Climate risk assessment and project planning for agri-food system development: An interactive tool for identifying promising adaptation options

Adaptation to climate change in the agriculture sector is a complex challenge due to the many different negative effects on food production caused by climate variability and change. Using an impact chain approach can help agricultural development program planners understand the network of interlinked challenges facing farmers, but developing these chains and identifying appropriate adaptation options is a time- and resource-intensive process. This session will present the development of an interactive data exploration and data visualisation tool created to aid project planners in mainstreaming climate adaptation considerations in their agricultural programming using an impact chain approach and ontology-based data access (OBDA) technology. The resulting tool, dubbed Climate Risk Planning and Managing Tool for Development Programmes in Agri-Food Systems, or simply CRISP, uses a curated repository of peer-reviewed and scientific literature combined with expert opinion on climatic hazards, impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation options in agriculture for a wide range of agricultural systems across the developing world. This presentation will give an overview of the development of the tool, the challenges faced and how they were addressed, and will use short case study examples to showcase the tool’s potential.