76247 Policy Brief: Opportunities and Challenges for Climate-Smart Agriculture in Africa Key Messages • Food security, poverty and climate change are closely linked and should not be considered separately • Without strong adaptation measures, and financing to support them, poverty alleviation and food security goals will not be reached • Adaptation measures not only enhance food security but can potentially contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture • Climate-smart agriculture offers triple wins for food security, adaptation and mitigation • COP 17 in Durban offers a unique opportunity for Africa to shape the global climate agenda and establish an agriculture work program that is informed by science and covers adaptation and mitigation • Climate-smart agriculture needs heightened attention in African policy processes and strategies, from national to regional levels • Early action is needed to identify and scale up best practice, to build capacity and experience, and to help clarify future choices • Considerable public and private finance will be needed to rapidly implement climate-smart agriculture African Agriculture under Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector a Changing Climate 26% Energy Supply Agriculture is the economic foundation of many Sub- 13% Transport Saharan Africa (SSA) countries, employing about 60 8% Residential and percent of the workforce and contributing an aver- Commercial Buildings age of 30 percent of gross domestic product.1 For the 19% Industry poorest people, GDP growth originating in agriculture 3% Waste and Wastewater is about four times more effective in raising incomes 17% Forestry / Land-Use Change than GDP growth originating outside the sector.2 14% Agriculture Yet agricultural growth rates for SSA declined in the 2000s3 and food insecurity remains a concern, with malnourishment only dropping from 34 to 30 percent in two decades.4 Various projections suggest that Emissions in the Agriculture Sector food production must increase by 70–100 percent by 2050 to meet the demands of a world with 9 billion 38% N20 from people and changing diets.5 In SSA this will require Soil Management considerable investments in agricultural development 32% CH4 from ­ —research, institutional support and infrastructural Enteric Fermentation development.6 12% Biomass Burning 11% Rice Production 7% Manure Management Food security, poverty and climate change are closely linked and should not be consid- Source: IPCC 2007; Smith et al. 2007. ered separately tion of adaptation measures that enhance agriculture Ensuring food security under a changing climate is and peoples’ resilience for increased food security. one of the major challenges of our era. African agri- culture is highly vulnerable to climate change.7 Even using optimistic lower-end projections of tempera- Without strong adaptation measures, and the ture rise, climate change may reduce crop yields by financing to support them, poverty alleviation 10–20 percent by the 2050s, with more severe losses and food security goals will not be reached in some regions.8 World food prices for some of the main grain crops are likely to rise sharply in the first half of the 21st century, unlike the price declines While agriculture is the sector most vulnerable to witnessed in the 20th century.9 Projections of price climate change, it is also a major cause of climate rises range from about 30 percent for rice to over 100 change, directly accounting for about 14 percent of percent for maize, with about half or more than half global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and indirect- of this rise due to climate change. Under a pessimistic ly much more as agriculture is also the main driver high-end projection of temperature rise, the impacts of deforestation and land-use change responsible for on productivity and prices are even greater. another 17 percent of global emissions.11 Even if emis- sions in all other sectors were eliminated by 2050, Increasing frequencies of heat stress, drought and growth in agricultural emissions in a business-as-usual flooding events, not factored into the projections world with a near doubling in food production would mentioned above, will result in yet further deleterious perpetuate climate change. effects on productivity. It is likely that price and yield volatility will continue to rise as extreme weather Agriculture can contribute to mitigation12 in three ways: continues. Climate change will also impact agriculture • Avoiding further deforestation and conversion of through effects on pests and disease. These interac- grasslands and wetlands tions are complex and the full implications in terms of • Increasing the storage of carbon in vegetation productivity are uncertain.10 and soil • Reducing current, and avoiding future, increases in For Africa to achieve its development goals, climate emissions from nitrous oxide (from fertiliser use and change adaptation is a priority. There is an urgent soil organic matter breakdown) and from methane need for immediate support to Africa’s implementa- (from livestock production and rice cultivation). 