Climate-Smart Agriculture for Food Security

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) seeks to reconcile the urgent need for increased food production with the imperative to adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By combining sustainable intensification, resilience building and mitigation measures, CSA aims to safeguard yields in the face of rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns and extreme weather events. Key approaches include the development and deployment of resilient crop varieties, promotion of agroecological practices such as conservation tillage and intercropping, optimisation of water and nutrient use through precision technologies, and the strengthening of local knowledge systems. Together, these strategies help to maintain soil health, enhance crop genetic diversity and support smallholder livelihoods. Globally, CSA is underpinning efforts to anticipate latitudinal shifts in crop suitability, buffer food systems against shocks and create adaptive pathways for vulnerable farming communities.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have projected how major food crops may be pushed beyond their climatic envelopes under various warming scenarios. Analyses of thirty staple crops reveal that, even at 2 °C of global warming, up to a third of current production in low-latitude regions could fall outside suitable climatic niches, rising to nearly half under 3 °C. Concurrent declines in crop diversity are predicted across over 50 per cent of tropical croplands, heightening risks to nutrition and farm incomes. Conversely, mid- and high-latitude regions may gain suitability for a broader array of crops, offering new adaptation opportunities. These findings underscore the urgency of breeding for broader tolerance, optimising spatial planning of cropping systems and facilitating the northward or southward reallocation of crop production where feasible.

Climate-Smart Agriculture for Food Security publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in climate-smart agriculture for food security across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Climate-smart agriculture: An approach that integrates sustainable productivity, climate resilience and greenhouse gas mitigation in farming systems.

Precision agricultural technologies: Tools such as yield monitors, variable-rate applicators and remote sensors that enable site-specific resource management.

Crop genetic diversity: The variety of genetic traits within and among crop species that supports adaptability to environmental change and stressors.

Adaptive management: A continuous learning process in which agricultural practices are adjusted in response to monitoring and feedback under variable conditions.

References

1. Climate change threatens crop diversity at low latitudes. Nature Food (2025).
2. A review of Best Management Practices for potato crop using Precision Agricultural Technologies. Smart Agricultural Technology (2023).
3. Dataset of the suitability of major food crops in Africa under climate change. Scientific Data (2024).
4. Sustainable Intensification and Climate-Smart Yam Production for Improved Food Security in West Africa: A Review. Frontiers in Agronomy (2022).