Agriculture & Food Security publishes a new thematic series on ‘Climate Smart Agriculture’.

Global warming represents one of the greatest threats to society worldwide. The dual burden of climate change coupled with exponentially increasing populations means that our agricultural systems are under increasing pressure to produce food in unstable environmental conditions. The struggle to reach required productivity means that food security is fast becoming a significant threat to lives worldwide. Furthermore, in recent years it has become clear that not only is agricultural productivity threatened by climate change, current agricultural practices may in fact be accelerating atmospheric changes; agriculture is the leading cause of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, as well as a significant cause of deforestation and carbon emissions.

This new series has been published with the aims of highlighting the importance of developing policies which are climate aware for tackling food insecurity. The series follows on from a highly successful ‘Global Science Conference on Climate Smart Agriculture’ investigating the need for an emphasis on climate smart agriculture, whereby practices are better able to balance natural resource use and food production. The final article in the series, an editorial by Ademola Braimoh, who has guest edited the series has been published today. As a Senior Natural Resources Manager at the World Bank, Braimoh stresses the need for ‘science-policy integration for climate-smart agriculture’.

Articles included in the series include Sir John Beddington et al’s highly accessed article discussing the role of researchers in informing policy makers of measures to use resources more efficiently and adapt agricultural practices to climate change. Further articles cover landscape approach measures, ecosystem approaches and the role of smart crop varieties in food security.