Roadmap for Collaborative Action on Future Initiatives and Investments for promoting Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA)

CSA projects needs to be bankable. i.e. the project addresses/considers all known financial and economic risks and yields solid financial and economic performance while providing climate benefits.

1. Design synergistic CSA practices meeting dual objectives: climate change risk and vulnerability reduction and GHG mitigation

2. Wherever appropriate, take advantage of changing climate conditions, especially in the vertical dimension.

3. Co-develop and co-implement CSA solutions through multi-stakeholder participation instead of treating stakeholders as end-users or mere beneficiaries

4. Do not emphasize long-term gains over short-term losses. Similarly, ensure that short-term gains don’t lead to long-term losses (maladaptation, fatigue in the system etc.)

5. Cost-effectiveness, financial profitability and net benefits cannot be substituted by environmental sustainability alone. 

6. 6.Net financial benefits (i.e. individual direct benefits) are always preferred over net economic benefits (i.e. wide-area benefits) an incentive at the individual level.

7. Scaling up through market solutions (PES, insurance etc.) wherever possible but not in isolation. Market solutions need a programmatic approach with robust policy support/presence of an enabling environment.

8. Scalability is necessary but not sufficient condition in itself for a technology to be considered (don’t be conflicted between location-specific solution and scalability)

9. Do not use incentives (e.g. subsidies) to drive a round peg into a square hole. However, incentives may continue to shift from negative environmental actions (subsidies on fertilizers) to positive actions (e.g. incentives for organic agriculture)

10. Ensure appropriate checks and balances (e.g. installing water meters in solar irrigation schemes) (NO GREEN AND CLIMATE WASHING!)