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This publication was launched yesterday at the COP24 in Poland at the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture side event. Hard copies of this CSA publication can be found at the Rome-Based Agencies booth.

The aim of this publication is to provide the best FAO-led examples of how the CSA is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach that can be universally applied but, rather, involves different elements embedded in local contexts. The case studies show how the management of farms, crops, livestock and aquaculture can balance short- and long-term food security needs with priorities for the farmer/ producer, as well as build adaption to climate change and contribute to mitigating GHG.

The case studies were selected and adapted from the Climate-Smart Agriculture Sourcebook Second Edition 2017, and other FAO projects.

This brochure explains what climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is and what is new and different about it. CSA options and benefits for farmers at a local level are being addressed and examples of best practices, technologies and services given. The enabling environments for CSA at regional and national level are being described and the important aspects regarding equity, gender and youth highlighted. Global climate agreements frame climate action on the ground and the already visible climate change impacts in SADC justify why wee need CSA to ensure agricultural productivity and food security.

In two weeks’ time, the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will hold the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) in Paris, France. Namibia has been a signatory to this international treaty since 1995 and is as such at an important juncture of commemorating the progress and lessons to come out of the past 20 years of responding to the challenges presented by climate change within the context of international development. Another important juncture in international development is that of the soon to be enacted intergovernmentally agreed set of targets, the Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs). In less than two months, the SDGs will take effect when UN member states are expected to enact policies and legislation to realise them and their associated targets.

Majority of farmers in Zimbabwe are small-scale based, poverty stricken and vulnerable to climate shocks, stresses and impacts. The small-scale farmers have no access to bank loans, crop insurance and other public interventions. This leaves them highly exposed, neglected and defenceless to climatic threats. The national input scheme, otherwise known as the Presidential Input Scheme, has its shortcomings and a few merits.

AAIN is registered in Accra, Ghana as a private sector entity & internationally recognised as a Business Development Company.

This presentation is CSA scoping study which was undertaken in order to establish the status of CSA understanding and implementation in SA at different levels and to establish the current CSA Policy framework in South Africa in terms of effectiveness and equity.

This presentation made during the tackling climate change in agriculture training in Zimbabwe, talks about climate change elements and  interventions in the RAP.

Maize is currently grown on 35 million hectares of land in Africa and is easily the most important staple food crop in the continent, feeding more than 200-300 million people and providing income security to millions of smallholder farmers. Nonetheless, African maize growers face many challenges, including lower than average yields, crop susceptibility to pests and diseases, and abiotic stresses such as droughts. They generally lack access to high yielding improved seed and other farming innovations that could help them overcome those challenges.

The Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) project, launched in 2010, supports farmers and partner organizations to achieve increased food production while minimizing pressure on the environment by using smallholder farmers’ resources more efficiently.

SIMLESA is led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and funded by the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). It is implemented by national agricultural research systems, agribusinesses and farmers in partner countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

A new video highlights the outcomes and achievements of the SIMLESA project and it features interviews with farmers and scientists.

This  report  analyses  the  status  of  incorporation  of  climate  change  adaptation  and  climate-smart agriculture (CSA) measures in the SADC Member States’ agriculture and food security frameworks and policies. It  details the current situation in the SADC member states  with respect to  the existence of policies, strategies and programmes that were primarily designed to build resilience to climate change among famers.

Adapting to the negative impacts of climate change is a pressing challenge for  anyone engaged in the agricultural sector. Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable to these changes such as erratic weather patterns, increased water shortages, shorter growing seasons, and changes in plant and animals diseases and agricultural pests. As a result of these challenges, water availability and soil quality decline. The knowledge and skills that help farmers protect themselves against these changes are imperative. The Clinton Development Initiative(CDI) works with 25,000 smallholder farmers in Malawi to apply Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) adaptation and mitigation techniques on their farms. We sat down with Austin Ngwira, CDI’s Director of Agriculture, to learn more about how CSA is helping improve farmers’ food security with techniques that are more resilient to climate change. Read our Q&A with Austin below.