Group Discussion, Group II, on institutional arrangements to promote climate smart agriculture at the CCAFS Workshop on Institutions and Policies to Scale out Climate Smart Agriculture held between 2-5 December 2013, in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

1. Institutional arrangements to promote climate smart agriculture
1. Are existing institutions sufficient or do we need to create new institutions to promote
CSA?
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Institutions = formal & informal, national & regional scale
What kinds of institutions are needed to promote CSA?
o Country specific
o Start with existing institutions, usually enough in place, review and update
of current mandates.
o Ministry of Agriculture is key, but involve other ministries (environment,
finance, climate change units, water management, mapping): coordination
is often problematic (bureaucracy), research~planning~extension, need for
task force?
o Understanding of climate change issues has improved among ministries,
implementation often hindered by old ‘guidelines’ that are not properly
linking sectors/administrative levels.
Implementation happens at the grass roots/local level NGOs, civil society, farmers
organizations, private sector,… so should be involved in the national level
planning. Government should play active role in reaching out to civil society (but
who represents civil society).
Implementation by national government can be successful, e.g. disaster warnings.
Need for better linking national level (ministries) with MPs (constituency level)?
2. Who are the actors behind institutional and policy changes for adopting climate change
impacts on agriculture?
3. What new research could be done to support institutional and policy changes for scaling
out CSA?
 Research can provide new technologies, understand strengths and weaknesses in
policy structures, probably need to link CSA to food security as high priority
entry point.
 Research important but also need infrastructure, finance,…
 Research on existing policy and institutional frameworks on changes in mandate
needed (or additional mandates needed) to scale out CSA.
 Problem with providing policy makers with quick and certain responses.
 Research, if taken to the decision maker level in a digestible form, can provide
possibilities for cross country learning, (so minsters, rather than researchers, can
talk to each other).
 Mitigation in food security context is politically sensitive.
 Research needs to address disasters and extreme events. Will need new
partnerships between research organizations.

2. 
Need for improved/adapted capacity building for extension services to scale out
CSA practices.
Questions & remarks:
New institutions
- Transparent
- More social benefits from CSA
- Stratify regions according to ag development situation, need different
institutions