Climate Smart Agriculture:

Time to Embrace Best Practices?

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACTION NODE

STAKEHOLDERS‘ SHARING EVENTProtea Hotel Courtyard, Dar Es Salaam

28th August 2015April 21, 2023 1

1.0 Background• The impacts of climate change are reducing the capacity

of natural resources to sustain the demand of the increasing population.

• In the face of aggravating impacts of CC, there is a mounting need to meet national development objectives– Poverty reduction, food security & environmental sustainability,

all depend on the use of environmental resources.

• Absence of immediate adaptation measures, likely to jeopardize future of agricultural productivity in Tanzania.April 21, 2023 2

1.0 Background…..

• Decision & policymakers (Ministries, Departments and Agencies) have a role to play in enhancing food security under the changing climate.

• Although agriculture is most vulnerable to CC, it is a significant contributor of greenhouse gases (GHGs). – 14% of global GHGs emissions or 25% if agriculture-driven

deforestation. April 21, 2023 3

1.0 Background…..• Climate Smart agriculture (CSA) thought as a promising

breakthrough for responding to CC impacts in Tanzania in the Agriculture sector.

• CSA strives to achieve 3 GOALS(a) Increasing food productivity (FOOD SECURITY);

(b) Building resilience of agricultural systems to CC impacts (ADAPTATION); and

(c) Reducing agricultural GHGs emission (MITIGATION)April 21, 2023 4

1.0 Background…..

• In line with this, AGRA through EPAN in Tanzania

proposed a number of CSA practices for the

breadbasket areas of the Southern Highlands of

Tanzania through a project titled “Securing

Smallholder Farm Production Against Climate

Induced Risks”.

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2.0 Proposed CSA Practices

• The proposed CSA practices aimed at promoting efficient use of land, water, soil & other environmental resources.

• Nevertheless, the equally hinged on triple win interventions:– Food security;

– Building resilience of agricultural systems to CC impacts and;

– Reducing agricultural GHGs emissionsApril 21, 2023 6

2.0 Proposed CSA practices ….

A: Agroforestry– Boundary trees and hedgerows, Multipurpose trees,

Nitrogen-fixing trees on farms, Taungya system– Improved fallow, Woodlots, Fruit orchards

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B: Soil Management Practices• Zero or minimum tillage, contour farming, terracing,

trash banding

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C: Improved Water Management Practices• Improved irrigation, planting pits and basins• Water harvesting and storage ,mulching

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D: Crop Management Practices– Cover crops, crop residues incorporation – Intercropping with legumes, crop rotation

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E: Adoption of drought resistant crop varieties

F: Improved storage and processing techniques (Reduce postharvest losses)

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G: Livestock Management Practices– Grazing land management and pasture

improvement practices– Integrated crop-livestock management

• Most of proposed methods, already in use for many years in various areas in country.

• Important? Testing them in areas that have

not been used. • However, achieving more out of these

practices requires investment and timeApril 21, 2023 12

3.0 Case studies on CSABrazil • Policy measures to support the agricultural sector to

enhance land & water management, carbon sequestration & market integration in arid north-eastern provinces

• Programs– Rural competitiveness programs in Santa Catarina,

Sao Paolo and Rio states, – Bio-fuel programmes, part of a low carbon growth

approach

April 21, 2023 13

Uruguay• Holistic Approach

– Improving pasture-land & animal nutrition,– supporting improved crop & livestock breeding, – reduced tillage practices on cropland, – promoting afforestation, shelter & protection of

native forests– Subsidized climate-related crop insurance schemes

→reduction in CO2& CH4, the two key GHGs with relatively higher climate forcing than other key GHGs as per the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

April 21, 2023 14

Morocco• Plan Vert (Plan Green); an integrated national strategy

established in 2010 to combat food insecurity, CC & provide financial support to small holder farmers– Supports programmes for replacing arable crops

with more drought tolerant olive trees & other tree crops

– Increased access to social support services & support participatory natural resources management initiatives

– Provision of incentives for improvement of water management & conservation

– Integrating national value chains with international marketsApril 21, 2023 15

China and Far East• In arid areas of China the concept of “total water

productivity” is being supported; – the aim is for less evapo-transpiration through improved

monitoring

• Dvt of less water demanding varieties have been practiced in most parts of China.

• The “sustainable rice intensification” – Rice cultivation using less water, well tested in more

drought prone parts of China & Bangladesh.

– Mixed rice-fish systems in Bangladesh & VietnamApril 21, 2023 16

4.0 Is it possible to attain the 3 goals of CSA in Tz?

• Attaining higher yields, more carbon in soil & crops; greater resilience to CC are not supposed to be alternative targets but parallel outputs of CSA.

• In reality though, a trade-off in the 3 objectives of CSA is inevitable,

• Thus achieving mitigation in agriculture without compromising food security is a huge policy and research challenge

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4.1 Description of different CSA models

(a) Ideal Model of CSA practices: CC Fanatics

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4.1 Description of different CSA models…..

(b) Real Model: Smallholder farmers’ model: CC Realism

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(d) Other Stakeholders/Policymakers’ model:

(a) What type of CSA model?(b) How do we achieve it?

Increasing Productivity (Low: Moderate: High)

Reducing GHG Emissions (Low: Moderate: High)

Increasing Resilience (Low: Moderate: High)

April 21, 2023 20

4.1 Description of different CSA models…..

• Clearing forests, use of fertilizers to boost production, transport of inputs & farm produce are factors leading to increasing farm carbon footprint

• These factors validate this model, especially the idea of accommodating moderate GHGs emission instead of low GHG emission scenario, which seems unrealistic

5.0 Validating the smallholder farmers’ model

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• Improve food security amidst maddening CC impacts,• Diversify rural incomes, • Enhancing resilience to CC,• Promoting IK & socio-cultural values • Protection & sustenance of agric productive capacity• Saving water & making best use of little available water• Change from “business as usual” farming practices to

climate-resilient methods• Reduce GHG emission, • Sustainable use existing natural resource base

6.0 Is This The Right Time to Embrace CSA Practices?

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7.0 Food for thought/Discussion (PPD stimulation)

c• There is a daunting scarcity of empirical data on the economic appreciation of local preferences & choices on mitigation & adaptation measures.

• The trade-offs people make are always underestimated & ignored– This has been leading to unsuccessful CC interventions

in Tanzania & elsewhere in the world.

• Attaining more yield without compromising GHGs emission reduction targets is a blue-sky dream

April 21, 2023 23

• A move towards CSA will require changes on how farmers act, farm & go about their daily business as well as changes in strategies, regulations & policies

• The requirements to implement CSA might seem overwhelming to smallholder farmers without support & the use of available knowledge in their communities

• The ambition to help farmers adapt to CC while building resilience could remain an elusive without right support structure in place to ensure local institutions serve farmers well.

April 21, 2023 24

7.0 Food for thought/Discussion (PPD stimulation)……..

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

AHSANTENI SANA KWA USIKIVU

MERCI POUR VOTRE ATTENTION

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