The three-day event, Annual Forum of the Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA), showcased innovative ways in which farmers around the world are adapting their practices to become more and more climate smart.
The forum held in Rome witnessed participation from a number of stakeholders—governments, farmer organisations, private sector institutes, civil society and the academia, who discussed challenges facing the agriculture sector today and shared solutions on how to overcome them.
Maria Helena Semedo, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) deputy director general and coordinator for natural resources, said during the launch of GACSA, “Agriculture will play a crucial role in addressing the planet’s future challenge and is key to providing important adaptation, mitigation synergies to climate change as well as socio-economic and environmental co-benefits.”
Evil of climate change
Climate change—the increased frequency of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and storms— is the most challenging issue of our age.
A book detailing how climate change affects food systems says that severity of floods and storms over the past 30 years has put the agriculture sectors of many developing countries at the risk of growing food insecurity.
Around 570 millions farms across the world are facing the threat of climate change at present.
David Nabarro, the special adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change, said world leaders want a change in “modes of production and consumption”… so that the “needs of future generations are fulfilled”.
Stepping up and facing the many challenges in agriculture in not easy. However, the solution may lie in climate-smart agriculture (CSA) that broadly works on three parameters.
These are sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and farmers’ incomes, adapting to Climate Change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), wherever possible.
Ugandan farmer Rose Akaki said, “When you begin to suffer you are seeing things going from bad to worse. You are bound to adapt.”
Adaptation is the key when it comes to CSA. We need to transit to a more sustainable food system and mitigate climate change while at the same time adapt to climate change. Communities that are highly food-insecure or particularly vulnerable to climate change will necessarily prioritise adaptation, but many of the changes they might make to enhance resilience will also increase productivity and efficiency of inputs (fertilizer and water use), and even have co-benefits for mitigation.
Practices such as inter-cropping, multiple cropping and crop rotation are some of the practices farmers are using to fight climate change.
Reducing emissions
According to a report by FAO, to achieve food security and agricultural development goals by 2030, adapting to climate change and lowering emissions will be necessary.
Around 41 per cent of GHG come from agriculture, the CGIAR says.
There are a number of practices that can reduce emissions from agriculture. One is alternate wetting and drying of paddy.By reducing the frequency of irrigation (letting the fields drain periodically), methane emissions from flooded rice production can be cut in half.
The practice was originally developed as a way to save water; so it has potential to be adaptive to climate change as well.
Another method that can work is increasing the productivity of milk and meat production. The livestock sector contributes to about 14.5 per cent of human-induced GHG, much of which is methane produced by ruminant digestion.
Increasing animal and herd productivity means that fewer animals are required to produce the same amount of milk or meat, which also reduces the emissions generated in producing that food.
According to food policy specialist Devinder Sharma when we look at climate change, the issue of GHG is important. “Globally rice is targeted for (the) wrong reasons. More emissions come from livestock production,” he said.
Sharma blamed the intensive farming system for being the culprit as it involves mechanisation and use of fertilisers. The expert advocated a change in economic policies to stop plundering of natural resources, prevent water contamination and land degradation.
Which is better?
When it comes to a comparison between climate-smart agriculture and organic farming, the former is defined by its desired outcomes—agricultural systems that are resilient, productive, and have low emissions.
Organic agriculture is defined by the method of production (no use of synthetic pesticides or fertilisers). However, many of the practices used in organic agriculture are climate smart.
Organic agriculture enhances natural nutrient cycling and builds soil organic matter, which can also support resilience to climate change and sequester carbon in soils.
The forum concluded that climate-smart agriculture can be more effective and successful. A question was asked on what linkages were being established with people working in the sustainable diets sector to which the answer was that sustainable diets and nutrition were important issues and these should be linked to agriculture.
Emphasis was also laid on introducing nutrition indicators, by going beyond calories and promoting “from field to fork approach”.
Case study – The right solution for Africa
One of the main features of climate-smart agriculture is that it considers adaptation and mitigation together in the context of building agricultural systems for food security Credit: Africa Renewal/FlickrThe most vulnerable are subsistence farmers who are prone to climate shocks. Extreme weather events are recurring and persistent. They are not isolated events. There is a need to introduce climate-smart agriculture and water conservation system to make local communities resistant to droughts and floods.
Smart solution
Climate-smart agriculture can be a solution for Africa as the continent will witness frequent drought and alteration in precipitation patterns in years to come.
Africa’s population is predicted to double from its current 0.9 billion by 2050. According to the FAO, more than a quarter of sub-Saharan-Africa people are undernourished. Crop production will need to increase by 260 per cent by 2050 to feed the continent’s growing population.
Better land management practice is one of the ways to fight climate change and increase resilience of farming systems in the continent.
Improved land management strategies used across sub-Saharan Africa are helping protect the environment, boost productivity, strengthen livelihood and enhance food security.
Desertification in Africa
In Africa, threats of desertification and land degradation are ever present, especially in Sahel and the southern edge of the Sahara.
According to the CGIAR report in Niger, farmers have participated in natural regeneration for the past 30 years to restore lands. Local farmers have helped made green 5 million hectares by protecting and managing the natural regeneration of trees and bushes.
