A Climate Smartness Index (CSI) Based on Greenhouse Gas Intensity and Water Productivity: Application to Irrigated Rice

Abstract

Efforts to increase agricultural productivity, adapt to climate change, and reduce the carbon footprint of agriculture are reflected in a growing interest in climate-smart agriculture (CSA). Specific indicators of productivity, adaptation and mitigation are commonly used in support of claims about the climate smartness of practices. However, it is rare that these three objectives can be optimized simultaneously by any one strategy. In evaluating the relative climate smartness of different agricultural practices, plans and policies, there is a need for metrics that can simultaneously represent all three objectives and therefore be used in comparing strategies that have different benefits and trade-offs across this triad of objectives. In this context, a method for developing a Climate Smartness Index (CSI) is presented. The process of developing the index follows four steps: (1) defining system specific climate smartness; (2) selecting relevant indicators; (3) normalizing against reference values from a systematic literature review; and (4) aggregating and weighting. The CSI presented here has been developed for application in a systematic review of rice irrigation strategies and it combines normalized water productivity (WP) and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) The CSI was developed for application to data from published field experiments that assessed the impact of water management practices in irrigated rice, focusing on practices heralded as climate-smart strategies, such as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD). The analysis shows that the CSI can provide a consistent judgment of the treatments based on the evidence of water efficiency and reduced GHGI reported in such studies. Using a measurable and replicable index supports the aim of generating a reliable quantification of the climate smartness of agricultural practices. The same four step process can be used to build metrics for a broad range of CSA practice, policy and planning.

Global Potato Yields Increase Under Climate Change With Adaptation and CO2 Fertilisation

“…Other potential adaptations, such as increasing use of fertiliser, involve increases to emissions (Baggs et al, 2003). An assessment of climate smartness can therefore be made without the need for direct quantification of the kind demonstrated by Arenas-Calle et al (2019). Given that potato is a low emission crop (Flynn et al, 2005;Haile-Mariam et al, 2008;Nemecek et al, 2012;Clune et al, 2017) and that the adaptation options shown here do not lead to increased emissions, global potato agriculture can be viewed as part of a climate smart agricultural future.…”

Integrated-Smart Agriculture: Contexts and Assumptions for a Broader Concept

“…The main insights discussed in this section show that the topics and the approaches considered, when put together, have novelty [70,74], namely the consideration of the bibliometric analysis for a systematic review in these topics. On the other, the objectives proposed for this study (What are the main relationships between the smart agriculture and the sustainability?…”

“…CSA practices improve the soil resilience and quality [42]. Nonetheless, for the policy and planning design, it is important to find metrics that allow to put together the three aims [74] and to bring more insights about this concept [75]. The agricultural practices have impacts on the environment and the climate change, but have, also, implications from the global warming, and this brings several challenges for the farmers and policymakers [76].…”

Conservation Agriculture: Climate Proof and Nature Positive Approach

“…In fact, according to several authors, there is mounting evidence that when CA is inconsistently applied, it leads to lower yields and higher costs than expected [38,62,[81][82][83]. Arenas-Calle et al [84] showed that the lack of climate-smartness resulted in yield penalties in early stages of CA implementation. However, in eastern and southern Africa the highest financial returns (90-95%) from CA investments by small-holder farmers were realized under low-rainfall conditions (<700 mm), thereby providing clear evidence of the climate smartness of CA systems under soil moisture-stressed conditions [45].…”