6 June 2012: In the lead up to the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), the Internatioanl Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has launched a paper that describes how climate-smart agriculture differs from traditional agricultural interventions for rural development.

The paper, which was launched on 8 June 2012, at an event held at the IFAD headquarters in Rome, Italy, highlights the necessary changes in policy and practice to support rural stakeholders to adapt to the changing environment. The paper outlines three changes from business-as-usual development.

First, project and policy preparation must reflect the higher risks associated with climate change, calling for the use of vulnerability assessments and greater use of climate scenarios. Second, the appreciation of the interconnected risks should lead to scaling up of a “multiple-benefit” approach to agricultural intensification by smallholder farmers to address poverty alleviation, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increase yields and enhance biodiversity. Third, changes in international development finance will enable smallholders to become direct beneficiaries of climate finance.

The paper notes that IFAD’s policies and institutional frameworks have adapted to these changes. It also includes technical examples of climate-smart interventions that are under development or being put into practice in the agriculture sector. [IFAD Event on Climate-Smart Agriculture] [Publication: Climate-Smart Agriculture: What’s the Difference?]