Climate-Smart Agricultutre Training Manual

AcknowledgementsThis training manual on climate-smart agriculture was prepared by FAO as one of the outputs of the project“Climate-Smart Agriculture: Capturing the synergies between mitigation, adaptation and food security”, foundedby the European Commission. The project has developed and tested climate-smart agriculture methodology inthree countries Zambia, Malawi and Viet Nam over the period 2012 to 2015. Most of the practices and casestudies contained in this manual are taken from training materials developed by FAO, the partner organizations andconsultants during the implementation of the project and have been tested in training workshops with farmers inthe three countries.CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE TRAINING MANUALThe development of the manual has been coordinated by Alessandro Spairani under the overall guidance ofAda Ignaciuk in the Agricultural Economics Development Division (ESA). A number of FAO experts provided valuablecontributions, including the current and former members of the Economics and Policy Innovations for ClimateSmart Agriculture (EPIC) team in ESA: Romina Cavatassi who initiated this project, Tessa Adamson, Valentina Conti,Uwe Grewer, Nicholas Sitko, Adriana Paolantonio and experts from different FAO divisions: Alexandre Meybeck(Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department); Anne Mottet, Felix Teillard (Animal Production and HealthDivision); Patrick Kalas (Capacity Development Unit); Josef Kienzle, Rémi Cluset and Sandra Corsi (Plant Productionand Protection Division); Ilaria Sisto and Szilvia Lehel (Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division); Misael Kokwe,(FAO Zambia); Florence Rolle and George Phiri (FAO Malawi); Beate Scherf (Sustainable Agriculture Programme);Delgermaa Chuluunbaatar (Research and Extension Unit); Rima Al-Azar, Marwar Ladki, Mirella Salvatore, FedericaMatteoli, Sibyl Nelson and Bianca Dendena (Climate and Environment Division).viiiThe authors would also like to acknowledge the contribution of those who drafted the training manuals in Zambia,Malawi and Viet Nam: Angel Elias Daka, Lydia Ndulu and Chabala Mutuna (NIRAS Consultants) and MortonMwanza and Reynolds Shula (Ministry of Agriculture) of Zambia; John Kazembe and Judith Kamoto (consultants)of Malawi; and Phạm Thị Sến (Northern Mountainous Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute), Mai Văn Trịnh(Agricultural Environment Institute), Trần Thế Tưởng (Department of Crop Production), Bùi Mỹ Binh (InternationalCooperation Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) of Viet Nam. Further editorial support hasbeen provided by Paul Mundy, Nikola Stalevski and Catherine McMullen, while Anastasia Clafferly has elaboratedgraphic design and layout.

AEZAgro-Ecological ZoneAFOLUAgriculture, Forestry and Other Land UseCH4MethaneCO2Carbon dioxideCSAClimate-smart agricultureENSOEl Niño Southern OscillationFAOFood and Agriculture Organization of the UNF-gasesFluorinated gasesGHGGreenhouse gasGWPGlobal Warming PotentialIMHENViet Nam Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate ChangeIPCCIntergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeLULUCFLand Use, Land-Use Change and ForestryMONREMinistry of Natural Resources and Environment (Vietnam)N2ONitrous oxideNO2Nitrogen dioxideUNUnited NationsUNFCCCUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeWMOWorld Meteorological OrganizationCLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE TRAINING MANUALAcronymsix

