by Sean Mattson | Dec 6, 2018

CIAT News

Figure: Cacao farmers in Nicaragua

Climate-smart agriculture boosts yields, mitigates extreme weather, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. A study in Central America, Africa, and Asia points to profitable opportunities for farmers and the environment.

Cacao farmers in Nicaragua lose their crop, the main ingredient for chocolate, to fungal blight and degrading soils. Yields drop in Vietnam’s rice paddies because of higher temperatures and increased salinity. Bean and maize growers in Uganda see their plants die during severe dry spells during what should be the rainy season.

The two-punch combination of climate change and poor agricultural land management can be countered with simple measures that keep farms productive and profitable. Implementation of these climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices can increase yields, benefit the environment, and increase farmer income, according to a new cost-benefit analysis by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) published November 19 in PLOS ONE.

The study examines 10 major climate-related issues facing farmers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and proposes site-specific CSA remedies. These include rotating rice fields with peanuts in Vietnam, manual blight control for cacao in Nicaragua, and planting drought-tolerant varieties of beans and maize alongside each other in Uganda.

Where additional investment is required, initial rates of return on investment range from 17 percent to 590 percent. Startup costs can be recovered in one to eight years, depending on the management practice. In all cases, yields increase.

Many CSA practices that improve production, buffer fields against climate change, and improve nutrient-poor soils require little additional investment. Sometimes these cost less than business-as-usual farming, which relies on single-crop plantations and chemical fertilizers. But adoption at the most of the research sites in is minimal. Obstacles include resistance to changing habitual farming techniques, labor constraints, and lack of access to credit.

Le Lan, a researcher at the University of Western Australia and the study’s lead author, said successful CSA interventions by governments and development agencies need to seek “the greatest aggregated benefit to the community” and not just potential gain for individual farmers. “In addition, if the area suffers from extreme climate events, targeted assistance must consider the socioeconomic and cultural realities of farmer groups if the practices are to be widely adopted.”

See more: https://blog.ciat.cgiar.org/simple-steps-to-climate-proof-farms-have-big-potential-upside-for-tropical-farmers/