Climate-smart agriculture

The World Bank described climate-smart agriculture (CSA) as follows: "CSA is a set of agricultural practices and technologies which simultaneously boost productivity, enhance resilience and reduce GHG emissions." and "CSA is an integrated approach to managing landscapes—cropland, livestock, forests and fisheries--that address the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change."

FAO's definition is: "CSA is an approach that helps guide actions to transform agri-food systems towards green and climate resilient practices."

CSA has the following three objectives: "sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes; adapting and building resilience to climate change; and reducing and/or removing greenhouse gas emissions".

Others describe the objectives as follows: mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change on agriculture, stabilize crop production, maximize food security.{{Cite journal |last1=Gupta |first1=Debaditya |last2=Gujre |first2=Nihal |last3=Singha |first3=Siddhartha |last4=Mitra |first4=Sudip |date=2022-11-01 |title=Role of existing and emerging technologies in advancing climate-smart agriculture through modeling: A review |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1574954122002552 |journal=Ecological Informatics |volume=71 |pages=101805 |doi=10.1016/j.ecoinf.2022.101805 |bibcode=2022EcInf..7101805G |issn=1574-9541 |s2cid=252148026|url-access=subscription }}{{Cite book |last1=Lipper |first1=Leslie |title=Climate Smart Agriculture Building Resilience to Climate Change |last2=McCarthy |first2=Nancy |last3=Zilberman |first3=David |last4=Asfaw |first4=Solomon |last5=Branca |first5=Giacomo |publisher=Springer |year=2018 |isbn=978-3-319-61193-8 |location=Cham, Switzerland |pages=13 |language=English}}

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Strategies and methods for CSA should be specific to the local contexts where they are employed. They should include capacity-building for participants in order to offset the higher costs of implementation.{{Cite book |url=https://www.fao.org/3/i6030e/i6030e.pdf |title=The State of Food and Agriculture Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |year=2016 |isbn=978-92-5-109374-0 |location=Rome, Italy |pages=43–66 |language=en}}

Carbon farming is one of the components of climate-smart agriculture and aims at reducing or removing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.

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{{See also|Climate change and gender}}

[[File:2DU Kenya 84 (5367322092).jpg|thumb|

Woman picking peas in the Mount Kenya region, for the Two Degrees Up{{Cite web |date=2013-06-18 |title=Two Degrees Up: climate change photofilms |url=https://ccafs.cgiar.org/two-degrees-climate-change-photofilms |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=ccafs.cgiar.org |language=en}} project, to look at the effects of climate change on agriculture]]

To increase the effectiveness and sustainability of CSA interventions, they must be designed to address gender inequalities and discriminations against people at risk.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=How to integrate gender issues in climate-smart agriculture projects |url=http://www.fao.org/3/i6097e/I6097E.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021113348/http://www.fao.org/3/i6097e/I6097E.pdf |archive-date=2020-10-21 |access-date= |website=}}{{rp|1}} Women farmers are more prone to climate risk than men are. In developing countries, women have less access compared to men to productive resources, financial capital, and advisory services. They often tend to be excluded from decision making which may impact on their adoption of technologies and practices that could help them adapt to climatic conditions. A gender-responsive approach to CSA tries to identify and address the diverse constraints faced by men and women and recognizes their specific capabilities.

Climate-smart agriculture presents opportunities for women in agriculture to engage in sustainable production.{{Cite web |last1=World Bank Group |last2=FAO |last3=IFAD |date=2015 |title=Gender in Climate-Smart Agriculture |url=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/22983 |language=en-US}}

FAO has identified several tools for countries and individuals to assess, monitor and evaluate integral parts of CSA planning and implementation:{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Climate-Smart Agriculture Methods & Assessments |url=http://www.fao.org/climate-smart-agriculture/knowledge/methods/en/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407085641/http://www.fao.org:80/climate-smart-agriculture/knowledge/methods/en/ |archive-date=2016-04-07 |access-date= |website=}}

1. Modelling System for Agricultural Impacts of Climate Change (MOSAICC)
2. Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM)
3. Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture (SAFA) system{{Cite web |title=Sustainability Pathways: FAQ |url=https://www.fao.org/nr/sustainability/sustainability-assessments-safa/faq/en/}}
4. Economics and Policy Innovations for Climate-Smart Agriculture (EPIC)
5. Ex-Ante Carbon-balance Tool (EX-ACT)
6. Climate Risk Management (CRM)
7. Gender mainstreaming
8. Monitoring and Assessment of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Mitigation Potential in Agriculture (MAGHG) project

The Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA) Index is a tool designed to assess and improve the resilience of agricultural systems to climate change. Two distinct versions of this index exist, each with a unique purpose and scope:

The CRA Index is aimed at benchmarking national agricultural resilience across countries. It uses nine indicators grouped into three dimensions: agricultural productivity and resource use efficiency, environmental sustainability and climate impact, and socio-economic resilience. It helps categorise nations into four resilience levels: Highly Resilient, Moderately Resilient, Low Resilience, and Very Low Resilience. This index provides policymakers with insights to prioritise interventions and enhance national-level climate adaptation strategies.{{cite journal |last1=Dilna |first1=K. S. |last2=George |first2=Aaron |title=Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA) Index: Development and Benchmarking |journal=EPRA International Journal of Climate and Resource Economic Review |volume=12 |issue=8 |year=2024 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.36713/epra1213 |url=https://eprajournals.com/IJCI/article/14330|url-access=subscription |doi-access=free }}

The CRA Index for India evaluates climate resilience within the country's diverse agro-climatic zones. It employs 26 indicators spanning environmental, technological, socio-economic, and infrastructural dimensions to assess inter- and intra-zone resilience variations. This region-specific framework supports the development of tailored strategies to address local challenges and improve agricultural adaptability to climate change.{{cite journal |last1=Singh |first1=S. N. |last2=Bisaria |first2=J. |title=Climate-Resilient Agriculture (CRA) Index for India: A Regional Perspective |journal=Springer Climate Change |volume=15 |issue=2 |year=2023 |pages=123–140 |doi=10.1007/s10584-021-02969-6}}

Both indices offer valuable insights for addressing the impacts of climate change on agriculture. While the global CRA Index focuses on international benchmarking and national-level strategies, the CRA Index for India targets regional disparities to guide localised interventions.

{{Further|European Green Deal}}

The EU has promoted the development of climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices[https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/sites/default/files/eip-agri_brochure_climate-smart_agriculture_2021_en_web_final.pdf Brochure Climate Smart Agriculture 2021] ec.europa.eu as part of the European Green Deal Policy.{{Cite web |date=14 July 2021 |title=European Green Deal |url=https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/european-green-deal_en |access-date=2023-08-13 |website=climate.ec.europa.eu |language=en}} A critical assessment of progress was carried out using different multi-criteria indices covering socio-economic, technical and environmental factors.{{Cite journal |last1=Morkunas |first1=Mangirdas |last2=Volkov |first2=Artiom |date=2023-06-01 |title=The Progress of the Development of a Climate-smart Agriculture in Europe: Is there Cohesion in the European Union? |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-022-01782-w |journal=Environmental Management |language=en |volume=71 |issue=6 |pages=1111–1127 |doi=10.1007/s00267-022-01782-w |issn=1432-1009 |pmid=36648532 |bibcode=2023EnMan..71.1111M |s2cid=255941160|url-access=subscription }} The results indicated that the most advanced CSA countries within the EU are Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands. The countries with the lowest levels of CSA penetration are Cyprus, Greece and Portugal. Key factors included labor productivity, female ownership of farmland, level of education, degree of poverty and social exclusion, energy consumption/efficiency and biomass/crop productivity. The Horizon Europe research programme has created a focus on CSA and climate-smart farming within the EU.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-03 |title=Climate Action (Horizon Europe) - European Commission |url=https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon-europe/climate-action-horizon-europe_en |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=cinea.ec.europa.eu |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Demonstration network on climate-smart farming – linking research stations |url=https://www.horizon-europe.gouv.fr/demonstration-network-climate-smart-farming-linking-research-stations-33250 |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=Horizon-europe.gouv.fr |language=fr}} Projects deal with co-creation among stakeholders to change behavior and understanding within agricultural value chains. Investigative CSA studies on pig, dairy, fruit, vegetable and grain farms have been carried out in Denmark, Germany, Spain, Netherlands and Lithuania, respectively.{{Cite web |title=Beatles • Beatles |url=https://beatles-project.eu/ |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=Beatles |language=en-US}}

The Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate/AIM4C) is a 5-year initiative to 2025, organized jointly by the UN, US and UAE.{{Cite web |title=AIM for Climate |url=https://www.aimforclimate.org/ |access-date=2023-08-13 |website=www.aimforclimate.org |language=en}} The objective is to rally around climate-smart agriculture and food system innovations. It has attracted some 500 government and non-government organizations around the world and about US$10 billion from governments and US$3 billion from other sources.{{Cite web |last=National |first=The |date=2023-05-11 |title=Biden hails UAE partnership for advancing agricultural innovation and improving lives |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/climate/cop28/2023/05/11/biden-hails-uae-partnership-for-advancing-agricultural-innovation-and-improving-lives/ |access-date=2023-08-13 |website=The National |language=en}} The initiative was introduced during COP-26 in Glasgow.{{Cite web |last=Service |first=SME News |date=2023-07-18 |title=Insight: AIM4C – Revolutionising Agriculture for Climate Resilience and Food Security |url=https://www.sustainabilitymenews.com/agriculture/insight-aim4c-revolutionising-agriculture-for-climate-resilience-and-food-security |access-date=2023-08-13 |website=Sustainability Middle East News |language=en}}

The CGIAR as part of the AIM4C summit in May 2023 called for a number of actions:{{Cite web |title=Enabling innovation for breakthroughs in agriculture: Key recommendations as the AIM for Climate Summit kicks off |url=https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/enabling-innovation-for-breakthroughs-in-agriculture-key-recommendations-as-the-aim-for-climate-summit-kicks-off/ |access-date=2023-08-13 |website=CGIAR |language=en-US}} Integration of initiatives from the partner organizations, enabling innovative financing, production of radical policy and governance reform based on evidence. And lastly, promotion of project monitoring, evaluation, and learning

File:Global food systems GHG emissions in 2020.png

Several actors are involved in creating pathways towards net-zero emissions in global food systems.{{Cite journal |last1=Costa |first1=Ciniro |last2=Wollenberg |first2=Eva |last3=Benitez |first3=Mauricio |last4=Newman |first4=Richard |last5=Gardner |first5=Nick |last6=Bellone |first6=Federico |date=2022-09-05 |title=Roadmap for achieving net-zero emissions in global food systems by 2050 |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=15064 |doi=10.1038/s41598-022-18601-1 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=9442557 |pmid=36065006|bibcode=2022NatSR..1215064C }}

Four areas of focus relate to:

• lowered GHG-emission practices by increasing production efficiency
• increased sequestration of carbon in croplands and grasslands
• shifting of human diets away from livestock protein
• taking on "new-horizon" technologies within the food systems

Livestock production (beef, pork, chicken, sheep and milk) alone accounts for 60% of total global food system GHG emissions. Rice, maize and wheat stand for 25% of the global emissions from food systems.

The greatest concern with CSA is that no universally acceptable standard exists against which those who call themselves climate-smart are actually acting smart. Until those certifications are created and met, skeptics are concerned that big businesses will just continue to use the name to greenwash their organizations—or provide a false sense of environmental stewardship.{{Cite web |last=Schmitt |first=Talia |date=April 27, 2016 |title=The Debate Over 'Climate-Smart' Agriculture |url=https://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/debate-over-climate-smart-agriculture |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428103315/http://pulitzercenter.org/reporting/debate-over-climate-smart-agriculture |archive-date=2016-04-28 |access-date=24 July 2024 |website=Pulitzer Center}} CSA can be seen as a meaningless label that is applicable to virtually anything, and this is deliberate as it is meant to conceal the social, political and environmental implications of the different technology choices.

In 2014 The Guardian reported that climate-smart agriculture had been criticized as a form of greenwashing.{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Teresa |date=17 October 2014 |title=Why 'climate-smart agriculture' isn't all it's cracked up to be |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/oct/17/climate-change-agriculture-bad-isnt-good |issn=0261-3077 |via=www.theguardian.com |accessdate=2019-07-26}}

Contradictions surrounding practical value of CSA among consumers and suppliers may be the reason why the European Union is lagging with CSA implementation compared to other areas of the world.{{Cite journal |last1=Long |first1=Thomas B. |last2=Blok |first2=Vincent |last3=Coninx |first3=Ingrid |date=2016-01-20 |title=Barriers to the adoption and diffusion of technological innovations for climate-smart agriculture in Europe: evidence from the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Italy |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652615007738 |journal=Journal of Cleaner Production |language=en |volume=112 |pages=9–21 |doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.06.044 |bibcode=2016JCPro.112....9L |issn=0959-6526|url-access=subscription }}

• Effects of climate change on agriculture
• Agroindustry

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Category:Food and Agriculture Organization

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