Countries Share Lessons on How to Tackle Climate Change
Discussion Points
- In your own words explain "Climate Smart" agriculture.
- Explain the successful climate smart practices utilized in Tanzania and their impacts.
- Explain the successful climate smart practices implemented in Vietnam and their impacts.
- Of all of the climate smart practices in agriculture that were shared which do you feel is the greatest innovation and why?
- What additional practices do you feel could be implemented to promote climate smart agriculture around the world?
20 comments:
Because many of the crops were damaged by the climate change, Vietnam has changed their crops. Instead of rice which does not thrive in the current conditions, fruit was planted. The changing of crops reduced the greenhouse effect and release of carbon into the atmosphere. It also reduces soil erosion from planting the same type of crop multiple times.
Places like Vietnam have changed their crops due to climate change destruction and damage. Fruits now take place of the crop area that was previously rice. This gesture has reduced carbon in the air.
Since climate change has ruined many of their crops Vietnam changed their crops to fruit instead of rice.
Climate Smart Agriculture is an approach aimed at transforming food systems. It involves pursuing sustainable productivity increases while implementing climate adaptation strategies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions where possible, to achieve food security in the face of increasing climate change.
Climate smart agriculture is a method that's decent for the climate along with the agriculture
Climate smart agriculture is an approach at changing the food systems. The goal of climate smart agriculture is to have productivity increase while increasing climate adaptation strategies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions wherever possible and would be most effective. With this they want to get more food security with the increasing climate change.
Climate Smart Agriculture is when you use smart farming practices that help control emissions along with helping increase field yields.
there was vary meany eople come to get to make a betterway of growning food
Climate-smart agriculture is the way countries produce food that can withstand changes of the global and regional patterns. Tanzania has been using this through their rice-farming techniques. Studies estimate that Tanzania loses around $200 million worth of agricultural products a year. The new rice techniques have helped to increase yields while using less water resources since Tanzania is considered a drought-prone area and could use all the water they get. On the other hand, Vietnam uses aquaculture by integrating forests and crops and has recently converted from rice cultivation to fruits and trees, which require minimal water for growth. Just like Tanzania, Vietnam has had damage to it's rice and crop hectares. Roughly around 800,000 tons and 1.1 million people were affected. Climate change seems to be a big issue to underdeveloped and developing countries since they rely heavily on agriculture. Agriculture is the backbone to these countries providing jobs, food, shelter, income, etc to families. The first thing I think of when I hear climate change is heat. I believe not only are these less developed countries getting affected, but many developed as well. For example, look at the past few winters here in Illinois. It hasn't been that cold as it has been during previous years. So what if it keeps getting worse? What will we do? How will we survive?
¨Climate Smart” agriculture is utilizing available resources in a responsible manner that increases productivity, yield, and profit, while reducing the negative impacts that it has on climate change. In Tanzania they applied rice farming techniques which use less water, while supplying the farms with more available water for other uses. By implementing this new technique, they are able to grow rice in desert prone areas, while increasing their overall combined yields. The use of conservative agriculture practices in the Lake Zone allows for more productivity/higher yield, with less going to waste. By planting GM seeds they make it possible for certain crops to grow in climates that otherwise wouldn't be fertile or offer much productivity. This is incredibly important as Tanzania loses roughly $200 million annually in the ag sector due to climate change. By taking full advantage of the climate and resources in Tanzania, they are better able to increase their productivity without much of their money, crops and hard work going to waste. Vietnam is also taking full advantage of climate smart agriculture to improve their crop production. Since food insecurity poses a threat in Vietnam, farmers have chosen to grow different crops during certain seasons/annual climate changes, which act as another source of income for the farmer, as well as providing another available and abundant food source. They are also utilizing the agro-forestry systems in areas that are not able to grow much else. In doing so there is less erosion as the various crops/forests keep the soil from dispersing and losing their growing capabilities. It is important that underdeveloped countries like Tanzania and developing countries such as Vietnam take full advantage of climate smart agriculture practices as they don't have the necessary technology and advancements to overcome the challenges climate change have on their valuable crops.
The main purpose coming from the idea of "climate-smart" agriculture is to help farmers affected by the impact of climate change and decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture. The way I would describe it is that it is a way of achieving food security and improving the food systems by creating an increase in justifiable productivity and coming up with things that could reduce greenhouse gasses and help with the affects of climate change. In Tanzania, crops that use less water have been brought to multiple different parts of the country to improve rice-farming techniques. This has helped them by using less water which improves drought-prone areas and increases the yield of their crops. In the Lake Zone region, improved types of seeds with a better tolerance for drought and water scarcity are being used such as cotton, maize, sorghum, and cassava. They also are using organic soils to increase their soil fertility. Because of these changes, the productivity has increased four times compared to other areas. Vietnam has dealt with multiple natural disasters due to climate change and improvement of crops has helped fix this problem because things like fruit trees and grapes need less water and bring additional income to the producer. Since this is an easy fix, the crops can be switched back to rice again when the weather allows it. Since change in climate also affects animals, bio-digesters are suggested to allow waste to turn into biogas which can be used for cooking and lighting purpose. Also, they create nutrient-rich fertilizer for paddy rice fields. This has caused a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Of all the practices I believe that the changing of the crops is the greatest innovation because it is efficient when it comes to changing back to rice-farming, it lowers the amount of water and care needed, and it brings more money to the farmer which in many countries, money is a hard thing to come about. E.D. Somonauk
The FAO estimates that meeting the growing global demand for food requires a 70% increase in total agricultural production as consumption patterns are shifting towards diets containing more protein instead of items more easily grown. This need for increased yields to match with the needs of production, however, are threatened by changes in precipitation, temperature, and extreme weather events arising from climate change, something the ag industry greatly contributes to as we generate around 25% of total greenhouse gas emissions. For the underdeveloped and developing regions, some with GDP’s as high as 41% and 36.2% in terms of agriculture, these areas are most vulnerable to the climate shifts as small farmers may face poverty, food insecurity, and a loss of their livelihood. To help fight against this reality, countries, including Tanzania, located in East Africa, and Vietnam, located in Southeast Asia, have begun implementing and sharing their experiences with “climate-smart” agriculture, an approach aimed at increasing agricultural productivity, adapting and building to climate change, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Personally, after looking at all of their successes, I believe the top two greatest innovations include the water friendly rice-farming techniques in Tanzania and the use of biodigesters in Vietnam. Interestingly enough, both of these concepts relate back to last weeks blog as they point out that these underdeveloped nations need to use what they have in terms water supply as they are prone to drought and already have a lack of freshwater. On top of this, Vietnam had a similar idea of using waste to their advantage as it can create a nutrient-rich fertilizer for their paddy rice fields and biogas for daily cooking since they lack everyday technology that people in the U.S take for granted. While it isn’t human waste, they are still turning something natural into something beneficial. To me, another crucial practice that could be implemented around the world, aside from the two I already discussed, include GMO seed varieties that are tolerant to droughts, water scarcity, flooding, and more. However, it is crucial that small farmers are shown the evidence that these different varieties truly work since people in underdeveloped nations are put at risk of not being able to feed their families if they try something new and it fails. -R.O, Somonauk
Climate smart agriculture is a fix to help underdeveloped and developing countries in their agriculture sector. These countries have a hard enough time feeding themselves so the last thing they need is for their climate to affect their crops. Climate smart agriculture gives them help that they can do on their own without special mechanization that they in most cases can not afford. This also goes hand in hand with the recent increase in ¨global warming¨. As climates are beginning to change it is hard for these countries to keep up and learn how to still produce their crops with a quality yield. Not only can they grow crops in different than their normal conditions, but it will also increase the yield and in return benefit the farmer even more.
Climate-smart agriculture is like where you change the way you farm so that it can stand the way the weather and environment is changing to, so that you get the best out of the crop. In Tanzania they have used less water resources in drought prone areas. Their yield has increased since they changed to this way. They have used organic fertilizers to increase soil fertility. They have also used seeds that are tolerant to drought and water scarcity. I think the greatest climate-smart agriculture practice is that they have used seeds that can with stand drought in areas that have drought because it will help them still have food and money. So it is still making the economy work. And if they did not do this they could run out of food and how will they survive? I think areas that could be helped would be like places that get flooded and how to get plants that can be drenched but will still grow. Or like areas that get no sun or too much sun. And areas that can't grow crops to bring in more food for people that need it. Also to kinda like fix plants that can not be grown by each other so that you can have a variety of things. But you are always at risk of trying something new in an area to try and better it because who knows how long it will take to be finally working and producing good yield.
Throughout the entire article the benefits of "Climate Smart" agriculture were listed and examples of how it is implemented in countries all around the world. If we take this concept full circle and relate it back to one of the first units we learned about (World Hunger), we can identify why "Climate Smart" technology will be very pertinent to our future. This new version of agriculture allows crops to be grown in climates where it would not normally thrive and also allows crops to produce a greater yield. As we discovered when learning about world hunger, yield gaps and availability to quality food are both factors the cause hunger worldwide. Well with this technology those factors can be decreased, and maybe at some point eliminated. One of the most important practices that should be used the most is the creation of genetically modified seeds that can resist unfavorable conditions. I believe this to be one of the most important practices because as we also learned through our country research developing or underdeveloped countries are the ones who seems to get stuck with unsuitable climates for farming. By using GM seed varieties these farmers can substantially grow crops and not have to worry about losing half their yield to disease, drought or any other natural disaster. Using "Climate Smart" agriculture methods could be the answer for many countries, and the world as a whole when we think about how were are going to feed 9 billion people in the upcoming years.
