Agricultural diversification occurs when more species, plant varieties or animal breeds are added to a given farm, or farming community. It includes landscape diversification different crops and cropping systems interspersed in space and time. Livelihood diversification implies that farming households are involved in more and different (non agricultural) activities, for instance by taking up a job in the city, setting up a shop, or by starting to process farm products. Both agricultural and non agricultural forms of diversification may be relevant for climate risk management, although the emphasis here is on agricultural diversification. Climate related shocks, such as heat waves, frost, excessive rain or floods, or drought spells, have different and sometimes even opposite effects on different farming system com ponents or economic activities