Climate smart agriculture: innovations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring sustainable food production in changing climates

Abstract

Catastrophic events such as drought, floods, adverse weather conditions due to changing climate, make the natural environment hostile to agricultural production. This poses serious threat to global food security despite the increased demand to feed the growing population of the world. With all the growing campaigns to address the issues of climate change, it has been observed that many activities in conventional agriculture such as the use of agrochemicals, deforestation, land-use, use of mechanized labor also contributes significantly to climate change. To ensure ecofriendly farming practices, the modern agricultural sector adopted the use of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) which makes use of innovative practices combined with modern technologies to reduce GHG emissions, improve resilience and ensure food security. Such practices include Agroforestry, Conservation Agriculture, Integrated Pest Management, Precision Agriculture, Climate Resilient Crops, Water Management Technology, Improving of Soil Health, Rotational Grazing, Diversified Farming Strategy, use of Renewable Energy. Despite their potential in mitigating climate change and ensuring food security without upsetting the environment, adoption of CSA practices faces several challenges. To promote the implementation of CSA, this review has recommended the provision of practical training on CSA, to promote awareness and better understanding of the concept, support and interventions to farmers, effective communication between researchers, extension workers and farmers and incorporating of Socio-culture in CSA.