Climate-smart agriculture


Climate-smart agriculture is an integrated approach to managing landscapes to help adapt agricultural methods, livestock and crops to the ongoing human-induced climate change and, where possible, counteract it by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, at the same time taking into account the growing world population to ensure food security. Thus, the emphasis is not simply on sustainable agriculture, but also on increasing agricultural productivity. "CSA... is in line with FAO’s vision for Sustainable Food and Agriculture and supports FAO’s goal to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and more sustainable".
CSA lists different actions to counter the future challenges for crops and plants. With respect to rising temperatures and heat stress, e.g. CSA recommends the production of heat tolerant crop varieties, mulching, water management, shade house, boundary trees and appropriate housing and spacing for cattle.

Criticism

In 2014 The Guardian reported that climate-smart agriculture had been criticised as a form of Greenwashing.