2 Climate-smart agriculture includes proven practical Climate-smart agriculture seeks to increase techniques and approaches that can help achieve a productivity in an environmentally and socially triple win for food security, adaptation and mitigation.16 sustainable way, strengthen farmers’ resilience to For example, by increasing the organic content of climate change, and reduce agriculture’s contri- the soil through conservation tillage, its water hold- bution to climate change by reducing greenhouse ing capacity increases, making yields more resilient gas emissions and increasing carbon storage and reducing erosion. Promoting soil carbon capture on farmland. Climate-smart agriculture includes also helps mitigate climate change. Another example proven practical techniques — such as mulch- is integrated soil fertility management that can lower ing, intercropping, conservation agriculture, crop fertiliser costs, increase soil carbon and improve yields. rotation, integrated crop-livestock management, If yields through such practices increase and are more agroforestry, improved grazing, and improved stable and if this results in improved farm incomes, water management — but also innovative practic- then the adaptive capacity of farmers is also enhanced. es such as better weather forecasting, early warn- ing systems and risk insurance. It is about getting Climate-smart agriculture gives attention to land- existing technologies off the shelf and into the scape approaches, for example, integrated planning hands of farmers and developing new technolo- of land, agriculture, forests, fisheries and water to en- gies such as drought or flood tolerant crops to sure synergies are captured. Such approaches are es- meet the demands of the changing climate. It is sential if emissions from land cover change and defor- also about creating and enabling policy environ- estation are to be reduced, and are also indispensable ment for adaptation. given greater land and water scarcity and the need to balance food, energy and climate considerations. Landscape approaches will also be a cornerstone of Agriculture has much to contribute to a low emis- successful implementation of REDD+ given the need sions development strategy. In many countries it is to balance forestry and agriculture objectives.17 agriculture—not industry or transport— that provides a high mitigation potential. For example 75 percent Climate-smart agriculture fully incorporates atten- of Ethiopia’s estimated economic mitigation poten- tion to climate risk management. In many regions, tial is in agriculture and forestry.13 About half of the agriculture is an extremely risky business, and climate 47 countries that have submitted Nationally Ap- change will exacerbate this. propriate Mitigation Action (NAMAs) have included agriculture-related actions.14 In Africa alone, 650 million people are dependent on rain-fed agriculture in fragile environments that are vulnerable to water scarcity and environmental Any serious effort to reduce GHG emissions degradation. must include agriculture These areas are also susceptible to the negative impact of climate-related disasters such as droughts, floods and erratic weather patterns. Under climate Climate-Smart Agriculture change, the combination of long-term degradation as Part of the Solution and sudden onset of weather shocks affect food secu- rity among the most vulnerable communities. Risk- prone farmers are less likely to invest in novel agricul- Food security, poverty and climate change are closely tural practices for fear that a season of bad weather linked and should not be considered separately. Major could wipe out their investment. productivity gains are possible in Africa given the large gaps between current yields and the yields that are possible with improved inputs and management, while also promoting low GHG emission options.15 Sustainable intensification seeks to increase yield per unit of land to meet today’s needs without In countries where the economy is heavily based on exceeding current resources or reducing the agriculture, development of the agricultural sector resources needed for the future. is the most efficient poverty reduction measure. Yet agricultural expansion for food production and eco- Carbon sequestration is the process by which nomic development which comes at the expense of atmospheric carbon dioxide is taken up by plants soil, water, biodiversity or forests, conflicts with other through photosynthesis and stored as carbon in global and national goals, and often compromises biomass and soils. production and development in the longer term. 3 Climate risk management includes improving the na- • Text that makes crops and pasture eligible under tional meteorological services to provide better weather the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the forecasts that reach farmers; enhanced early warning Kyoto Protocol systems; crop and livestock insurance so farmers are protected against losses; contingency planning, contin- Placing agriculture in a global agreement would help gent financing, and social protection; and