What is Climate-smart agriculture (CSA)?
Climate-smart agriculture (SCA) is an approach of management practices aiming to help farmers respond effectively to the results of climate change. It should not be considered as a completely independent/different system compared to other types/systems of sustainable agriculture. What differentiates it is the focus.
Climate-smart agriculture is context-specific.
In a climate-smart agriculture system, all the (sustainable) practices are adapted, selected, focused, and adjusted so they give a solution (or ease the effects) to the environmental pressure.
The Principles
The 3 pillars of climate-smart agriculture are the following:
- Help farmers improve/maintain their yields: CSA practices focus on creating synergies and balancing trade-offs to achieve good yields under the pressure of climate change.
- Create a more climate-resilient agroecosystem: it is essential to create a system that can withstand and easily overcome the adverse effects and environmental pressures.
- Wherever and whenever possible, decrease the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.
Based on the goal and the environmental pressure a farmer is facing, the principles applied may focus on the following:
- crop management
- soil management
- water management/conservation
- diseases and pest management
Common Practices applied
Numerous other agricultural practices can be part of a climate-smart agriculture system.
The group of practices applied in a climate-smart system may differ a lot from region to region, depending on the local needs and challenges.
Further reading
Hybrid Potatoes – A Climate-Smart Solution for Potato Farmers
Developing new agents for climate-smart agriculture
Climate-Smart Agriculture Solutions in Rice
Strategies for Small-Scale Farmers in Tropical Africa to Adapt to Climate Change
What are the Principle, Goals and Benefits of Sustainable Agriculture?