IntroductionIncrease agricultural productivity in a sustainable manner to meet the growing global demand, while at the sametime adapt to a changing climate and reduce the GHG released in the atmosphere are three interlinked challengesthat the agricultural sectors need to overcome in the next decades. To meet these challenges, agricultural productionand food systems need to undergo a profound transformation. Such a transformation will involve a variety ofstakeholders along the agricultural supply chains and at policy levels. Food producers will have to adapt theirfarming system techniques in the context of new climate conditions, and increasingly limited natural resources,while at the same time reducing GHG emissions. For this reason, in 2010 FAO introduced the concept of climatesmart agriculture at The Hague Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change. Climate-smartagriculture is an approach designed to link agricultural production and food security to climate change adaptationand mitigation, in order to guide the management of agriculture and food systems under climate change at multiplescales: from the farming household to landscape, national and global levels.The promotion of climate-smart agricultural activities and outcomes requires integrating a wide range of concepts,information and practices from different disciplines and stakeholders. This training manual is specifically designed toprovide agricultural extension agents, who are at the front line of agricultural system changes, with a broad rangeof information and strategies to achieve climate-smart outcomes. By bringing together information on climatescience and agricultural science – as well as social, economic and policy analysis – with knowledge keyed to localpractices, this manual seeks to increase extension agents’ awareness and understanding of climate change and therelevance of the climate-smart approach, and to support them in developing training programmes on climate-smartagriculture in their own countries and communities.CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE TRAINING MANUALThe effects of climate change will vary by region, country and location and will affect people differently dependingon their vulnerability and capacity to adapt. Some areas are expected to become drier and more drought-prone,while others will witness more intense rains or altered rainfall patterns. Increasing temperatures will change thelength of the growing seasons and affect yield in some areas, while at the same time modify the distributionof fish populations in rivers and oceans. This added variability changes the conditions in which agriculture ispracticed and requires context and site-specific strategies and responses. At the same time, across the globe,climate change will increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, including floods, droughtsand heatwaves. These events threaten food production and the livelihoods of food producers, particularly thosewith the weakest adaptation capacity who are too often located in areas exposed to the most severe changes.Moreover, for agricultural systems to sustainably contend with climate change, their contribution to greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions must also be addressed. In fact, agriculture, and associated deforestation, produces an estimated24 percent of total global GHG emissions (IPCC, 2014a).INTRODUCTIONPopulation growth, rapid urbanization, and dietary changes are placing tremendous pressure on food systems,particularly in developing countries. Based on current income, population and consumption trends, the Food andAgriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that, by 2050, some 50 percent more food will beneeded to satisfy the extra demand compared to 2013 (Alexandratos and Bruinsma, 2012). The challenges posedby rapid growth in food demand are intensified by the effects of climate change on agricultural systems, includingcrops, livestock, forestry and fisheries.1

PURPOSE OF THIS MANUALThis manual is intended for agricultural extension agents and others interested in developing training courses onclimate-smart agriculture, which is often abbreviated to CSA.Specifically, this manual intends to answer the following questions: What is climate change and what are its causes? How will climate change affect agriculture? What can be done to support agricultural producers, both male and female, to adjust to new conditions? What are practical solutions that agricultural producers and others can put into practice? What types of changes will other stakeholders need to make in order to introduce climate-smart agriculture? How does a trainer structure a participatory capacity-development process? How can climate change can be effectively communicated to food producers?However, it should be noted that agricultural production varies widely from place to place, and climate changeaffects each area and each farm in a different way. Climate-smart agricultural approaches are specific to site andcontext and there is no one solution, or even one set of solutions, that fits all situations. Nonetheless, we candefine some general principles to follow, and we can give examples that readers could adapt to suit their particularcircumstances.INTRODUCTIONOUTLINE OF THE COURSEThis manual is designed for a four-day training course on climate-smart agriculture that would take the learnerfrom the basics of climate science to the impacts of climate change and the linkages among climate, agricultureand food security. It contains four modules, each addressing a particular aspect and consisting of several sessionsthat are held either in plenary, as one group, or in smaller work groups (Table 1). The content and structure of thismanual has been developed and tested through fieldwork involving extension agents and agricultural producers inZambia, Malawi and Viet Nam.Table 1. Outline of the training courseModule A: Understanding climate changeCLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE TRAINING MANUAL1. What is climate change?2. What causes climate change?2Helps you understand what climate change is, what causesit, what the effects are, and what you can do about it.Module B: Climate change impacts on agriculture and food security1. What are the effects of climate changeon agriculture and how does agriculturecontribute to climate change?2. The link between climate change andfood securityFocuses on how climate change is likely to affect agriculture:its

CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE TRAINING MANUAL iv Exercises Exercise A.1 Introduction to the training course 18 Exercise A.2 Weather and climate 18 Exercise A.3 Global Warming 18 Exercise A.4 Changes in rainfall 18 Exercise A.5 The greenhouse effect 19 Exercise A.6 Climate change in your area 19 Exercise B.1 Understanding the effects of future climate change 43