Dr irfan peerzada
CLIMATE change is one of the most pressing challenges in the present era especially in the developing nations. Economies that are heavily dependent on agriculture like India and other South Asian Region are particularly vulnerable to climate change, because of the close association of economic stability, employment rates, and food security with climate change. Increased temperature, unpredictable rainfall patterns, extreme weather events have direct impacts on agriculture leading to crop failure, soil degradation, water scarcity, loss of biodiversity, and decreased yield levels. To tackle these challenges and make transition towards sustainable agriculture, climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has emerged as a vital approach. CSA encompasses strategies that increase resilience to climate change, boost productivity, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The goal of CSA is to sustainably enhance agricultural productivity, management of water resources, environmental protection, crop diversification and climate change mitigation. Variety of practices designed to improve the agricultural efficiency, resilience and sustainability are included in CSA
Climate-smart agriculture
Evolution: The Hague Conference on Agriculture in 2010 organized by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with the aim of discussing the role of climate change on food security played a pivotal role in the inception of CSA. CSA is a comprehensive approach of agricultural production and development and is strategically crafted to facilitate sustainable agriculture efficiency, adaptability to changing environmental conditions, reduction in GHGs emissions and steadfastly securing national food security. This approach represents a rigorous scientific strategy for advancing agriculture that is specifically tailored to adjust agricultural techniques in light of human-induced climate change.
Objectives: The crucial aim is to simultaneously achieve the goals of both mitigation and adaptation aspects of climate change concurrently. This approach is designed to effectively support broader development initiatives while safeguarding food security amidst the dynamic issues presented by climate change. CSA incorporates the triad of environmental, economic, and social factors through collaborative efforts to alleviate the repercussions of a changing climate on food security while simultaneously fostering sustainable growth in agriculture. This integration involves the incorporation of institutional, technological, and policy measures, with their effectiveness contingent on the specific spatial and temporal context.
Key practices: The range of approaches and practices applicable to agricultural or farming systems at diverse levels are involved in CSA with the amalgamation of emergent and traditional agricultural practices including agroforestry, conservation agriculture and sustainable land management practices. At the small-scale farming system, CSA includes the judicious use of compost, use of improved crop varieties, proficient crop residue management, integration of agroforestry, soil and water conservation measures. Overall, CSA strategies utilize the innovative and sustainable farming practices to alleviate the detrimental influence of climate change.
The three pillars: CSA centres around three fundamental pillars: food security, improving strategies for adapting to shifting climatic conditions, and actively contributing to effective mitigation efforts. These three pillars collectively serve as the cornerstones of CSA, with the overarching objective of tackling the challenges presented by climate change and fostering farming systems that are both sustainable and productive. To enhance the resilience of food systems, it is essential to equip them with the capability to adjust with climatic variations, improve carbon sequestration and curtail the GHGs emissions from the agricultural ecosystems.
Climate smart-agricultural practices and benefits
Several emerging and traditional agricultural practices have been included among the CSA practices.Among the key practices within CSA, conservation agriculture (CA) has gained prominence for its transformative impact on soil health, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration, helping farmers adapt while promoting sustainability.
Conservation agriculture
Conservation Agriculture is a farming system built on three primary principles designed to improve soil health and increase resilience to climate challenges. Under the different circumstances, the conservation agriculture and its derivatives i.e. minimum soil disturbance, soil cover and species diversification are effective methods for achieving the targets of climate-smart agriculture.
Minimum soil disturbance (No-till farming):The reduction or elimination of tillage has demonstrated the favourable effects on various soil aspects i.e. improved soil organic carbon, enhanced C sequestration, reduced GHGs emissions, soil biodiversity conservation, enhanced nutrient cycling and effective soil erosion control. The improved crop yield in no-till/zero till/reduced tillage soils are attributed to improved soil and water content, increased soil organic matter, including essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulphur.
Permanent soil cover (Cover cropping and mulching:Cover crops result in the stability of the CA system, not only by the improvement of soil properties but also their capacity to promote an increased biodiversity in the agro-ecosystem. Year-round soil cover with crop residues, cover crops, or mulching techniques helps to protect soil erosion, improve water retention, mobilize and recycle nutrients, effective weed control, protect soil during fallow periods, provide biological tillage and regulate soil temperature.
Species diversification (diverse crop rotation and intercropping: The species diversification (crop rotation) functions as biological pump as diverse crops extract the nutrient from different soil depths, provide diverse diet to soil microorganisms, recycle of nutrients from deeper soil layers, work as phytosanitary function due to prevention of crop-specific pest and diseases, and result in diversification of soil flora and fauna.
Conservation agriculture and climate change adaptation and mitigation
Conservation agriculture is considered as climate-smart agriculture, as strategically it empowers the farmers to adjust and alleviate the negative impacts of climate change while boosting the income and productivity in current farming system. Table 2 illustrates the various measures of climate change adaptation and mitigation through conservation agriculture.
Determinants influencing adoption of climate-smart agriculture
Even with the several beneficial impacts of CSA, adoption of CSA practices in developing countries like India is influenced by a combination of factors i.e. socioeconomic, institutional, environmental, technological, cultural and behavioural, economic context, information and communication, and policy supports. Table 3 contains the determinant and their adaptability.
SUMMARY
Climate smart agriculture (CSA) is an integrated approach to address the climate change and food security through sustainable agriculture production, reduced GHGs emissions and building resilience to changing climate impacts. CSA promotes sustainable land management, improved nutrient and water use efficiency, crop diversification and C sequestration through practices i.e. agroforestry, conservation agriculture etc. CA is a climate smart approach to promote the sustainable farming through minimal soil disturbance, permanent soil cover and crop diversification that enhances soil health, biodiversity, water retention and reduction GHGs emissions. CSA emphasizes stakeholder involvement, context-specific solutions, and innovative financing to ensure long-term sustainability. By resilience, enhancing productivity, and environmental health, CSA contributes to global efforts of achieving food security and combating climate change.
Author is Working in Department of Agriculture District Bandipora
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