The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

and the European Commission have announced a 5.3 million euro (approximately US$7 million) three-year project to promote “climate-smart” approaches to agriculture. FAO says that “climate-smart” agriculture “sustainably increases productivity,
resilience (adaptation), [and] reduces/removes greenhouse gases
(mitigation) while enhancing the achievement of national food security
and development goals.”

FAO reports that crop agriculture is responsible for 14 percent of global greenhouse gas
emissions. Efforts, therefore, will need to be aimed at both improving
livelihoods of farmers and improving food access, as well as reducing
emissions of greenhouse gases.

The announcement of this project is timely. A recent report from the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change finds that climate change will likely lead to a reduction in crop
yields. This issue is magnified by the fact that changes will vary by
region, so some countries’ agricultural outputs may suffer
disproportionately from climate change effects.

The project will
focus on three countries: Malawi, Vietnam, and Zambia. The European
Commission will contribute 3.3 million euro (US$4.4 million) and the FAO
will provide the remaining 2 million euro (US$2.6 million) and will take the
lead on the implementation of the project. All three countries are
expected to be significantly affected by climate change. Although the
unique conditions of each location must be taken into account in
developing plans, all three countries can learn from the progress of one
another in pursuing strategies that are more “climate-smart.”