technologies provide a policy framework for fully incorporating and practices that can deal with extreme conditions. By agriculture into adaptation and mitigation strategies. combining different risk management approaches, it is Further work on numerous technical issues (e.g. moni- possible to shift from managing disasters to managing toring methods, identification of new technologies risks in a cost-effective manner. and approaches) and institutional issues (e.g. how to make sure benefits reach poor farmers) would be stimulated by such an agreement. Climate-smart agriculture offers triple wins for food security, adaptation and mitigation Strategies and Incentives for Agriculture in the Climate-Smart Agriculture in Climate Negotiations African Policy Processes The United Nations Framework Convention on While the UNFCCC can establish the international Climate Change (UNFCCC) places a high priority policy framework for how agriculture is incorporated on agriculture. Article 2 of the treaty states that the into future climate agreements, much policy develop- “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations .......... ment has to occur in national, regional and continen- should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient .....to tal policy arenas. NEPAD’s18 Comprehensive Africa ensure that food production is not threatened......� It is Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) is the thus surprising that a detailed treatment of agriculture key arena for ensuring that climate change is main- has yet to enter any of the Agreements. The negotiat- streamed into agricultural development. At the na- ing text proposing an agriculture work program under tional level, adaptation plans and mitigation strategies the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological (including those related to reducing emissions from Advice (SBSTA) was already available for COP 15 in deforestation and forest degradation, and enhancing Copenhagen but has yet to be adopted. forest stocks in developing countries– REDD+) are be- ing prepared. However, as noted in a recent analysis Addressing agriculture is critical to achieving global of country REDD+ readiness proposals, the proposed climate change goals, both in terms of adaptation and strategies and actions for agriculture remain very mitigation. Agriculture will be significantly impacted general.19 Strategies to achieve REDD+ and to fully by climate change, and is crucial for global food incorporate agricultural adaptation and mitigation security, rural development and poverty alleviation. into climate change strategies need more tangible, It can also contribute significantly to meeting mitiga- detailed measures that build on existing efforts and tion targets. Food security, adaptation and mitigation are calibrated to local conditions. can and should be dealt with in an integrated manner — thus the need to incorporate agriculture in future Farmers need policies that remove obstacles to climate change agreements. implementing climate-smart agriculture, and create synergies with alternative technologies and prac- tices. Policies and strategies should recognize and COP 17 in Durban offers a unique opportu- support proven technologies for carbon sequestra- nity for Africa to shape the global climate tion, like mulching, intercropping and agroforestry. agenda, and establish an agriculture work Considerable policy support and capacity enhance- program that is informed by science and ment is needed for climate risk management includ- covers adaptation and mitigation ing insurance and safety nets, as well as improved access to weather information adapted to farmers’ needs. Ways and opportunities need to be found Key deliverables for COP 17 include: that strengthen synergies in the implementation of • An agriculture work program under SBSTA that climate-smart agriculture and food security pro- covers both adaptation and mitigation. It should be grams and initiatives. informed by science to enhance the role of agri- culture in achieving synergies between adaptation, mitigation and food security 4 confidence, capacity and experience building. Learn- Climate-smart agriculture needs heightened ing-by-doing can help countries clarify their choices attention in African policy processes and and sharpen their capacities and skills for long-term strategies, from national to regional levels action, while negotiations continue in the context of the Convention. A crucial component of early action is enhancing Early Action in Climate- knowledge sharing and developing capacity. We need Smart Agriculture to create, designate or integrate national and regional knowledge networks or platforms for the identifica- tion and dissemination of climate-smart agricultural Africa stands to benefit from climate-smart agriculture practices and technologies.22 because of the high vulnerability of rural populations to climate change and dependence on agriculture for a There are a large number of technologies and prac- majority of livelihoods. As a result, Africa is leading the tices “on the shelf� but the scale and