Climate Smart Agriculture CSA

Insights Mind maps
General Studies – 3; Topic: e-technology in the aid of farmers
Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA)

1) Introduction
 FAO defines Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) as "agriculture that sustainably increases productivity,
enhances resilience (adaptation), reduces/removes GHGs (mitigation) where possible, and
enhances achievement of national food security and development goals"
2) Background
 Agriculture in India today contributes only 14% of India’s GDP and provides a source of livelihood
for at least 57% of its people, most of whom live in rural areas.
 With over 60% of Indian agriculture dependent on rainfall, farming is a high-risk gamble dependent
upon the vagaries of the monsoons and local meteorological conditions.
 With increasing climate variability, the need for advance warning to farmers of the likely
occurrence of irregular or extreme weather events is becoming urgent.
3) CSA approach
 CSA is an approach for developing agricultural strategies to secure sustainable food security under
climate change.
 CSA provides the means to help stakeholders from local to national and international levels identify
agricultural strategies suitable to their local conditions.
 It is in line with FAO’s vision for Sustainable Food and Agriculture and supports FAO’s goal to make
agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and more sustainable".
4) Climate Variability, Agriculture and Agrarian Economy

 Climate variability, irregular rainfall behaviour, and unexpected meteorological events directly
impact ecosystems, water availability and biodiversity
 This threatens agricultural production systems, livelihoods, food, nutrition and water security.
www.insightsonindia.com Page 1
Insights Mind maps
 It is estimated that unseasonal rains, wind and hailstorms that lashed Maharashtra and Madhya
Pradesh in March 2014 affected about three million hectares of rabi crops with horticultural and
cash crops having suffered the most
 With India’s climate expected to become warmer, intra seasonal and inter-annual weather
variability is expected to increase.
 Studies reveal a declining trend in the all-India summer monsoon rainfall over the last 60 years,
which is expected to continue
 This will only result in more losses, damages and grief to farmers, especially smallholder farmers
who have hardly any means to cope with these climate induced disasters.
 Confronted with climate variability, rising costs of agricultural
inputs, declining productivity, low returns and market volatility
5) Traditional Knowledge and Adaptive Strategies

 Farmers’ traditional knowledge and practices have been built by observing weather dynamics and
behaviours of plants, animals and insects
 However, in recent times, the unpredictability of weather changes are undermining farmers’
confidence in their traditional knowledge and their capacity to adapt to these changes.
 Traditional knowledge now need to be augmented by scientific information of likely weather
events on a timely basis
6) Impact of CSA
Insights Mind maps
7) Recommendations
 Farmers, especially smallholder farmers, need advance warning of emergent weather conditions at
a local level.
 Mobile telecommunication systems are increasingly cost-effective and an efficient way of
delivering weather-based agro-advisories to farmers at a large scale.
 Radio (especially community radio), television, newspapers, folk media, and village level public
address systems will also need to be used to bridge this “communication divide.”
 Weather-based agro-advisories must be locale-, crop- and farmer-specific; need to also recommend
soil, water, and biodiversity conservation practices.
 Build adaptive capacities to climate variability and strengthen the sustainability of farming systems.
 On-site training and awareness campaigns, technology demonstrations, farmer-specialist
interactions, and engagement with local governance bodies.
 Soil health and need-based irrigation management need to be addressed adequately.
 Closer collaboration between public, civil society, and private technology and financial service
providers so that farmers get access to accurate information, and affordable technologies.

Climate Smart Agriculture CSA

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Climate Smart Agriculture CSA

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Climate Smart Agriculture CSA

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Insights Mind maps

General Studies – 3; Topic: e-technology in the aid of farmers

Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA)

4) Climate Variability, Agriculture and Agrarian Economy

5) Traditional Knowledge and Adaptive Strategies

You might also like