The effects of climate change become increasingly tangible. Many ecosystems and the services they provide have already changed because of the effects of global warming, including heat stress, droughts, heavy precipitation and floods. While agriculture is a major cause of global warming, it is the sector most vulnerable to climate change. Agricultural systems worldwide are facing a triple challenge: how to sustainably increase productivity, while reducing the impact of agriculture on climate change and increasing resilience of agriculture and food value chains?
Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is exactly about addressing these triple challenges of agriculture: productivity, climate adaptation and, where possible, climate mitigation. As such, it is an integral part of the sustainable food and agriculture approach of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Widely known CSA practices include agroforestry; land restoration; conservation agriculture; improved water management or improved livestock or pasture management. In spite of its proven potential, a number of technical, financial, political and socioeconomic barriers are limiting the adoption of CSA practices and technologies in Africa.
Digital innovations have the potential to lower or even remove some of the existing barriers to the adoption of CSA for farmers and improve the overall enabling environment for climate-smart agriculture. Within this context, Wehubit launched its second call for proposals to support the scaling-up of digital products or services that enable proven practical CSA techniques or technologies to reach to the minds and hands of farmers.