Essay on Agriculture Adapts to Climate Change: Innovations and Technologies.

Climate change experienced has resulted in significant developments, particularly in the field of agriculture (Grothmann & Patt 2005). Notably, inventions and technologies in the field of agriculture have been put in place to enhance sustainable adaptation to handle the challenges of climate change, thus increasing agricultural productivity. Supposedly, agriculture is susceptible and highly vulnerable to climate change due to prolonged dry spell, floods, and emission of greenhouse gases which hinder food production and developments. Given the high dependency on rain-fed agriculture, farmers are then put to risk. Therefore, adaptive measures are needed to meet the climate extremes. Significantly, this paper intends to focus on the major strategies that n has been put in place in the field of agriculture to enhance effective adaptation to climate change (Grothmann & Patt 2005).

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To begin with, climate-smart agriculture is a significant technological advancement adopted to help mitigate the challenges brought about climate change (Lipper et al. 2014). The climate-smart- agriculture (CSA) is pegged on the principle of development of food security, increasing food productivity and income, conserving the ecosystem by removing the greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. However, the challenges posed by climate change can easily be tackled using the adaptive capacity, particularly in agricultural technology, to climate change impacts (Lipper et al. 2014).

Through smart climate agriculture, modest intervention and practices are adopted to reduce greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere. Tentatively, farmers can make the changes on the nutrients management's methods to help reduce the greenhouse gas emission through the application of manure as opposed to nitrogen fertilizers. On the same account, farmers can directly contribute to the reduction of greenhouse emissions by growing the feedstock used for biofuels. Besides, by installing the wind turbines or the solar panels can help reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. The methane gas produced from decomposing manure is converted to electricity used in the farm to reduce gas emissions into the atmosphere (Lipper et al. 2014).

Besides, conservation agriculture, a modern approach formulated by smart climate agriculture, is aimed at conserving the biodiversity and safeguarding the entire ecosystem due to periodic climate change witnessed. It is worth noting the fact that conservation agriculture practices can also contribute to making agricultural systems more resilient to the concept of climate change. Through the conservation, agriculture tends to increase productivity but intending to conserve the environment to the mitigations brought about by climate change. Conversely, the concept behind conservation agriculture tends to improve the soil structure and offers the needed protection to the soil covers. By maintaining the permanent soil cover, the impact of climate change characterized by the floods and constant erosion of the soil cover can be controlled. Besides, by embracing the modest agricultural practices which offer protection to the soil cover can help protect the soil from the impact of climate change.

The climate change which is considerably associated with the prolonged drought results into water scarcity, which is one of the most considerable resources in agriculture. Therefore affirmative action's which includes the technological approach to help make water available for irrigation. It is imperative to note that, by planting cover crops which are not subjected to constant logging acts as water catchments hence increasing the amount of rainfall. Since water is critical in agriculture, it should be considered in the entire farming sector. Notably, the whole idea of conservation should be embraced in the economic entire industry to help facilitate the growth of plants and general animal husbandry, resulting in increased output. Besides, through the dissemination of knowledge, the desirable agricultural practices can be encouraged through innovation and the available technologies.

Similarly, smart climate agriculture tends to provide the most effective approach in ensuring sustainability in the depleting water sources as a result of climate. The policies formulated under this modest mode of agriculture provide room for the exploitation of groundwater by the farmers to substitute the dry swamps, rivers as a result of climate change. Following in-depth research, the investigation reveals that agricultural production cannot rely on rainwater alone since it is not enough. Adding to the climate change, which significantly affects the water supply, the complementary policies and economic reforms help mitigate climate risks.

In agriculture, various adaptive approaches have been considered adequate to help reduce the immense contribution to climate change. As it is described in smart climate agriculture, relevant agricultural practices should be put into consideration to help manage the impact of climate change. More importantly, the use of pest and disease integrated mechanism and practices are considered useful in managing the constant emissions of gases into the environment (Neufeldt et al. 2013). Therefore the cultural and biological practices should be adopted to substitute the chemical methods of eradicating the invasion of pest and diseases. Imperatively, the synthetic process of controlling pests and disease in agriculture dramatically contributes to climate change through emissions of particularly the greenhouse gases. Through diversification, the farmers can plant more than one crop as a way of reducing the buildup of pest and diseases (Taylor, 2018). This encourages the use of predators and parasites as the natural way of controlling diseases. According to this approach, it becomes easier to reduce emissions, thus managing climate change.

The climate change, which entirely affects the agricultural sector, increases pressure on the natural resources and thus slows down the progress made in food production in agriculture. Therefore, economic adjustments are considered necessary as the policies provide the guideline on conserving the natural resources (Taylor 2018).

Another adaptive approach entails the use of science and innovation in crop breeding and food production to help reduce the impact of climate change. Significantly, the modest production systems demonstrate that technologies can be used to help improve farming productivity and better manage natural resources (Neufeldt et al. 2013). In agriculture, these policies and technologies are jointly put in place to provide the needed solution to climate change. When these policies are addressed systematically, they can help reduce the challenges brought by climate change in agriculture.

Conclusion

In summary, through climate change, various policies have been adopted to provide solutions to the challenges of climate change. Relevant agricultural practices and modern technologies help reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases as well as providing a proper guideline to maintain food security. Planting cover crops, adopting the social and biological strategies of eradicating pests and diseases, and tapping into the underground water are the most effective adaptive policies to climate change.

References

Grothmann, T., & Patt, A. (2005). Adaptive capacity and human cognition: the process of individual adaptation to climate change. Global environmental change, 15(3), 199-213.

LeZaks, D. (2013). Beyond climate-smart agriculture: toward safe operating spaces for global food systems. Agriculture & Food Security, 2(1), 12.

Lipper, L., Thornton, P., Campbell, B. M., Baedeker, T., Braimoh, A., Bwalya, & Hottle,

R. (2014). Climate-smart agriculture for food security. Nature climate change, 4(12), 1068.

Neufeldt, H., Jahn, M., Campbell, B. M., Beddington, J. R., DeClerck, F., De Pinto, &

Taylor, M. (2018). Climate-smart agriculture: what is it suitable for?. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 45(1), 89-107.