Turning agriculture from problem into solution

Mantoe Phakathi in IPS/TerraViva: Global agriculture contributes in the region of 17 percent to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, but according to the World Bank, climate smart agriculture techniques can both reduce emissions and meet the challenge of producing enough food for a growing world population. "As much as agriculture is part of the problem, it is also part of the solution," said Inger Anderson, the World Bank's vice president on sustainable development.

Anderson was speaking to agriculture, food security and climate change experts at Agriculture and Rural Development Day, a side event at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico on Dec. 4. Agriculture experts are punting a scenario in which farming delivers a "triple win", sequestering carbon in soil and biomass, gaining greater resilience to drought and higher temperatures, and improve food security and farmers' incomes.

…"The challenge is that in Africa, we thought only of science and technology as a way of adaptation to climate change," said Sibanda. "We started talking about adaption in Africa before we could even do research on the opportunities that come with community livelihoods."

Diana Liverman, a researcher from the University of Arizona, said smallholder farmer have long relied on indigenous knowledge to adapt to conditions, but escalating climate change may exceed their capacities. "To use indigenous knowledge at this point, when the climate has drastically changed, could be a challenge because it might not be able to cope with the present realities of the phenomenon," said Liverman.

Instead, she said, modern science should help advance indigenous knowledge to help farmers adapt. But she stressed that farmers should be at the heart of deciding which course to take.

"Researchers should refrain from making choices for African farmers," said Liverman. "Some will want the modern technologies while others would like to continue with the traditional ones. What needs to happen is that adaptation funds should be availed to all."…

Watering lettuce in the Central African Republic, shot by Jean-Francois Dontaine for FAO, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license