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Since the Global Conference on Climate Change, Food Security and Agriculture held at the Hague in 2010, the concept of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has gained increasing attention at international and national levels, with several countries initiating related activities. The objective of this paper is to highlight recent experiences with country-level implementation of CSA to identify some key lessons to incorporate in ongoing efforts to expand the use of the approach in developing countries. Examples are presented from Malawi, Zambia, and Vietnam on the issues discussed, and how to use the evidence base to inform investment options and policy actions.

Section 1 describes the evolution of the concept of CSA since the Hague conference. Section 2 introduces the building blocks for developing a CSA strategy and combines them into a coherent framework. In sections 3 to 6 the paper goes into more depth on the building blocks, the data needed and potential approaches for prioritizing action. Finally section 7 provides some guiding principles on CSA investments.

The document was prepared as a technical input for the Hanoi Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change, 3-7 September 2012.