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Climate Smart Agriculture

Shaping a resilient agricultural system today, for a productive farm tomorrow

Climate Smart Agriculture focuses on how water, soil, and biodiversity can keep farms productive under a changing climate. Green water management improves the use of rainfall through better infiltration, soil cover, and moisture retention. Regenerative agriculture and agroecology rebuild soil life, reduce dependency on external inputs, and help crops withstand dry spells and extreme weather. In irrigated systems, practices such as alternative wetting and drying in rice reduce water use and emissions while maintaining or increasing yields. Productive biodiversity – trees, hedges and diverse cropping patterns – supports natural pest control, pollination and local cooling, turning climate risks into opportunities for more resilient and profitable farming.

 

Cases and Project Examples

These cases and project examples below show how this works on the ground. They highlight practical ways farmers and partners combine green water management, regenerative practices, smarter irrigation and productive biodiversity to adapt to climate change while improving yields and incomes:

  • Strengthening Inclusive Partnerships for Smallholders in Rain-fed Areas (SIPRA) | Sudan – Programme that supports rain-fed farmers through climate-smart practices, improved soil and water management, stronger producer groups and more inclusive partnerships across the value chain. Learn more about this project here.
  • Green Future Farming (GFF) | Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda – Landscape regeneration and regenerative agriculture programme focused on watershed rehabilitation, water-food linkages and circular farming systems that improve soils, water retention and rural livelihoods. Learn more about this project here.
  • Agricultural Transition through Productive Biodiversity and Nature-Based Solutions | India – Initiative promoting hedges, ecological rodent management and organic inputs to restore productive biodiversity, improve local microclimates and strengthen soil and water health in Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. Learn more about this project here.
  • ISSM4RICE – Integrated Soil Salinity Management in Rice-Based Cropping Systems | Senegal – Joint learning effort that raises awareness of practical measures to reduce salinity in irrigated rice systems, strengthening farmer and extension capacity on preventive, mitigative and adaptive options. Learn more about this project here.
  • Agricultural Knowledge and Training Center (AKTC) | Zambia – Demonstration and training hub that introduces farmers to smart irrigation using the “Variable Rain” satellite-driven technology, supporting more efficient, climate-responsive water use in irrigated agriculture. Learn more about this project here.
  • Green Economy and Sustainable Private Sector Development | Kyrgyz Republic – Programme advancing climate-smart and regenerative agriculture across rain-fed and irrigated farming systems. Supports farmers with green water management, no-till and minimum-till practices, and productive biodiversity to improve soil health, water retention, and resilience to climate change. Promotes alternative wetting and drying in rice, integrated advisory services, and inclusive value chain partnerships—enabling higher yields, reduced emissions, and increased farmer incomes. Learn more about this project here.
  • Support for Climate-Smart Irrigated Agriculture | Togo – National program accelerating climate-smart irrigation to unlock Togo’s irrigation potential, strengthen food security, and boost rural livelihoods by introducing modern, resource-efficient irrigation technologies, building farmer and advisor capacity, and supporting a national irrigation strategy in partnership with key ministries, with a focus on youth and women farmers. Learn more about this project here.
  • ASARIGG – Transforming Food Security through Irrigation | Mauritania – Regional initiative revitalizing irrigated agriculture in the Guidimakha and Gorgol regions by rehabilitating hydro-agricultural infrastructure, strengthening farmer-managed water user associations, and improving access to irrigation for over 2,000 smallholders—70% of them women—to enhance food security, resilience to climate shocks, and women’s leadership in sustainable farming systems. Learn more about this project here.

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