As already noted, social protection systems, including safety nets, as well as broader social protection policies and programmes, are designed to protect the most vulnerable against short-term economic and food price shocks, thereby enhancing their coping capacity. At the same time, they can also contribute to long-term resilience, by strengthening the ability of small-scale farmers to manage risks and adapt. Evidence has shown that climate change reduces investment incentives in agriculture and the ability to adopt better adaptation strategies, with negative effects on food production. As observed in Ethiopia’s Nile Basin, which has been affected by changes in temperatures and rainfall over the past 20 years, farmers experiencing financial constraints were less likely to introduce recommended adaptation methods, while those who could afford to adapt undertook soil conservation, used different crop varieties and irrigated their farms (Deressa and others, 2009).