Linking Agriculture and Climate: Resources from Agrilinks and Climatelinks

Today’s COP28 program focuses on food, agriculture, and water. Climate change increases water and food scarcity, displacement, and the need for humanitarian assistance globally. Although affected by the climate crisis, agriculture may also contribute to it by emitting greenhouse gasses through excessive use of fertilizers, methane-releasing rice paddies and livestock, over-tilling of soil, and the conversion of forests and other ecosystems to agricultural uses. Climate-smart agriculture can decrease greenhouse gas emissions from the sector and build communities’ resilience to climate change. 

Addressing the climate crisis requires a holistic approach to development. USAID’s 2022-2030 Climate Strategy recognizes every USAID Mission and the sectors in which they work has a role to play in transforming global systems to address the climate crisis. The Strategy’s two main Strategic Objectives of Targeted Direct Action and Systems Change highlight how a systems approach–such as transforming food systems to be more resilient, less wasteful, and less environmentally destructive, or transitioning value chains to be less carbon-intensive–can mitigate climate change and build resilience in ways that are comprehensive, equitable, and locally led.

With this intersection between agriculture and climate change in mind, Agrilinks and Climatelinks are highlighting some resources that explore the issue in depth. Agrilinks is a hub where agriculture, food security, and development professionals can connect, share, and learn. It is part of USAID’s Feed the Future initiative and has become the go-to source for informative discussions that further resilience, food security, and poverty reduction.

Here are some climate-related resources on Agrilinks to help food security and agricultural development practitioners understand how their work intersects with climate change programming.

Cocoa Farmers in Ghana Show Strong Interest in Solar-Based Irrigation, but Pump Costs Are Often Too High

In Ghana, climate change negatively affects the production of cocoa, which is essential to the country’s economy and contributes around 30 percent of its export earnings. Cocoa farmers are willing to invest in solar-powered irrigation pumps as a climate-smart adaptation measure, but high costs and limited credit options restrict their ability to invest. Understanding these challenges can help policymakers and private sector businesses who promote climate-smart technologies design market-oriented strategies for the promotion of solar-powered irrigation pumps to Ghanaian cocoa farmers.

Site-Specific Nutrient Management for Balanced Nutrient Application and Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Rice Fields

Rice is known to be both a contributor to and a victim of climate change. As the global population increases, the demand for rice production will follow suit. Scientists are working toward the integration of climate-smart technologies into rice production to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases from rice fields and save it from the impacts of climate change. 

Norman Borlaug, the Groundnut Improvement Network for Africa and Climate Change

Decades before climate change became a threat to food security, Norman Borlaug, the Father of the Green Revolution, put shuttle breeding to work. Shuttle breeding allowed breeders around the world to evaluate new breeding lines of rice and wheat in multiple environments each year–helping address food security by allowing multiple harvests to occur in a single growing season. The Groundnut Improvement Network for Africa is now replicating that success for groundnuts on the African continent and beyond.

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