speed of climate way in putting this issue on the global political agenda change requires considerable investment in filling and focusing on early action ahead of an emerging knowledge gaps and in research. This includes the international consensus.20 Some 50 million people in development of decision-support tools to prioritize Africa are highly vulnerable to a 5 percent decrease in adaptation and mitigation actions and investments, the length of the growing period.21 This illustrates the and further work on institutions and incentives that gains that can be achieved through early action. work for farmers (e.g. payments for environmental services such as soil carbon sequestration). Continued research attention is needed to produce more with Early action is needed to identify and scale up less, i.e. increasing productivity while reducing the best practice, to build capacity and experi- ecological footprint of agriculture. ence, and to help clarify future choices Early action for climate-smart agriculture should involve: Financing Climate-Smart • Rapidly scaling up good management practices and technologies (including, for example, attention Agriculture to soil carbon sequestration); investing in human and social capital to enhance the adaptive capacity New funds have been developed to increase food se- of vulnerable communities; climate risk manage- curity, to respond to the food price crisis, to promote ment options; and investment in landscape ap- climate-resilient development, to reduce deforesta- proaches that build synergies and manage trade- tion and forest degradation, or to support climate offs among different land uses adaptation and mitigation more generally. In addi- • Strategy and policy development, and enhancing tion, the volume of finance associated with carbon institutional arrangements (e.g. for better integra- markets is expanding rapidly.23 While a number of tion between forestry and agricultural departments) existing financing mechanisms have been instru- • Taking stock of existing good practices (including mental in supporting climate change mitigation and traditional practices), demonstrating the economic adaptation, the Food and Agriculture Organization feasibility of these practices in different locales, of the United Nations has indicated that the main and identifying what is needed to maintain and mechanisms have generally not enabled agriculture expand them to contribute fully to adaptation and mitigation ef- • Creating learning hubs, regional platforms and forts.24 The challenge for countries is to bring dif- other awareness-building and technical support ferent funding mechanisms together so as to invest mechanisms to increase innovation and adoption at the scale needed to achieve the goals of climate- of practices smart agriculture. Practices that are profitable and • Testing monitoring, reporting and verification self-sustaining in the long-run may need upfront (MRV) methods for agriculture finance to get off the ground. Capacity needs to be • Piloting and scaling up market-based mechanisms strengthened to enable African countries to ac- for mitigation cess these existing and emerging climate finance mechanisms. There is also scope for the redirection Early action is needed to improve the viability, scope of agricultural finance in developed and developing and accessibility of agricultural options for climate countries as well as development finance. change adaptation and mitigation.22 Early adoption and action will expand the evidence base for relevant practices. Early action can also offer opportunities for 5 Considerable finance will be needed to rap- Conclusion idly implement climate-smart agriculture Climate-smart agriculture offers some unique op- portunities to tackle food security, adaptation and mitigation objectives. African countries will particu- Patterns of public support which focus on research, larly benefit from climate-smart agriculture given the investments in soil and water conservation, social central role of agriculture as a means to poverty al- protection and safety nets to enhance human capi- leviation and the major negative impacts that climate tal and technology and value chain development are change is likely to have on the African continent. more effective, benefit more farmers and are more COP17 in Durban offers an exceptional chance for sustainable in the long run than price support.23 In Africa to shape the global climate negotiations. Early China for example, investments in watershed man- action in climate-smart agriculture, while the global agement through public work programs based on negotiations continue, is essential to build capacity, food assistance have enabled impressive productiv- experience and guide future choices. ity increases. In Burkina Faso, investments in soil and water management from diverse stakeholders have powered what has been termed a “farming miracle.