Climate smart agriculture (CSA) is a relatively new approach to sustainable agricultural production that seeks to combat climate change and ensure sustainable food security for a growing world population. It focuses on three core objectives: improving agricultural productivity, adaptation to and mitigation of climate change, and improved food security and resilience. The overall goal of CSA is to ensure agricultural productivity while at the same time reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improving resilience to extreme weather events brought on by anthropogenic climate change.

CSA is founded on the principles of sustainable development, or the concept of meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. It works to enhance adaptive capacity and reduce vulnerabilities to climate change through the use of integrated evidence-based strategies, improved agricultural management practices, and technologies such as farm mechanization, artificial intelligence and smart irrigation systems as well as strategies such as reducing food losses and waste.

To achieve its objectives, CSA has to adopt practices that are sustainable, integrated and inclusive. Sustainable practices include the use of Agroecology and Conservation Agriculture to ensure soil health and fertility and reduce the use of chemical inputs. Integrated approaches include intercropping, crop rotation, and integrated crop and livestock management. Inclusive practices are those that use both traditional and modern knowledge ensuring smallholder farmers and rural communities are engaged through the entire process.

Additionally, CSA works to reduce GHG emissions and increase carbon sequestration. This includes adoptions of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind energy, as well as sustainable land-use practices that reduce deforestation and promote reforestation. CSA also works to reduce agricultural water run-off and water pollution through improved water management practices, as well as encourage more efficient water use in irrigated agriculture.

Through the adoption of many such diverse practices, Climate Smart Agriculture seeks to create a more productive and sustainable agricultural system. By increasing farm-level productivity and resilience of farms to climate variability and shocks, it works to ensure food security for the future. At the same time, by reducing agriculture’s contribution to GHG emissions, it helps to reduce the impacts of climate change on agricultural systems, and by extension, the people who rely on them.

Climate change is a complex and urgent issue. It is also a very real threat to the world's food supply.

In Zimbabwe, farmers have been experiencing unpredictable weather, increasingly irregular rainfall, droughts, crop failure and many other natural forces pulling against them. If we do nothing to conscientize farmers on climate resilience, the situation will only get worse. And that might lead to conflict over natural resources.

That's why Agribusiness Media has recognized the need to educate rural, smallholder and medium scale farmers on efficient utilization of natural resources and use of climate resilient techniques and technologies. We believe building climate resilience is critical to the future of our agriculture