ASEAN Regional Guidelines for Promoting Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Practices

Rice, maize and cassava are the key staple crops in SEA. Sustainable production of these major crops is adversely affected by climate hazards resulting in reduced yields and productivity. Strategies and measures to cope with and to adapt to climate change are imperative to enhance resilience of crop production systems2 to the vagaries of weather and the adverse impacts of a changing climate.

Climate-smart agriculture, forestry and fisheries (CSA), integrates the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) by jointly addressing food security and climate change. CSA is composed of three main pillars: (1) sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes; (2) adapting and building resilience to climate change; and (3) reducing greenhouse gases emissions from agricultural production and processing.

The objective of these guidelines is:

1. to facilitate and formalise the exchange and sharing of knowledge and information on CSA Practices to enhance climate resilience and improve productivity in agricultural production.
2. to promote the scaling-up and the scaling out of CSA practices and policies throughout the ASEAN region (Technical Guidelines on Scaling-up). These guidelines are based on selected CSA practices and experiences15 from the AMS level. They outline the enabling conditions necessary for scaling-up these practices.