J.P. Somonauk
Climate-smart agriculture is is to provide substanible productivity in food systems, while during climate change. One successful climate smart practice would be the rice-farming techniques that use less water and it is important for drought-prone areas in the country. To fix the negative impact of the disasters in Vietnam, climate smart practices include switching their feilds used for rice for fruit tress and grapes, which require less water and the land can be used for rice again, when the weather changes. Of all the climate smart practices, I think the best one has to be the one that deals with using less water with rice farming. I think this because there is now more variety of seeds which are tolerant to droughts and water scarcity. Climate smart agriculture could be the answer to many countries problems. To help with this I think farmers need to start trusting genetically modified seed because they can be disease resistant and provide a better yeild.
Climate smart agriculture is a way to help achieve food security through new ways for farmers to produce food in regions affected by different climates changes. The aim is to help farmers be able to use more efficient crop management and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture. In Tanzania, climate smart agriculture is heavily invested in by the government in order to create a beneficial impact to the country. The area of focus in Tanzania is towards building resilience of agricultural and food production systems in the face of climate change and fostering adoption of climate smart agriculture, particularly among vulnerable, smallholder farmers. One successful climate smart practice taking place, in areas where drought is an issue, is a rice farming technique that is using less water. There has also been improved seed varieties of cassava, maize, sorghum and cotton and the use of organic fertilizers, like manure, to increase soil fertility. An area of development that has helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions in livestock production and has prevented grazing damage to crops is the special breeds of high-yielding dairy cows that allow farmers to increase their income while cutting down on the number of cattle. In Vietnam, climate smart agriculture takes place in areas where rice cultivation once was and now fruit, trees, and grapes are being grown to help increase income, however even with the change in crops they are easily able to be changed back to rice cultivation areas. Integrating crops or forests with aquaculture is also widely practiced in Vietnam. And another area is household pig production, where livestock farmers are being encouraged to use bio-digesters, which allow them to convert wastes into biogas used for daily cooking and lighting. In countries where agriculture is heavily relied on and with climate being an existing problem that is increasing overtime, climate smart agriculture is very beneficial to many farmers around the world who are depended on to produce crops that are plentiful for the surrounding community or entire country. -Somonauk
Productuvity has had a major increase due to the new climate smart techniques,which basically means you alter your practices with growing crops. Whether it be decreasing amount of nutrients, the amount of water, or certain types of pesticides, these changes create better products. After, years of trail and errors people have been able to notice trends in climates that effect agriculture. For example: Tanzania narrowed drought prone areas, and chose to use certain fertilizers to enrich the soils and keep them healthy. While possibly being more expensive, in the long run with better products they would be able to gain back those expenses, while getting profit as well. In this certain area cheaper is deifantly not better, and the scientists who were able to find seeds that were able to withstand water shortages can truly be thanked for their works. Personally I find it somewhat crazy that these modified seeds actaully work and create great products.
A Climate-Smart agriculture is having crops that can survive the ever changing climate in different areas. According to the FAO website, “In Tanzania, farmers pull weeds out of trenches, which retains water and prevents soil erosion during rains”. It is estimated that about $200 million per year were lost due to climate change. Because of this loss, Tanzania became smarter than the climate change and started thinking of ways to make their crops less susceptible to different types of weather. Vietnam was having the same issues with their crops. Natural disasters induced by the climate destroyed about 700,000 hectares of rice and other food crops. This was devastating to people in Vietnam because they relied on their crops to feed their families and their community. One solution they chose was to integrate some aquaculture techniques into their farming practices for their crops. This made a huge difference and saved many families from starvation. I think making these ideas worldwide will be very helpful to those who are still struggling with climate change and how the change affects their crops. AC Somonauk
Climate Smart agriculture is utilizing available resources in a responsible manner that increases productivity, yield, and profit, while reducing the negative impacts that farming has on the environment. In Tanzania farmers began to apply rice farming techniques which use less water to other crops. By implementing this new technique farmers are able to grow rice in desert prone areas while increasing their overall yields. By planting GM seeds along with using climate smart agriculture it is possible for certain crops to grow in climates that otherwise would not be fertile or offer much productivity. This is incredibly important as Tanzania loses roughly $200 million annually in the agriculture sector due to climate change. By taking full advantage of the climate and resources in Tanzania, farmers are better able to increase their productivity without spending extra money and resources. Vietnam is also taking full advantage of climate smart agriculture to improve their crop production. Food insecurity poses a threat in Vietnam, consequently farmers have chosen to grow different crops during certain seasons/annual climate changes which acts as another source of income for the farmer as well as provides another available food source. Farmers are also utilizing the agroforestry systems in areas that are not able to grow much else. In doing so there is less erosion as the various crops because forests keep the soil from dispersing and losing their growing capabilities. It is important that underdeveloped countries like Tanzania and developing countries such as Vietnam take full advantage of climate smart agriculture practices as they do not have the necessary technology and advancements to overcome the challenges climate change has on their valuable crops. C.J.-Somonauk
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