How to improve the diffusion of climate-smart agriculture: What the literature tells us

Abstract

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is a technologically innovative response to the challenges faced by agriculture due to climate change. Its implementation needs a change of mentality in the direction of an approach that takes into account how the increase in technologically induced productivity affects climate change. In the belief that the in-depth analysis conducted by scientific research plays a fundamental role, we explore the characteristics, actors, and pillars of CSA, examining both the scientific literature and financed projects. Specifically, through a systematic review of the literature we address both the application and barriers to implementation at a global level, and then we focus on a case study of the geographical distribution of CSA projects in Europe. Our results show a heterogeneous framework in which we can note discrepancies among countries. Finally, as conclusive remarks, we consider the type of policies that could be implemented to improve the diffusion of CSA in the near future.