Planning, implementing and evaluating Climate-Smart Agriculture in Smallholder Farming Systems: The experience of the MICCA pilot projects in Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania

Many smallholder farmers in developing countries are facing food insecurity, poverty, the degradation of local land and water resources, and increasing climatic variability. These vulnerable farmers depend on agriculture both for food and nutrition security and as a way of coping with climate change. If agricultural systems are to meet the needs of these farmers, they must evolve in ways that lead to sustainable increases in food production and at the same time strengthen the resilience of farming communities and rural livelihoods. Bringing about this evolution involves introducing productive climate-resilient and low-emission agricultural practices in farmers' fields and adopting a broad vision of agricultural development that directly connects farmers with policies and programmes that can provide them with suitable incentives to adopt new practices. The term 'climate-smart agriculture' (CSA) has been coined to describe the approach that aims to achieve global food security and chart a sustainable pathway for agricultural development in a changing climate. CSA seeks to increase farm productivity in a sustainable manner, support farming communities to adapt to climate change by building the resilience of agricultural livelihoods and ecosystems, and, wherever possible, to deliver the co-benefit of reduced GHG emissions. CSA is an approach that encompasses agricultural practices, policies, institutions and financing to bring tangible benefits to smallholder farmers and provide stewardship to the landscapes that support them. On the ground, CSA is based on a mix of climate-resilient technologies and practices for integrated farming systems and landscape management. The evidence base and knowledge to determine the practices that work best in a given context continue to be expanded through the testing and implementation of a broad range of practices. This work is creating a better understanding about the trade-offs that may need to be made when striving to meet the interconnected goals of food security, climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation, and about the synergies that exist between these. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with financial support from the Government of Finland, designed the Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture (MICCA) Programme to expand this evidence base and build CSA readiness. The Programme was also established to demonstrate that ongoing agricultural development programmes could bring co-benefits in terms of climate change adaptation and mitigation thereby increase the uptake of CSA at significantly larger scale. The MICCA CSA pilot projects (2011-2014), implemented jointly with partners in Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania, promoted integrated and diversified farming systems and agro-ecological principles. The pilot projects linked research activities, practical work in farmers' fields and policy making at different levels to enhance the effectiveness of planning and programming for CSA on farms, throughout the landscape and at the national level.

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