Climate-Smart Agriculture

Knowledge

Food security and climate change can be addressed together by transforming agriculture and adopting practices that are "climate-smart". Farmers are under the greatest threat from climate change, but they also play a major role in addressing it. Climate-smart farming techniques can increase agricultural productivity and incomes, make rural communities more resilient to climate change and where possible, mitigate climate change.

FAO and its partners are aware that achieving the transformations required for CSA and meeting these multiple objectives requires an integrated approach that is responsive to specific local conditions, diversifies food sources and strengthens the resilience of farmers’ livelihoods.

Given the site-specific effects of climate change, together with the wide variation in agroecological zones and farming, livestock and fishery systems, the most effective climate-smart strategies will vary within countries.

Sharing practices and technologies can be done through increased cooperation, and information sharing among stakeholders; and the development of outreach, extension and technical assistance.

Local knowledge, as well as the capacity to link research and local activities, plays a key role in scaling up the CSA approach to reinforce the resilience of farmers’ livelihoods.