Acceleration of climate-smart agriculture is necessary

The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) recorded the warmest winter day ever this week. Climate change and global warming are to blame for this. The agricultural sector is pre-eminently a sector that is affected. Climate-smart agriculture should provide the solution, but innovations are moving too slowly. The Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), part of the United Nations (UN), is now arguing for an incentive policy.

The agricultural sector is responsible for 1/3 of total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. In the Netherlands, the sector accounts for 16% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Food production should only increase in the coming years, because worldwide demand for food (until 2050) will increase by about 40% to 60%. This is the result of the rising world population and higher incomes.

Keep up with demand for food
The agricultural sector needs to be expanded to keep up with the demand for food, which could lead to even higher emissions and have major consequences for the climate. Climate change has various consequences for the sector. For example, there is more pressure on crops and livestock, in particular due to the changing availability of water, water quality, the volatility of temperatures, persistent pests and diseases, possible wind damage and a higher risk of fires.

The agricultural sector is the economic sector most vulnerable to climate change. Climate-smart agriculture should solve this problem by developing food production techniques and crops that are adapted to climate change. The climate, agriculture and food security goals must be achieved through good collaboration between science and practice.

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Collective name
Climate-smart agriculture was first introduced in 2010 at an agricultural conference. This was at the initiative of the Dutch government, in collaboration with the FAO and the World Bank. It is a collective name for all techniques and activities that integrate agriculture and climate.

Examples of these techniques are the 'Zero Tillage' technique (not plowing the fields), the development of crops that are more resistant to heat or drought, the intensification of agriculture, careful irrigation and a reduction in the use of pesticides.

The 3 pillars of climate-smart agriculture are:

1. Increasing food production in a sustainable way and thus also the incomes of farmers.
2. Working on the productivity and resilience of different agricultural systems.
3. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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Climate agreement
After the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, many countries have included climate-smart agriculture in their climate strategy. Greenhouse gas emissions must be curbed and global warming must be limited to 1,5 to 2 degrees Celsius. Greener agriculture must play a major role in this.

However, little innovation has taken place since then. Bruce Campbell, director of CGIAR- Food Security (Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Research Programme), says there is little enthusiasm for innovation in the agricultural sector. “When people think of climate solutions, people quickly think of electric cars and wind energy. The agricultural sector must do its best and also communicate better about the innovations that are underway.”

Policy lags behind
Policy makers have a role in stimulating innovations in the agricultural sector. After the Paris Climate Agreement, a policy has emerged that supports climate-smart technology, but broader measures now also need to be taken. “This can be done, for example, by introducing tax incentives to reduce costs and increase returns for farmers,” Federica Matteoli, project manager at the FAO's Climate Change and Environment Department in Rome, said in a press release.

The global cost of climate-smart innovations in the agricultural sector is around $7 billion to $13 billion per year. At the moment only 2,5% of the government budget goes to the agricultural sector and therefore a large part of the financing will have to come from private sources. In order to stimulate these investments, the policy must remain stable for at least 10 to 20 years.

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Inadequate
The current measures are not sufficient to implement structural changes. The European Union (EU) can take an example from Australia, which is far ahead in stimulating climate-smart agriculture policies. Since 2011, there has been a law that tries to encourage farmers to adopt climate-smart agriculture. Farmers receive financial aid from the government if they demonstrate that they have prevented or captured greenhouse gases.

The EU could use the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform to boost innovation by providing subsidies based on the use of energy, fertilizer and water.

Role for the Netherlands
The Netherlands can play a key role in the further development of the agricultural sector of the future, because we have access to a high level of knowledge. Nowhere in the world does one produce so much food with such limited resources. Knowledge is one of the largest agricultural exports of our country for a reason.

In 2017, this agricultural knowledge yielded us €8,8 billion. In addition, the Netherlands has the best agricultural university in the world in Wageningen. This university is already doing a lot of research into climate-smart solutions and a climate office was opened in 2017.

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