�25 Participatory approaches directly involving farmers in “Millions of hungry and starving in- decision-making generally work best. A key lesson is dividuals have their hopes vested in that the quality of public expenditure is as important us. Despite our serious global chal- as its quantity in facilitating private farmer investment lenges, we still have hope. We need in climate-smart agriculture. your support to elevate agriculture to The international community needs to demonstrate achieve global climate change goals commitment to the multiple agendas of food security, and the triple win of enhanced ag- adaptation and mitigation by stepping up investment ricultural productivity and incomes, support to climate-smart agriculture, in particular the scaling up of best practices and technologies as part climate resilience and carbon seques- of early actions. tration. It is vital to include agricul- ture, food security and land in the climate change negotiations.� Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Minister: Agriculture, For- estry and Fisheries, South Africa. 6 1. United States Agency for International 13. Dr. Sintayehu Wondossen, EPA, National Policy Development(USAID). 2003. Congressional Budget Workshop on Climate Change Adaptation and Justification FY 2004: Sub-Saharan Africa. See http:// Mitigation. 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FAOSTAT. 2009. Statistical databases. See http://www. Practices and Financing for Food Security, Adaptation fao.org/economic/ess/food-securitystatistics/en/ and Mitigation. Paper prepared for Hague Conference 5. Godfray, H.C.J., Beddington, J.R., Crute, I., Haddad, L., on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change. Lawrence, D., Muir, J.F., Pretty, J., Robinson, S., Thomas, 17. Wollenberg E, Campbell BM, Holmgren P, Seymour F, S.M., Toulmin, C. 2010. Food Security: The Challenge of Sibanda L, and von Braun J. 2011. Actions needed to halt Feeding 9 Billion People. Science. 327 (5967): 812-818. deforestation and promote climate-smart agriculture. 6. Rosegrant, M. W. et al. 2009. Looking into the future for CCAFS Policy Brief no. 4. Copenhagen: CGIAR Research agriculture and AKST (agricultural knowledge science Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food and technology). In Agriculture at a crossroads (eds B. Security (CCAFS). D. McIntyre, H. R. Herren, J. Wakhungu & R. T. Watson), 18. The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). pp. 307–376. Washington, DC: Island Press. 19. Kissinger G. 2011. Linking forests and food production 7. Thornton, P.K., Jones, P.G., Ericksen, P.J. and Challinor, in the REDD+ context. CCAFS Working Paper no. 1. A.J. 2011. Agriculture and food systems in sub-Saharan Copenhagen: CCAFS. Africa in a 4°C+ world. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 369: 117–136. 20. For example, the African Union Commission (AUC) and doi:10.1098/rsta.2010.0246 the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic 8. Jones, P. and P. Thornton. 2009. Croppers to livestock of Ethiopia held the African Conference on Agriculture, keepers: livelihood transitions to 2050 in Africa due to Food Security and Climate Change, Sept. 2010. climate change. Environmental Science and Policy 12: 21. Ericksen, P., Thornton, P., Notenbaert, A., Cramer, L., 427-437. Herrero, M. 2011. Mapping hotspots of climate change 9. Nelson, G C., Rosegrant, M.W., Palazzo, A., Gray, and food insecurity in the global tropics. CCAFS Report. I., Ingersoll, C., Robertson, R., Tokgoz, S. Zhu, T., 22. Meridian Institute. 2011. Agriculture and Climate Change: Sulser, T.B., Ringler C., Msangi, S. and You, L. 2010. A Scoping Report. Washington DC: Meridian Institute. Food security, farming, and climate change to 2050: 23. World Bank 2010. The Hague Conference on Agriculture, scenarios, results, policy options. Washington, DC: Food Security and Climate Change: Opportunities International Food Policy Research Institute. and Challenges for a Converging Agenda: Country 10. Gornall, J., Betts, R., Burke, E., Clark, R., Camp, J., Willett Examples. Washington, DC: World Bank. K. and Wiltshire, A. 2010. Implications of climate change 24. FAO. 2009. The Investment Imperative, paper from the for agricultural productivity in the early twenty-first FAO High Level Conference on World Food Security: The century. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. 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Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 363: 789-813 Cover photo: Hillside example of climate-smart agriculture in Ruhengeri, northwestern Rwanda. Photo by Neil Palmer (CIAT). 7 This policy brief on climate-smart agriculture was produced in partnership with: African Union: www.au.int CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS): www.ccafs.cgiar.org Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Republic of South Africa: www.nda.agric.za Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: www.fao.org International Fund for Agricultural Development: www.ifad.org Program on Forests: www.profor.info United Nations Environment Programme: www.unep.org World Bank: www.worldbank.org World Bank Institute: wbi.worldbank.org World Food Programme: www.wfp.org agriculture, forestry & fisheries Department: Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty