Resilient Agrifood Systems
Feeding a warmer world: a
digital review of CIMMYT’s
research on climate change
CIMMYT is prominent in global conversations about climate and food systems, as shown by a recent digital review. In partnership with some of the top institutions in the world, CIMMYT has published on climate change in almost 2,500 books, peer-reviewed articles, and in popular media. Text mining shows that CIMMYT’s work on climate change is integrated with efforts to improve food systems. Our publications on climate change have been hyperlinked to over 55,000 web pages from 150 countries. CIMMYT forms part of a large climate network, and plays a leading role in scientific discourse.
A systematic review, Systematic Documentation of CIMMYT’s Work in the Food Production—Climate Change Nexus, has shown that CIMMYT is prominent in the global discussion on climate change and food systems. Text mining, and the analysis of hyperlinks and social networks showed that CIMMYT publications are a key influence on scientific discourse.
Data came from four sources: 1) the climate change news page on the CIMMYT website, 2) the repository of CIMMYT publications, 3) an online index in SCOPUS of peer-reviewed articles by CIMMYT-affiliated authors, and 4) by tweets citing CIMMYT.
Countries identified in climate-related knowledge products in the CIMMYT Repository.
Text mining showed that from 2006 to 2021, the CIMMYT website posted 444 news items under “climate change.” This news frequently linked climate change adaptation and mitigation with food security, CIMMYT’s primary objective. In the past five years, CIMMYT’s research agenda has expanded towards developing resilient food systems with low-carbon emissions, reflected in concepts such as “carbon sequestration,” “emissions reduction,” and “energy conservation.”
Of 5,396 publications (1960-2021) placed in the repository, nearly half (2,463) mentioned climate change, focusing on “capacity development,” “farming systems,” “innovation,” and “technology transfer.” In the last five years, the increasing mention of “adaptation and mitigation” and “sustainable innovation” demonstrate CIMMYT’s expanding interest in integrated approaches to building on-farm resilience. CIMMYT’s research on climate change and food systems includes most countries in the world, spanning South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
Text mining of the 3,612 CIMMYT publications (1974-2021) listed on SCOPUS reveal that climate change is mentioned in work on “farming systems,” “food security,” and “technology transfer,” along with “mixed cropping,” “stress” and “yield,” a sign that CIMMYT puts climate crisis at the forefront of its actions on food systems research. This is also evident from the analysis of tweets where CIMMYT and climate change are associated with “adaptation and mitigation,” “productivity,” “profitability,” “climate-smart agriculture (CSA),” “precision agriculture,” and “nutrient management.” In the past decade, “gender equity” has gained prominence on CIMMYT’s research agenda for food systems and climate change.
The hyperlink analysis revealed that CIMMYT publications are widely disseminated. The 2,463 items in the CIMMYT repository have been hyperlinked on 55,151 web pages, in over 150 countries. Articles and books were the most frequently shared publications. Google Books alone cites CIMMYT’s work on climate change over 3,000 times. Outlets such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Agricultural Knowledge Resources and Information System Hub for Innovations (KRISHI) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) also help to spread CIMMYT’s research.
CIMMYT’s publications on climate are listed on 13,630 URLs from 2,543 unique “dot com” domains (e.g., scholar.google.com and link.springer.com) and on 12,467 URLs from 1,334 “dot org” domains (cgiar.org, semanticscholar.org, fao.org, etc.) CIMMYT is prominent on social media discourse on food systems and climate change. For example, on Twitter, CIMMYT exchanges information on climate change with many different actors. Links with the 75 most important ones are shown in this figure.
An analysis of the SCOPUS references shows that CIMMYT publishes on climate change with some of the world’s top institutions, from Mexico, the USA, India, Europe, and across the developing world.
“There has been a big shift in CIMMYT’s food systems climate change work in the past ten years. Now, CIMMYT integrates the climate crisis across its objectives and throughout its actions around food systems research,” says Tek Sapkota, leader of CIMMYT’s Climate Change Science Group.
Tek Sapkota
Senior scientist and leader of CIMMYT’s Climate Change Science Group
There has been a big shift in CIMMYT’s food systems climate change work in the past ten years. Now, CIMMYT integrates the climate crisis across its objectives and throughout its actions around food systems research.
The top 75 nodes that mention climate change on CIMMYT’s Twitter network. Parameters: force-directed graph, with node size partitioned as Eigenvector Centrality, colored by modularity class.
Nodes = 75 accounts, edges = 518 connections
Farmer Gashu Lema harvests improved variety Kubsa wheat in his own field. Gadulla village, Mojo, Ethiopia. ©Peter Lowe /CIMMYT.
CIMMYT has published on climate change in almost 2,500 books, peer-reviewed articles, and in popular media.
