Global Evaluation of Climate-Resilient Agricultural Practices

Under the growing variability of climate and frequent occurrence of extreme events, there is a need for climate-resilient agricultural practices (CRAPs) which enhance food production. Based on measurable data and case stories from several agro-ecological zones, conservation agriculture, agroforestry, integrated nutrient and water management, climate-smart cropping systems and precision farming technologies are well known agricultural practices. It has been reported that CRAPs can increase crop yield by 10–35% and crop water-use efficiency by 40%, depending on regional contexts and crop species. Agroforestry systems showed more stability of yields with 15–25% lower declines due to drought or flood than monocultures. Precision agriculture can minimize input applications by 20–50% without affecting crop performance. Economic analysis showed that CRAP’s benefit–cost ratios between 1.5 and 3.8 show CRAP profitability and scalability through enabling policy support. However, uptake varies greatly as a result of socio-economic, institutional, and infrastructural limitations, particularly in low-income areas. Capacity building, participatory research, and enabling policy environment are underscored in this chapter as key to overcoming these barriers. Empirical evidence of the performance and versatility of the CRAPs is provided by a series of case studies from around the world, including those in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Europe. This chapter presents a global assessment of climate-resilient agricultural practices.