Climate Smart Agriculture:

Approaches for Implementation with Linkages to

the SmartAgri Plan

Dr Stephanie Midgley

FSD Business Planning Session, 7 September 2016

Changes in maximum temperature: 2050

Rainfall changes: 2050

• 2015-2016: Worst drought in 30 years, high temperatures

• Induced by El Niño and compounded by climate change

South Africa: climate crisis 2015-2016

• Climate variability, climate change, climate disasters

• Threats to farming and ecosystems

– But: agriculture’s contribution to climate change

• Constraints on productive land, land use decisions

– But: unsustainable management of soil: land degradation

• Growing demand and competition for water

– But: unsustainable management of water

• Growing demand for energy

– But: inefficient use of energy

• Food and nutritional insecurity

• Rural unemployment and poverty

The Challenge

The three pillars of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) are:

1. Increasing productivity and incomes;

2. Enhancing resilience of livelihoods and ecosystems;

3. Reducing / removing greenhouse gas emissions and

increasing carbon sequestration

The CSA approach involves the direct incorporation of climate

change adaptation and mitigation into agricultural development

planning and investment strategies.

Climate Smart Agriculture

• CSA is not a single specific agricultural technology or practice

• Conservation agriculture is one form of CSA but there are others

e.g. agro-ecological agriculture, organic agriculture

• All aim to build a more efficient and more resilient agricultural

system

• The CSA approach involves site-specific assessments of the

adaptation, mitigation and food security benefits of a range of

agricultural production technologies and practices, and identifies

those which are most suitable for a given agro-ecological and

socio-economic situation.

Climate Smart Agriculture

The SmartAgri Plan 2016

www.greenagri.org.za

ON-FARM

• Modifying planting times

• switching to varieties resistant to heat and drought

• developing and adopting new cultivars

• changing the farm portfolio of crops and livestock

• improving soil and water management, including conservation agriculture

• integrating the use of climate forecasts into cropping decisions

• improving fertilizer use and irrigation practices

• increasing livestock herd management and nutrition to increase productivity

• increasing the storage of feed

• increasing regional farm diversity

• shifting to non-farm livelihoods

Examples of CSA adaptation

• Greater efficiency in agricultural production and the

processing chain, leading to fewer greenhouse gas emissions

per unit of product

• Reducing emissions of methane and nitrous oxide through

improved animal production, improved management of

livestock waste, and improved nutrient management

• Sequestration of carbon through conservation farming

practices, agroforestry, improved grasslands management

and restoration of degraded land

Examples of CSA mitigation

KNOWLEDGE

• Uncertain and dynamic nature of climate change – transition

to CSA is a knowledge-intensive process and demands a

learning process for all involved

– learn from past experiences with climate stress, what works

– facilitate shared learning between experienced and new

farmers/ extension personnel

– field days, exchange visits, walks & talks

– use multiple sources of knowledge and learning including science

and local knowledge

– learn from experienced personnel at LandCare, CapeNature

– read as much as possible and inform yourself (Green Portal,

SmartAgri)

Knowledge and shared learning

• Monitoring, on-farm record keeping, and documentation of

climate variability and change, impacts, responses

– what works and does not work under local conditions and for specific

farming systems

• Decision support tool needed – suggest what this should look like

– help to translate CSA into language that farmers can use for decision making

• Commodity formations (CPAC/DPAC)

– re-visit farm risk assessment processes,

– include CSA considerations into farm planning,

– capture/document CSA-related project experiences and feed back to

CPAC/DPAC

Bringing CSA into project processes

• Climate risk profiling and history (farm and sub-farm levels)

• Identify resilience requirements and relevant potential CSA

practices

• Are CSA practices being adopted? If not, why not? (identify

barriers)

• Costs and benefits of adopting CSA practices

• Prioritisation of most effective CSA activities

• Take up into farm planning and evaluation

• Flag resource needs and knowledge/skills support needs

Farm level support

Eden: Vegetable farming in Haarlem

Climate risks:• Drought & heat• Flooding• Hail• Energy needs

SMALLHOLDERS

Resilience requires:• Knowledge & skills• Technology: cultivars, disease

management• Infrastructure & services• Alien clearing for water flows

Central Karoo: sheep/goat farming in Laingsburg

Climate risks:• Lack of water

(surface and ground)• Dry spells &

droughts• Heat stress

Resilience requires:• Water infrastructure and

management• Resilient breeds• Better grazing management• Animal health management

ALL SCALES

Cape Town Metro: Khayelitsha food gardens

Climate risks:

• Winter heavy rainfall

• Sea level rise

• Heat stress

• Strong winds

Resilience requires:• Knowledge & skills• Technology: drainage,

pest management• Infrastructure & services

FOOD SECURITY

Thank you

www.greenagri.org.za