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| Climate smart extension: Empowering farmers, building resilience | | |  Prof. Poonam Parihar
“Climate Change is happening, Humans are causing it, and I think this is perhaps the most serious environmental issue”
“Better Environment, Better Tomorrow”
Climate-smart agriculture works as an integrated approach to managing land. This approach helps farmers to adapt their agricultural methods (for raising livestock and crops) to the effects of climate change. Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is a set of technologies and practices designed to enhance food production under global warming and address agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions. Key benefits of CSA include improved profitability, more resilient crops, and increased pest resistance. It involves providing farmers with the knowledge, tools, and strategies to adopt practices that are both environmentally and economically sustainable. Climate-Smart Extension involves equipping farming communities with the knowledge, strategies, and tools to adapt to climate variability, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and promote sustainable development. It focuses on increasing productivity, enhancing resilience to climate change, and reducing emissions. It is a vital approach to addressing the impacts of climate change on agriculture and rural livelihoods. Climate-smart extension refers to agricultural extension approaches that integrate climate change considerations into their work, aiming to help farmers to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change. This involves providing climate information, capacity building, promoting climate-resilient technologies, and fostering participatory approaches. Agriculture the most vulnerable and sensitive sector suffering from global climate change due to its dependency on local climate parameters like rainfall, temperature, soil health, etc. Agriculture has to become “climate-smart” to alleviate the challenges posed by global climate change, that is, sustainably increase agricultural productivity and incomes. The adaption of climate-related knowledge, technologies, and practices to local conditions promoting joint learning by farmers, researchers, extension workers, and widely disseminating CSA practices, is critical. There is a requirement for site-specific assessments to spot suitable agricultural technologies and practices needed for CSA. So, Extension Services can play a crucial role in helping the farmers to deal with the various impacts of global climate change by using the appropriate approach to make awareness and make them aware of the various adaptation and mitigation strategies in bridging the gap between research and farmers, facilitating the adoption of innovative practices, and promoting sustainable agriculture.
Climate-smart extension initiatives are programs and strategies that support farmers and other rural communities in adapting to and mitigating climate change impacts in agriculture and other sectors. These initiatives often focus on promoting climate-smart agriculture practices, providing information, and fostering partnerships to achieve sustainable food security and resilience.
1. Climate-Smart Agriculture Practices:
Improved Varieties: Promoting the adoption of drought-resistant, high-yielding crop varieties through extension services. This can be achieved through practices like Conservation Agriculture, Precision Farming, Integrated Farming System, Water Management Practices & Climate-Resilient Crop Varieties and the use of quality seeds and planting materials.
Conservation Agriculture: Encouraging no-till and reduced-tillage farming, cover cropping, and crop rotation to improve soil health and water management.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM): Helping farmers reduce reliance on chemical pesticides through IPM strategies that use natural methods and biological control. This includes adopting renewable energy, promoting agroforestry, and using integrated pest and nutrient management (IPM and INM).
Precision Irrigation: Promoting efficient irrigation systems like drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting to optimize water use.
Agroforestry: Encouraging the integration of trees into farming systems to improve soil fertility, water infiltration, and carbon sequestration.
Livestock Management: Providing guidance on improved livestock management practices, such as grazing management and fodder production, to reduce methane emissions and improve animal productivity.
2. Information and Communication:
Mobile Agricultural Extension: Digital Tools and Technologies like mobile phones, SMS, social media platforms and other online platforms, can be used to deliver timely climate information, weather forecasts, and best agricultural practices to enhance extension services, making information more accessible and timelier to farmers particularly in remote areas.
Capacity building: Equipping farmers and extension agents with the knowledge and skills to adopt climate-smart practices, including training on climate-resilient technologies, sustainable land management, and water harvesting. Training farmers on how to implement and adapt climate-smart approaches.
Participatory approaches: Engaging farmers in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of climate-smart extension programs, ensuring that their needs and priorities are addressed.
Field Days and Demonstration Farms: Organizing field days and demonstration farms to showcase climate-smart technologies and practices in action.
Climate Information Systems: Providing access to real-time climate data, weather forecasts, and climate models through mobile apps, websites, and radio broadcasts. Promoting the adoption of technologies that enhance resilience to climate change, such as drought-resistant crops, water-efficient irrigation systems, and agroforestry practices. This involves adopting drought-resistant crops, diversifying farming systems, and implementing soil and water conservation measures.
Climate-smart agriculture training manuals: Providing extension agents with resources and tools to deliver effective climate-smart extension programmes.
3. Partnerships and Policy:
Farmer-to-Farmer Extension: Extension Services can facilitate knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning among farmers helping them learn from each other’s experience.
Public-Private Partnerships: Engaging private sector companies, research institutions, and NGOs in climate-smart initiatives.
Policy Advocacy: Advocating for climate-smart policies and regulations at the national and local levels. Supporting the development and implementation of policies that promote climate-smart agriculture, such as incentives for adoption of climate-resilient technologies and support for research and development. This involves providing climate information, capacity building, promoting climate-resilient technologies, and fostering participatory approaches.
Climate Financing: Helping farmers access climate financing mechanisms for adopting climate-smart practices.
4. Digital Innovations:
Real-time Monitoring Systems: Using sensors, drones, and satellite imagery to monitor soil moisture, crop health, and other relevant parameters.
Artificial Intelligence (AI): Utilizing AI algorithms to optimize crop management, improve irrigation efficiency, and predict yield potential.
Digital Marketplaces: Extension Services can connect farmers with access to credit, inputs and markets enabling them to adopt CSA practices more readily. Connecting farmers to buyers through online marketplaces to improve access to markets and reduce post-harvest losses.
Other examples:
Climate-Smart Villages: Developing model villages that showcase climate-smart practices and technologies.
Plant Clinics: Establishing clinics that provide farmers with advice and support on plant health and pest management.
Monsoon Managers: Empowering local leaders to manage rainfall and water resources.
National Action Plans: Developing and implementing national action plans on climate change that include climate-smart agriculture strategies.
Crop Insurance Schemes: Providing crop insurance to protect farmers from climate-related risks
Extension services play a crucial role in bridging the gap between research and farmers, facilitating the adoption of innovative practices, and promoting sustainable agriculture. Advancing these new climate-friendly strategies and tools can reorient extension services towards issues beyond agriculture, including environment, sustainability, land degradation and biodiversity. If services focus broadly on climate-resilient agriculture in which both adaptation and mitigation play a key role, they can help ensure a just transition without compromising livelihoods or food security. Of course, extension services do not operate in isolation. As they evolve to focus on food system transformation and climate change, so too must the roles of multiple actors and players—especially those in the private sector. Extension services must integrate them into climate strategies. Finally, massive retraining with digital tools and local capacity development investments are needed to achieve a just transition in the climate change-food system space. These ground-level extension and food system changes will be key for national government in harmonizing their agricultural strategies with their global climate commitments—and ultimately for ensuring that addressing climate change does not impose extra burdens on local farming communities. Climate-smart agriculture extension can empower farmers, enhance food security, and promote sustainable development through the adoption of practices that build resilience to climate change. By focusing on local needs and diverse strategies, extension programs can significantly contribute to mitigating climate change and ensuring food security. |
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