Despite the possibility of climate-smart agriculture improving food security, most CSA practices and technologies are not widely adopted in South Asia.
A global team of researchers, including Rajiv Ghimire and Meha Jain of the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability, has identified the key barriers to CSA adoption in South Asia and suggested strategies to overcome them in a recently published study.
“We hope that this study helps policymakers and practitioners in the region promote climate-smart agricultural technologies and practices,” Ghimire said. “CSA practices will contribute to increased food productivity and food security for millions of smallholder farmers facing the brunt of climate change and other socioeconomic changes.”
The study was a collaboration of more than 20 researchers worldwide who synthesized their work for more than a year to understand the barriers and opportunities for CSA in South Asia. CSA practices will not only help farmers adapt to climate change but will also help conserve soil, water and energy, and many of the practices and technologies have shown they can lead to increased yields.
In the study, published in January 2024 in Nature Climate Change, the researchers identified weak organizational capacities, inadequate targeted incentives and limited post-adoption follow-up as the significant barriers to CSA adoption in South Asia.
The study’s strategies to encourage CSA adoption in South Asia include information sharing through farmer-to-farmer peer networks, enhancing the management skills of custom hiring centers, targeted subsidies and crop insurance schemes, investment in extension services and incentives to the private sector, equitable dissemination of CSA information and post-adoption assessments.
“These strategies we developed in the study are particularly suited for densely populated areas such as South Asia where arable agricultural areas are scarce,” Ghimire said. “We should also understand that things might differ in different parts of the world.
“Even within South Asia, there are differences in policies, practices, incentive structure and overall sociocultural and biophysical characteristics. The four countries (India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh) we have focused on have different agricultural priorities and in some cases, there could be subnational-level initiatives.”
IndiFoodBev — authentic, impactful and influential
An English-language food and beverage processing and packaging industry B2B platform in print and web, IndiFoodBev is in its third year of publication. It is said that the Indian food and beverage industries represent approximately US$ 900 billion in revenues which implies more than 20% of the country’s GDP. Eliminating the wastage on the farmside can help to deliver more protein to a higher number of the population apart from generating sizable exports. The savings in soil, seeds, water, fertilizer, energy and ultimately food and nutrition could be the most immense contribution that country is poised to make to the moderation of climate change.
To improve your marketing and grow sales to the food and beverage processing and packaging industry, talk to us. Our research and consulting company IppStar [www.ippstar.org] can assess your potential and addressable markets in light of the competition. We can discuss marketing, communication, and sales strategies for market entry and growth.
Suppliers and service providers with a strategy and budget for targeted marketing can discuss using our hybrid print, web, video, and social media channels to create brand recognition linked to market relevance. Our technical writers are ready to meet you and your customers for content.
The second largest producer of fruit and vegetables in the world is continuously expanding processing capacities and delivery systems with appropriate innovative technologies. We cover product and consumer trends, nutrition, processing, research, equipment and packaging from farm to thali. Get our 2025 media kit and recalibrate your role in this dynamic market. Enhance your visibility and relevance to existing markets and turn potential customers into conversations. Ask for a sample copy of our bi-monthly in print or our weekly IndiFoodBev eZine each Wednesday.
For editorial info@ippgroup.in — for advertisement ads1@ippgroup.in and for subscriptions subscription@ippgroup.in
Naresh Khanna – 10 February 2025
Subscribe Now
