Global warming; culprit of the hazards events
Climate change is a foremost word in today’s socio-political debates due
to its tremendous importance in many fields including agriculture. Carbon
dioxide emission mainly due to modern day industries and transportation has
resulted global warming and finally the climate change. Climate change has
created a series of endless dangers to the mankind and its well being. In this
connection, temperature rise. Sea level rise, droughts, flash floods,
landslides, are in the forefront. Nevertheless, many industries that depend
directly on nature, have affected heavily due to the unpredictable climate and its
extreme conditions.
Impacts of Climate Change and expected shortfalls in Agriculture
Agriculture as the oldest industry was practiced without much problems
and worries for centuries. The industry was encompassed its sustainability with
the help of favourable climate conditions. However, recent climate change has
started to make significant damages and losses. Nevertheless, it is predicted that irrigation
will be a severe problem in the future. Changes in the monsoon patterns have
been noticed alarming us that all these projections are not nightmares. Negatives
of climate change have a severe impact on crop production. Further, low yield
and quality losses are expected due to the extreme heat conditions. The food
security has been identified as a global challenge with these issues. The policy dialogues have been set off both in
regionally and internationally to suppress the negative impacts of climate change.
However, the climate change is concerned as a man made catastrophic event lead
the entire mankind in to a severe condition.
On this backdrop, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has suggested
Climate Smart Agricultural (CSA) practices as a remedy. As at present, approximately 50 countries including
Sri Lanka have been endorsed, or identified that CSA actions build capacity of
adaptation against climate change. In Sri Lankan
context, the Island experiences extreme climate conditions annually since the
recent past. As a result, it has ranked as the fourth in the global climate
risk index in 2018. Hence Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is extremely
important to Sri Lankan Agriculture.
The promoted actions under CSA
The concept of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) was
introduced by FAO at The Hague Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and
Climate Change in 2010. The CSA approach
guides for the transformation and redesign of Agricultural systems to ensure
food security aspects against the impacts of climate change.
Many thematic areas and possible practices have been
identified under the CSA. Among them, sustainable
crop production and farming practices like use of good quality seeds and
planting materials of resistant varieties; crop mix, intercrops or crop rotations;
integrated pest management, integrated chemical use can be identified. The sustainable crop production mainly coupled
with integrated practices to reduce the need of external inputs while increasing
the efficiency of resource utilization. The recycling and
reuse have been promoted to minimize the cost of production and the negative impact
on the environment.
Sustainable livestock industry is also vital against the
climate change impacts. Deep-rooted grasses and legumes have suggested
improving the sequestration of soil carbon in grasslands. Restoring organic
carbon in grasslands and reduce the reduction of grassland degradation are
expected by adopting the particular practice. Further, it has suggested to use
improved species and breeds, improved feed management, sustainable grazing
practices where integrating trees, forage, and the grazing of domesticated
animals in a mutually beneficial way (silvopastoralism). Nonetheless CSA
suggests on and off-farm diversification to withstand the impacts of climate
change.
Sustainable value chain approach is recommended to
make food systems more environmentally sustainable and climate-smart. In this
regard, the food system’s carbon footprint will be considered in the applicable
places. For instance, measures and strategies are needed to reduce the food
losses at each step since they have been produced by emitting greenhouse gases
during the production process. The existing food supply chains consume more energy
at different steps. Therefore, the CSA recommends using sustainable methods to
overcome the massive use of resources. In this regard, reduction of energy loss
and the use of rational modes of energy use at possible steps have been emphasized
as good practices. For instance, it is recommended using biomass instead of
fossil fuel in appropriate steps of the food supply chains.
Climate change mitigation through the improved use and
development of genetic resource is also considered under the CSA. Crop wild relatives are expected to use in
the purpose of developing crop characteristics like water stress tolerance,
drought resistance and resistance to pest or diseases.
Climate change impacts result higher evaporation and
transpiration rates, reduce groundwater recharge and soil moisture, and a
higher incidence of soil Stalinization. Hence, sustainable soil and land
management practices are promoted under the CSA to ensure the soil moisture and
organic carbon content in the soils.
Climate change has a significant impact on the components of the water
cycle. Changes and variations in the rainfall patterns will affect irrigation
sources like river runoff and groundwater recharge. Sustainable water use and adaptations are
introduced to ensure the water availability. In this regard, rainwater
harvesting, minimal use of water and wastewater treatment, increase water use
efficiency and watershed management procedures are some examples of options promoted
under the CSA.
