How smart is climate smart agriculture?
Ngonidzashe Chirinda
n.chirinda@cgiar.org
10 November 2017
CLIFF workshop

Acknowledgments

• “A clever person solves a problem. A smart person avoids it”
• Climate smart agriculture can be considered agriculture that avoids
problems.
• Does it really?

Approach
Case studies including rice, cattle and climate smart villages will be
used to explore examples of options and working strategies that can
potentially lead to increased farm productivity, adaptation to climate
change and reduces GHG emissions

Rice

Transformations in irrigated rice systems

Benefits of AWD
 Better root development
 Irrigation water savings
 Reduced arsenic uptake
 Higher or similar yields
 Better nutrient availability
 Reduced lodging
 Reduced damage due to fungal diseases
 Higher resistance to certain pests
 Better soil conditions for machine operation
Reduction in mosquito-borne diseases
Sander (2015)

Where can AWD be
practiced?
 Lowland rice-growing areas. .. Where soils can be drained…
 High rainfall may impede AWD  In rainfed rice it is not
recommended

Methodological Scheme
(Nelson et al., 2015)

Colombia - Suitability Maps
1st
Semester
2nd
Semester
The areas classified as Low, Moderate and High correspond to rice
farms inside the area of influence for each semester.
Barrios et al. (Manuscript in preparation)
Suitability Level Rice Farms Area (ha) Area (%)
Low 130503 74.0
Moderate 35868 21.0
High 5096 5.0
Suitability Level Rice Farms Area (ha) Area (%)
Low 120872 74.0
Moderate 32330 20.0
High 10408 6.0

0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Water
availability
Control of
water
Plot leveled Access to
information
Irrigated
district
membership
Economic
incentive
Non-economic
incentive
Access to resources Access to services Incentives
Percentofhousehold
Male HHH no women producer
n= 400
Male HHH women producer
n=161
Female HHH women producer
n=48
Socioeconomic aspects can enable or hinder AWD adoption
Challenges to
implement
AWD
Access to key resources, services and incentives to implement AWD
Challenges:
• No economic incentives to save water: payment by
area not by volume used
• Limited access to information, irrigated district
membership, neither non-economic incentives
Advantages:
• There is control of water
• Farmers affirm they leveled their plots
• Households with women producers tend to have
more non-economic incentives (GHG mitigation)
García et al, 2016
(Garcia et al., 2016)

GHG emissions from CF vs AWD in Colombia
(Chirinda et al., 2017)

Livestock

Rincón, 2013 (Corpoica)
27
110
450
600
1000
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Sabana nativa
Pasturas degradadas
Gramíneas/leguminosas Pastura con fertilizante
Pastura mejorada con maiz
Pastura despues de 3 años de rotación de maiz y soya
Animal liveweight gain
(kg/ha/year)
Native savanna
Grass/legume pasture with fertilizer
Improved pasture planted with maize
Pasture after 3 years of maize-soybean rotation
Degraded pasture
Crop-livestock integration increase animal
liveweight
gain in the acid soil savannas of Colombia

Chirinda et al Manuscript in prep

Alternative feeds
• Cassava is a key crop for small farmer’s food security and resilience to
abiotic stresses.
• It can be used as a feed supplement providing protein to livestock

Cassava leaves reduce CH4 emissions
(Chirinda et al., 2017)

Climate smart villages

• Co-design experiments conducted in their territory
• Explain results from research conducted in their territory
• Co-promote promising options
• Determine how to invest resources allocated to their
village
• Develop project proposals that can support the
implementation of their local CC adaptation plans
Farmers in the Climate Smart Villages: Allies of
transformational change

27/11/2017 20
Soil N2O emissions from mineral fertilizer-based systems
-10.00
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
Coffee + tree Coffee + Plantain Coffee
(mgN2Om-2)
Upslope Mid_slope Footslope

Take home messages
• AWD reduces CH4 emissions in irrigated rice systems in Colombia (~70%)
• Engaging women smart option for AWD adoption
• Cassava leaves can cost-effectively reduce of enteric CH4 emissions (~22-55%)
• Important to work with farmers as allies not just as recipients of options – not tell farmers
what they need but ask and listen to what they want.
• Shading coffee may be a smart option
• Smart partnerships between farmers, different research programmes and institutions key
in developing climate smart agriculture
Thank you