Shifting agriculture to a ‘climate-smart’ approach will not only help prevent future food security crises but holds the promise of sparking economic and agricultural renewal in rural areas where hunger and poverty are most prevalent, says FAO.
On the one hand, the magnitude and scope of climate change impacts on agricultural systems means that boosting rural communities’ resilience and adaptive capacities is essential to safeguarding world food security, notes FAO success stories on climate-smart agriculture released in Rome on Friday.
The model of climate-smart agriculture seeks to address three broad objectives -sustainable increase of agricultural productivity and incomes, helping rural communities and farmers adapt to and become more resilient to the effects of climate change, and reducing or removing agriculture’s greenhouse gases emissions, when possible.
Rising temperatures and an increased frequency of extreme weather events will have direct and negative impacts on crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture productivity in the years to come, as clearly indicated in the most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Vulnerable, farming-dependent populations in the developing world are particularly at risk.
But, at the same time, the compelling need to deal with the challenges posed by climate change offers an opportunity to transform the way food systems use natural resources, improve agriculture’s sustainability and promote poverty reduction and economic growth, the publication adds.
Highlighting cases studies in ‘climate-smart agriculture’ from around the globe, FAO’s document shows that many rural communities are already successfully making the transition to new forms of farming better suited to the rigors of a warmer world, said a FAO press release.
“A shift to climate-smart agriculture will not only help shield farmers from the adverse effects of climate change and offer a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but can also improve farm yields and household incomes, leading to stronger, more resilient communities,” said FAO Deputy Director-General Helena Semedo.
“We can no longer afford to separate the future of food security from that of natural resources, the environment and climate change – they are inextricably intertwined and our response must be as well,” she added.
