point: Water Resilience & Locally Led Adaptation in Climate-Agriculture-Gender Inequality Hotspots,” Dr. Joshi presented a case study from Zambia’s drought management system, linking it to the 8 Principles of Locally Led Adaptation. Dr. Joshi highlighted that true climate resilience emerges when communities lead their own adaptation strategies, which serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of context-dependence and inclusivity in designing adaptive systems.  

Key Takeaways and Way Forward  

• Adaptation is more than technology: Social and institutional change, strong and supported local organizations, shifts in norms and behaviors, and inclusion of marginalized groups is as important as climate‑resilient crops, technological advancements and infrastructure. 

• Locally led action is essential: Communities facing climate risks must be key stakeholders in the co-design and delivery of adaptation interventions. Bottom-up approaches are crucial for ensuring the long-term success of adaptation interventions, which can be seen through the integration of diverse knowledge systems, such as Indigenous knowledge.   

• Bridge knowledge and action: Pair evidence with community narratives and experience to inform policy, integrate community‑generated data into national plans, and scale context‑fit local successes. 

• Business‑unusual for transformation: Favor flexible, long‑term, fit-for-purpose funding, focus on root causes of risk in lieu of symptoms, operate at the systems level with interventions that are deep and catalytic and center futures thinking and facilitating action.  

Looking ahead, what does this mean for CGIAR and the broader adaptation community? Adaptation Futures 2025 was a timely reality check and inspiration. It demonstrated that while climate challenges are daunting, we also have accumulated evidence of what works at different scales. For CGIAR, the take-home message is to double down on its strengths – such as science-based innovation and global-local networks – while also evolving its ways of working. This means continuing to develop cutting-edge solutions (like climate-resilient crops, digital advisories, and risk insurance tools) and ensuring those solutions are co-created with and accessible to the communities who need them most. It means using platforms like the Africa Lounge not just as one-off showcases, but as catalysts for ongoing partnerships between researchers, African governments, NGOs, and farmers’ groups to drive adaptation on the continent. 

There is also a clear mandate to influence policy and investment. Science alone will not scale adaptation; Supportive policies and reliable funding flows are critical. CGIAR and its partners can play a key role in informing national adaptation plans, training the next generation of African scientists and extension workers, and advocating for increased climate finance that actually reaches smallholders. By providing evidence of high returns on adaptation investments and demonstrating viable models, we can help unlock more resources for resilience-building in Africa and other vulnerable regions. 

 Authors: Judith Koren and Regina Edward-Uwadiale