In Ethiopia, a project revived 2,700 hectares of degraded forests with a diversity of indigenous species. Rather than replanting trees with costly nursery stock, the farmers managed natural regeneration and more than 90 per cent of the project area has been reforested from stumps of trees previously felled.
A document, published by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and its TerraAfrica partners, including FAO, takes stock of lessons learnt during the five-year TerrAfrica Strategic Investment Program for sustainable land management.
TerrAfrica is an Africa-driven partnership programme to boost sustainable land and water management techniques across sub-Saharan Africa.
One of the main features of climate-smart agriculture is that it considers adaptation and mitigation together in the context of building agricultural systems for food security.
Boosting food security
Climate-smart agriculture explicitly looks for where there are synergies and trade-offs among food security, adaptation and mitigation. The significance of it in the African context stems from the fact that the continent is predominantly rural with many small-holder farmers, Branca added.
Climate-smart agriculture can help African farmers adapt to and mitigate climate change. Several agricultural practices contribute to both these goals simultaneously.
When farmers plant trees to prevent land degradation, they also contribute to climate change mitigation by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
There are projects that have a primary objective of reducing emissions by preventing deforestation and forest degradation. However, these can provide benefits to local communities as well.
As Africa is drought prone, farmers need crop varieties and agricultural practices that continue to produce under extreme weather conditions.
Efforts are on to breed new varieties of crops that are more resilient to erratic weather, especially to drought. Many farmers across Africa are using improved drought-tolerant and insect-resistant crop varieties that help them to improve productivity.
Interview – ‘Climate-smart agriculture not an option, it is a necessity’
When it comes to a comparison between climate-smart agriculture and organic farming, the former is defined by its desired outcomes—agricultural systems that are resilient, productive, and have low emissionsSonali Bisht, founder and advisor to the Institute of Himalayan Environmental Research and Education, an institute dedicated to sustainable development in the Himalayas, talks about how climate-smart agriculture can conserve soil health and make judicious use of water resources.
What are the best ways to reduce greenhouse gases emissions associated with agriculture?
The best ways to reduce them is to produce and consume (food) locally as much as possible (and) cut down on distances involved in travelling.
Ecological and organic agriculture use on-farm and natural inputs and do not use chemicals produced in factories. Reusing of agricultural wastes rather than incineration also reduces greenhouse gases. We also have technology to use livestock emissions in productive ways.
How different is the concept of climate-smart agriculture when compared to organic farming? Do you think organic farming shows us the path towards a more sustainable future?
Agro ecology, conservation of agricultural diversity, organic farming using on-farm inputs, appropriate crop management to manage and sustain soil health and (ensuring the) health, safety and nutrition of food are the paths to a sustainable future.
Do you think a global transition to a more resilient and sustainable agriculture that draws more on natural biological and ecosystem processes will help us achieve zero hunger by 2030?
I certainly think so, provided (that) agriculture research institutions focus on research in this direction and national governments as well as international institutions commit themselves to it and create an enabling environment for farmers as well as other stakeholders (involved in) agriculture.
How does the concept of climate-smart agriculture deal with the following problems: degradation of farmlands, increasing competition for land and water, stagnation in growth of cereal yields and impacts of higher temperatures, droughts and flooding?
Climate-smart agriculture would ideally invest in and promote innovative, adaptive farming communities working towards restoring and conserving soil health.
(It will also) use land and water optimally, do seed selection (judicially) and adapt to uncertain weather conditions armed with the knowledge of options, choices and resources to use them.
Courtsey: FAO
In the present context f climate change, should we focus on producing more with less or should adaptation be the keyword?
They are not mutually exclusive and agriculture is very site specific, so there cannot be universal solutions.
Do you think climate-smart agriculture can prevent Africa’s food shortage and deal with Asia’s growing population pressure?
Climate-smart agriculture is not an option. It is a necessity for now. The first pillar of climate-smart agriculture is productivity. Farmers need productivity, along with adaptation and mitigation efforts.
India has witnessed one of its worst droughts this year. How will climate-smart agriculture help the country in managing its water resources better?
Climate-smart agriculture should create readiness to deal with extreme weather conditions and weather uncertainties, which are becoming the new normal. Management of water resources cannot be left to governments. Every citizen and every farmer has a responsibility.
Every climate-smart farmer would incorporate practices like farm ponds, bundings, trenching, mulching and other practices for conservation of soil moisture, use appropriate seeds and on-farm inputs (to avoid debt situations) and to have better access and control over required water resources.
In what ways can climate-smart agriculture be used in mountain regions to ensure crop production? The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has reported that approximately 78 per cent of the world’s mountain area is not suitable, or is marginally suitable, for growing crops.
Mountain communities have lived in and farmed small parcels of land, terracing them and using them for their food and nutrition security.
They have grown crops, raised livestock, fished and utilised forests sustainably. Research and resource support building on their own traditional knowledge and experience as well as natural advantages would enable them to do this even better for themselves and the larger community. Moreover, mountain regions have been repositories of agro biodiversity as well as knowledge of risk resilience, both of which are interlinked.
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- Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund.
