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Handbook of Climate Change Management pp 409–437Cite as

Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA): An Integrated Approach for Climate Change Management in the Agriculture Sector

Abstract

Ending hunger is one of the greatest challenges of our time. This challenge is exacerbated by climate change, which is increasingly affecting primary food production and food systems at large. At the same time, agriculture and land use sectors are major contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) offers an integrated approach to address these intertwined challenges, focusing on three main objectives: (1) sustainably increasing productivity and incomes; (2) building resilience and adapting to climate change; and (3) removing and/or reducing greenhouse gas emissions, where possible. Taking an integrated approach to achieving these three objectives – the CSA pillars – provides the opportunity to enhance synergies, achieve co-benefits between the pillars, and identify and reduce potential trade-offs ex ante. The implementation process of CSA is structured in five action points, starting from the evidence base, through the enhancement of enabling policies, institutions, and financing options, to field-level implementation. The agricultural subsectors – crop and livestock production, fisheries, aquaculture, and forestry – the management of land and water resources, and the various stages of food value chains all face specific challenges related to the three objectives of CSA, but are also closely interlinked. A thorough understanding of these challenges, and of the interlinkages in food systems and the coordination across disciplines and sectors, is essential in designing effective strategies and production systems that will enable a transition to climate-smart food systems, build resilient livelihoods for food producers, and bring the world closer to the goal of ending hunger.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy

    F. Matteoli, J. Schnetzer & H. Jacobs

Authors
  1. F. Matteoli
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  2. J. Schnetzer
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  3. H. Jacobs
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to F. Matteoli .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Dr. Johannes M. Luetz

  2. College of Development Studies Food Security Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Dr. Desalegn Ayal

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Matteoli, F., Schnetzer, J., Jacobs, H. (2021). Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA): An Integrated Approach for Climate Change Management in the Agriculture Sector. In: Luetz, J.M., Ayal, D. (eds) Handbook of Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57281-5_148

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