Observations, innovations and adaptations to climate change.

Summary Adaptation options are currently limited by gaps in our knowledge, a lack of innovation, and a number of economic and institutional barriers. This chapter focuses on "external" adaptation provided by innovators. The creation and dissemination of innovation is often the weak link in the process that goes from the identification of agricultural systems and practices that ensure the adaptation of current modes of production to their appropriation by the actors concerned. Why such a gap? The innovation process is complex; it is a matter of steering research so that the innovation is the most efficient economically, ecologically and socially, both in terms of adoption and acceptability by the various stakeholders.