- LEAF is supported by transnational corporations (TNCs) like Unilever plc, Amazon.com, Inc, Nestle, Airbnb, Inc as well as Emergent, a US-based non-profit.
- The world lost more than 10 million hectares of primary tropical forest cover last year, an area roughly the size of Switzerland.
- Ending tropical and subtropical forest loss by 2030 is a crucial part of meeting global climate, biodiversity and sustainable development goals. Protecting tropical forests offers one of the biggest opportunities for climate action in the coming decade.
- Tropical forests are massive carbon sinks and by investing in their protection, public and private players are likely to stock up on their carbon credits.
- The LEAF coalition initiative is a step towards concretising the aims and objectives of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism.
- REDD+ was created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It monetised the value of carbon locked up in the tropical forests of most developing countries, thereby propelling these countries to help mitigate climate change.
- It is a unique initiative as it seeks to help developing countries in battling the double-edged sword of development versus ecological commitment.
- The initiative comes at a crucial time. The tropics have lost close to 12.2 million hectares (mha) of tree cover last year according to global estimates released by Global Forest Watch.
- Of this, a loss of 4.2 mha occurred within humid tropical primary forests alone. It should come as no surprise that most of these lost forests were located in the developing countries of Latin America, Africa and South Asia.
- Brazil has fared dismally on the parameter of ‘annual primary forest loss’ among all countries. It has lost 1.7 mha of primary forests that are rich storehouse of carbon. India’s estimated loss in 2020 stands at 20.8 kilo hectares.
- Between 2002-2020, Brazil’s total area of humid primary forest reduced by 7.7 per cent while India’s reduced by 3.4 per cent.
- Although the loss in India is not as drastic as in Brazil, its position is nevertheless precarious. For India, this loss is equivalent to 951 metric tonnes worth carbon dioxide emissions released in the atmosphere.
- It is important to draw comparisons between Brazil and India as both countries have adopted a rather lackadaisical attitude towards deforestation-induced climate change. The Brazilian government hardly did anything to control the massive fires that gutted the Amazon rainforest in 2019.
- It is mostly around May that forest fires peak in India. However, this year India, witnessed massive forest fires in early March in states like Odisha, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram among others.
- The European Union’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service claimed that 0.2 metric tonnes of carbon was emitted in the Uttarakhand forest fires.
- Implementation of the LEAF Coalition plan will help pump in fresh rigour among developing countries like India, that are reluctant to recognise the contributions of their forest dwelling populations in mitigating climate change.
- With the deadline for proposal submission fast approaching, India needs to act swiftly on a revised strategy.
- Although India has pledged to carry out its REDD+ commitments, it is impossible to do so without seeking knowledge from its forest dwelling population.
Context:-
At the recently concluded Leaders’ Summit on Climate in April 2021, Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund plan that shall be offered to countries committed to arrest the decline of their tropical forests by 2030.
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]What is LEAF Coalition?
Why LEAF Coalition?
Brazil & India
According to the UN-REDD programme, after the energy sector, deforestation accounts for massive carbon emissions — close to 11 per cent — in the atmosphere. Rapid urbanisation and commercialisation of forest produce are the main causes behind rampant deforestation across tropical forests.
Tribes, Forests and Government
Disregarding climate change as a valid excuse for the fires, Indian government officials were quick to lay the blame for deforestation on activities of forest dwellers and even labelled them “mischievous elements” and “unwanted elements”.
Policy makers around the world have emphasised the role of indigenous tribes and local communities in checking deforestation. These communities depend on forests for their survival as well as livelihood. Hence, they understand the need to protect forests. However, by posing legitimate environmental concerns as obstacles to real development, governments of developing countries swiftly avoid protection of forests and rights of forest dwellers.
For instance, the Government of India has not been forthcoming in recognising the socio-economic, civil, political or even cultural rights of forest dwellers. According to data from the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs in December, 2020 over 55 per cent of this population has still not been granted either individual or community ownership of their lands.
To make matters worse, the government has undertaken systematic and sustained measures to render the landmark Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 ineffective in its implementation. The Act had sought to legitimise claims of forest dwellers on occupied forest land.
Various government decisions have seriously undermined the position of indigenous people within India. These include proposing amendments to the obsolete Indian Forest Act, 1927 that give forest officials the power to take away forest dwellers’ rights and to even use firearms with impunity.
There is also the Supreme Court’s order of February, 2019 directing state governments to evict illegal encroachers of forest land or millions of forest dwellers inhabiting forests since generations as a measure to conserve wildlife. Finally, there is the lack of data on novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) deaths among the forest dwelling population;
Tardy administration, insufficient supervision, apathetic attitude and a lack of political intent defeat the cause of forest dwelling populations in India, thereby directly affecting efforts at arresting deforestation.
Way Forward
Tuntiak Katan, a global indigenous leader from Ecuador and general coordinator of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, aptly indicated the next steps at the Climate Summit:
“The first step is recognition of land rights. The second step is the recognition of the contributions of local communities and indigenous communities, meaning the contributions of indigenous peoples.We also need recognition of traditional knowledge practices in order to fight climate change”
Perhaps India can begin by taking the first step.