1. Jesse Naab & Moumini Savadogo
“CLIMATE SMART” AGRICULTURE: PRACTICES AND POLICIES FOR FOOD SECURITY, ADAPTATION and MITIGATION
Jesse Naab & Moumini Savadogo

2. INTRODUCTION Agriculture more efficient in the past decades
Modern technologies & advances in science have considerably increased food production
Agriculture still faces stiff challenges:
Ghana’s population projected to grow from the current 25.5 m to more than 51.3 m by 2050;

3. Current challenges to agriculture
Food consumption patterns are changing
Increasing competition for land, water, energy and other inputs for production
Land degradation
Climate change poses additional challenges to agriculture particularly in developing countries

4. Climate Change as Additional Challenge
Long term changes in temperature and precipitation expected to shift production seasons, pest and disease patterns & modify the set of feasible crops

5. Climate scenarios in Ghana
Precipitation changes: little changes in annual precipitation in most regions of the country;
CSIRO Mark 3 predicts possibilities of general reduction in pptn across the country
Average daily Tmax: all show an increase in temperature ranging from 1.5°C to 2.5°C
Increased climate variability in the coming decades will increase the frequency and severity of droughts and floods and increase production risk

6. Preserving and enhancing food security requires agricultural production systems to change in the direction of higher productivity and more resilient
Purpose of this paper is to highlight that food security and climate change are closely linked
Key opportunities exist to transform the sector towards climate smart systems that address both

7. Climate Smart Agriculture vrs
Climate Smart Agriculture vrs. Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture
Sustainable intensification (SI) and Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) are highly complementary
The SI approach entails increasing food production from existing farmland in ways that have lower environmental impacts
Food demand needs to be met from existing agricultural land

8. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA)
CSA defined by three objectives:
Increasing agricultural productivity to support increased incomes, food security & development;
Increasing adaptive capacity at multiple levels (from farm to nation);
Decreasing GHG emissions and increasing carbon sinks

9. Examples: Climate Smart Practices
Production achieved through a number of production systems ranging from smallholder to large scale production.
The sustainable intensification of production can ensure food security and contribute to mitigating climate change.
Overall efficiency, resilience, adaptive capacity and mitigation potential of the production systems can be enhanced through improving its various components:

10. Examples: Climate Smart Practices
Improving soil nutrient content:
Composting manure & crop residues
Using legumes in rotations of intercropping
Controlled release & deep placement technologies
Using methods & practices that increase organic inputs
Water harvesting and use: ridges, zai pits, stone bunds, irrigation dams fundamental for increasing productivity and addressing climate variability
Pest & disease control

11. Examples: Climate Smart Practices
Resilient ecosystems: Improving ecosystem management & biodiversity
Genetic resources – Determines tolerance to shocks e.g. temp, drought, flood. Preservation of genetic resources of crops & breeds & wild relatives fundamental.
Conservation Agriculture
Agroforestry

12. Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture
50% Ghana’s population lives in the cities & expected to rise to 70% by 2050
Urban and Peri-Urban agriculture is providing significant quantities of food and improving food security;
Vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, meat, eggs, are being produced in home gardens and along streams
Key constraints and issues need to be addressed to realize the full potential of urban & peri-urban agriculture

13. Climate Smart Livestock Production
Largest user of land resources; grazing land ≈ 26%
Cause of overgrazing and land degradation and driver of deforestation
Responsible for methane and nitrous oxide emissions
Significant productivity improvements needed to meet food security requirements while minimizing GHG emissions from production

14. Climate Smart Livestock Production
Application of science & advance technology in feeding & nutrition, genetics
Improved forecasting of risks, determination of effects of climate change
Efficient treatment of manure e.g. anaerobic digestion & composting solid manures can lower GHG emissions
Grazing land management

15. INSTITUTIONAL AND POLICY OPTIONS
Enabling policy environment – NAPAs, NAMAs, CAADP
Climate data & information gaps
Dissemination mechanisms
Building the capacity of institutions to improve access, coordination and collective action
Institutions to support financing & insurance needs – credit, insurance, social safety nets

16. THE ROLE OF WASCAL AS A CLIMATE SERVICE INSTITUTION
VISION: To become one of Africa’s leading institutions in the provision of climate services to protect and enhance livelihoods in and for West Africa MISSION To provide information, knowledge products and research-based services at the local, national, and regional levels to help cope with the adverse impacts of climate change.

17. Objectives of WASCAL
Significantly improve the climate infrastructure in West Africa.
Explore science-based scenarios and options for enhancing the resilience of socio-ecological systems
Assist policy and decision makers to design and implement land use patterns that ensure the provision of essential ecosystem services while supporting the livelihoods of local communities.
Help capacitate the next generation of scientists and policy makers by providing intimate knowledge of climate-related issues

18. THE ROLE OF WASCAL AS A CLIMATE SERVICE INSTITUTION
Initial geographic target area is the Guinea Savanna agroecological zone
Established transnational observation networks shared with national & regional stakeholders
Formulated a research program to be jointly implemented by regional research consortia

19. THE ROLE OF WASCAL AS A CLIMATE SERVICE INSTITUTION
The research program will focus on 4 thematic areas:
Land use, land cover, land degradation & climate change
Risks and Vulnerability to Climate Extremes
Sustainable Urban-Rural & Cross-border Migration
Sustainable Agriculture-Climate Smart Nexus

20. KEY MESSAGES
Agriculture must undergo a significant transformation in order to meet the related challenges of food security & climate change
Effective climate smart practices already exist and could be implemented
Institutional and financial support will be required to enable smallholders make the transition to CSA

21. Strengthened institutional capacity will be needed to improve dissemination of climate smart information and coordinate over large areas and numbers of farmers
Greater consistency between agriculture, food security and climate change policy-making must be achieved at national, regional and international levels