Climate Smart Agriculture Building Resilience to Climate Change

Eradicating poverty, ending hunger, and taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts are three objectives the global community has committed to achieving by 2030 by adopting the sustainable development goals. Agriculture, and the way we manage it in the years leading up to 2030, will be a key determinant of whether or not these objectives are met. Agriculture has been, and can be further, used as an important instrument in eradicating hunger, poverty, and all forms of malnutrition. Climate change however is expected to act as an effective barrier to agricultural growth in many regions, especially in developing country contexts heavily dependent on rain-fed agriculture. Climate change impacts agriculture through a number of pathways. According to the 2013 IPCC report, all four dimensions of food security are potentially affected by climate change through their effects on agricultural production and the incomes of rural households, food prices and markets, and in many other parts of the food system (e.g., storage, food quality, and safety) (IPCC WGII AR5 Ch 7). Reducing the vulnerability of agricultural systems to climate change – including the increased incidence of extreme weather events – and strengthening its adaptive capacity are therefore important priorities to protect and improve the livelihoods of the poor and allow agriculture to fully play its role in ensuring food security. Reducing emissions that contribute to global warming is crucial to securing global wellbeing, and the agricultural sector has considerable potential for emissions reductions while at the same time playing its important role in poverty reduction and food security.