Sustainable practices have been introduced to
fisheries and aquaculture sector also. The fisheries sector is predicted to be
vulnerable to many shortfalls due to climate change and sea level rising. Sustainable
water management practices; selective breeding and genetic improvements;
improved feed management; strengthened emergency procedures and bio security measures
have been included in the recommended steps under the CSA.
Climate change is expected to be impacted on the
forests and forest-dependent people. Climate smart forestry has been introduced
in the regions where majority depends on this primary industry. For the sake of
forestry, sustainable management of forests, Reduce Deforestation and enhancement
of forest carbon stocks (REDD+) have been concerned under the CSA.
How to blend the CSA practices to existing Sri Lankan
Agriculture sector?
The requirements can be identified with respect to
implementation, adaptation, knowledge dissemination and institutional arrangements
for CSA. in this regard, Climate
information is needed to be provided to the farmers. That is extremely
important since CSA is mainly backed by the technology and modern science
including scientific weather forecasts.
In this connection, farmer specific reliable climate information source
is an essential. That has been identified in Adaptation Plan for Climate Change
Impacts in Sri Lanka 2016- 2025. Spatial
and timely requirement of climate information of farmers are essential to
develop such farmer centric climate information dissemination systems. Identifying the communication gaps in climate
information dissemination is another vital fact, when catering to the to the
demand of information. Integrated Climate Information Systems which links the
traditional knowledge and modern scientific knowledge can be used to help
farmers to practice CSA. Enabling feedbacks and collecting data from farmers
can be used to ensure the credibility of information and upgrade information
system. FAO has identified this information need. as a result, it has conducted
many programmes. i.e. FAO has provided
climate information, measuring tools and
communication tools for young farm women in rural Nepal to crop
management against frequent weather changes. Maintaining climate data banks is also
important. Such data collections at farmer level can be an asset to both
farmers and policy makers to practice and promote suitable techniques under CSA.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) has identified youth and children as one of the major groups that
could act as the care-takers of the environment. They are dynamic and well
educated than the previous generation.
In this connection, the Article 6 on education of The UNFCCC has highlighted
the importance of, training and awareness
of such groups. These youth can transfer the knowledge and information to the
farmers about modern day practices and technology. The youth groups are needed to
motivate to develop enterprises, especially in rural areas to promote green
jobs and generate such opportunities that emit less amount of Carbon Dioxide. The
UN has implemented such programmes to avoid the impacts of climate change in
some areas especially in Africa. Moreover, promoting green jobs among youths in
agricultural areas under CSA, also have started in some areas. i.e Nepal. These
green jobs will produce less amount of emissions while value adding to the
natural products. This is needed to be promoted in Sri Lanka also. The
entrepreneurship development can consider such possible opportunities.
Policy frame work and evaluation: Assessment,
monitoring and evaluation are identified as essential components of CSA. Assessments
of both past and future impacts of climate variability and the needs of
vulnerable of communities have to consider under CSA as a prerequisite. Moreover,
CSA options should be assessed for their effectiveness in achieving desired
other developmental goals related to food security, climate change adaptation
and mitigation. The commitment and collaboration of all stakeholders that involved in agriculture sector
planning is required to formulate country specific CSA policies. However,
adaptive management approaches would require that includes innovation,
real-time monitoring and evaluation, learning among stakeholders, and strategizing
due to the dynamic nature of climate.
Since CSA has
many stakeholders, disciplines and different spatial and time requirements,
the transition to CSA requires changes at many levels of policy making. To adders
these requirements, FAO has recommended few major steps to follow when
integrating the CSA practices in the national policy dialogues. These steps
ensure the CSA objectives at local, national and regional levels. In this
connection, the development of an evidence base to motivate, support and
monitor change; continuous dialogue with stakeholders; the formulation of tools
to enable change; innovative and multidisciplinary approaches to create and
sustain change in food and agricultural systems are the suggested steps.
Conclusion
CSA is a timely related adaptation practice which has
been already implemented Sri Lanka as a good move, with the recommendations of
FAO and other international organizations like the World Bank. i.e. Agriculture
sector modernization project under the ministry of agriculture. The suitable blend of the aforementioned measures
is needed during the implementation, adaptation, knowledge dissemination and
institutional arrangements to obtain the expected results under the CSA
approach.
Key Reference
1: Climate-Smart
Agriculture Sourcebook Summary, Second edition, Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations Rome, 2017
2: World Bank;
CIAT. 2015. Climate-smart agriculture in Sri Lanka. CSA Country Profiles for
Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean Series. Washington D.C.: The World
Bank Group.
3: National Adaptation Plan for Climate Change Impacts in Sri Lanka 2016 -2025,
Climate Change Secretariat Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment
