Climate Smart Agriculture aims to increase productivity and food security, strengthen resilience to climate change impacts, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions where possible. However, some civil society organizations argue that Climate Smart Agriculture dilutes the need to transform food systems through agro-ecology, focuses too much on mitigation, and is dominated by vested interests without proper social or environmental safeguards. There are also questions around whether Climate Smart Agriculture and agro-ecological approaches can be compatible, if the Global Alliance on Climate Smart Agriculture has been captured by certain groups, and how to address civil society concerns while still making progress through initiatives like the Global Alliance and COP21 negotiations.

1. Climate Smart Agriculture: Context
• Agriculture highly vulnerable to climate change
• Agriculture and land use change produce c 20-33% GHG emissions
• Developing countries (usually) have low p.c. emissions but large
proportion in AFOLU sector
• Those who contribute least to GHG are most vulnerable – climate
injustice; primary need to build resilience/ support adaptation
• Can resource-poor farmers benefit from mitigation initiatives?
• Difficulties of including agriculture on formal UNFCCC agenda (hence
GACSA)

2. What is Climate Smart Agriculture?
• Agriculture that:
• Increases productivity
• Strengthens resilience
• Mitigates GHG emissions where possible
• Contributes to Food Security and development objectives
FAO, 2010
• Global Alliance on Climate Smart Agriculture
• FAO, World Bank, Netherlands, GFAR

3. CSO Objections to CSA
• CSO petition to reject CSA:
• Dilutes need to transform food systems (through agro-ecology)
• Too much focus on mitigation
• GACSA dominated by vested interests (capturing benefits)
• No definitions, standards or exclusions
• No social safeguards
• Important issues land rights, seed systems etc not addressed.
• No accountability (of GACSA)
• Recommendations (by some CSOs):
• At COP21 governments should not endorse CSA as a solution
• Green Climate Fund Board should not support CSA

4. Key questions
• Does EFARD have a position? Should we have?
• Is CSA incompatible with agro-ecological agenda?
• An unhelpful polarisation of perspectives?
• Has GACSA been captured by vested interest groups?
• Can we work within GACSA to address CSO concerns?
• COP 21 is a huge opportunity – we do not want to waste it