Dossier
Climate-Smart Agriculture
Agriculture emits greenhouse gasses and therefore contributes to climate change, but agriculture and food security are also threatened by climate change. The growth of the world population and increase of income levels has resulted in a increased demand for food. Yet, this demand is increasing faster than ever before because the number of middle and high income people in the world is growing rapidly. Climate-Smart Agriculture addresses on the one hand the reduction of the environmental and climate impact of agricultural activity and on the other hand the development of food production methods and crops that are well adapted to changing weather conditions.
Climate-Smart Agriculture was placed on the political agenda during the UN Climate Summit on 23 September 2014. In 2011, Wageningen University & Research already initiated a global research alliance on Climate-Smart Agriculture. The Dutch government has now taken this subject to the international political arena. In New York, 75 countries agreed that measures should be taken to drastically increase food production with substantial reduction of resource usage and greenhouse gas emissions.
The Netherlands and Climate-Smart Agriculture
The Netherlands can play a key role in designing Climate-Smart Agriculture plans. Wageningen University & Research develops state of the art knowledge for Climate-Smart Agriculture and collaboration with companies and governments results in cutting-edge innovations.
Since the Climate-Smart Agriculture - Science for Action statement was published in 2011, Wageningen University & Research has been working with various renowned organisations on a global research agenda for Climate-Smart Agriculture. The current state of affairs is summarised in the Position paper Climate-Smart Agriculture.
News on Climate-Smart Agriculture
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Polder rice in the Netherlands: will it succeed this year?
16 May 2024 - News - Will it succeed this year to grow ‘polder rice’ in the Netherlands for the first time? Researchers at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and Leiden University are giving it another shot. Whereas the yield last year was minimal, this year the researchers work with 32 different rice varieties adapted to the cooler climate of the Netherlands. -
Measuring ammonia and greenhouse gases on De Marke experimental farm
02 April 2024 - News - At WUR's De Marke experimental farm, sensors measure ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions from dairy cattle. The study aims to clarify whether the system provides a suitable basis for granting environmental permits to livestock farmers. But it is not that simple. -
New project assesses methane mitigating feed additives and fat supplements
28 March 2024 - News - An ambitious project has been launched focussing on assessment of efficacy of methane mitigating feed additives and fat supplements in dairy production. With the pressing need for reliable efficacy estimates in farming practices and national inventories, this project integrates state-of-the-art model development with simultaneous experimental testing of additives. -
Tests yield first successful methane sensor
15 February 2024 - News - In order to measure the relatively low methane concentrations in naturally ventilated dairy houses, high requirements are placed on the measuring equipment. Until recently, no acceptably priced sensor was available to accurately measure these low concentrations. A process of inventorying, testing and validation conducted by Wageningen Livestock Research has yielded the first sensor that meets these requirements. -
5 million grant for breeding efforts to reduce methane
18 December 2023 - News - Prof. Roel Veerkamp of Wageningen University & Research is going to lead a global program to coordinate and accelerate the worldwide efforts to breed cattle with reduced methane output. This program has been made possible by a 5 million dollar grant of the Bezos Earth Fund in collaboration with the Global Methane Hub and with the support of University Fund Wageningen. -
Joint manure fermenter may help reduce ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions
06 December 2023 - News - Implementing a low-emission barn system, where sludge is removed daily to be fermented and stripped, could significantly reduce greenhouse and ammonia emissions in the dairy farming sector. This is shown by a modelling study on the possibility of achieving joint mono-manure fermentation in 26 dairy farms. -
Significant methane reduction through daily slurry removal
21 November 2023 - News - A recent study conducted by Wageningen Livestock Research shows that daily slurry removal reduces methane emissions from finishing pigs, weaner pigs and lactating sows by some 90 per cent. This huge climate benefit enables the pig farm to take a critical stride towards climate neutrality. Combining daily slurry removal with other measures reduces emissions at the source. Reductions in ammonia and odour were also reported. Daily slurry removal benefits the environment, the air quality in the barn, and thus, the pigs’ well-being and health. -
Achievable climate goal for Dutch mineral agricultural soils
15 November 2023 - News - Carbon sequestration in mineral agricultural soils, aiming to contribute to the climate issue while sustainably managing agricultural soils, is it possible? After five years of research in the ‘Smart Land Use’ research program, an assessment has been made. Conclusion: the climate goal of an additional 0.5 Megatons of CO2 sequestration in mineral agricultural soils is theoretically achievable. The condition is that measures contributing to this goal are applied sufficiently and skilfully by agricultural entrepreneurs. -
National Growth Fund invests in transition of agricultural sector: WUR participates in Re-Ge-NL
19 October 2023 - News - The National Growth Fund is investing 129 million euros in the Re-Ge-NL programme; a groundbreaking programme designed to transform the Dutch agricultural sector into a regenerative, sustainable and future-proof sector. The programme was founded by a partnership of 54 companies and organisations, including Wageningen University & Research. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy announced that the Re-Ge-NL consortium has met all the conditions for this investment and that the allocation of funding is therefore final. -
New photosynthesis institute in Wageningen
10 October 2023 - News - By 2050, there will be nearly 10 billion mouths to feed worldwide. That is two billion more than now. This explosive population growth, along with climate change and biodiversity loss, is putting food security under pressure. One potential solution could be to improve photosynthesis in crops. At the new, independent Jan IngenHousz Institute in Wageningen, plant scientists from a range of disciplines are therefore attempting to unpick the secret of photosynthesis efficiency.
Projects on Climate-Smart Agriculture
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Sustainable Dairy Chain 2030
10 September 2020 - Project - The Sustainable Dairy Chain is the dairy sector and agricultural organisations’ pre-competitive programme to make dairy farming more sustainable. In close consultation with stakeholders and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (Dutch acronym: LNV), sustainability goals for 2030 were established in 2019 on the issues of improving animal well-being, preservation of outdoor grazing, biodiversity, revenue models and farm safety. -
Grassland management as a measure for the reduction of methane & ammonia emissions
05 June 2020 - Project - Grass is a valuable product for dairy cows; with its energy, protein and structure. In addition to the nutritional value, it has many more functions for the soil, landscape and the welfare of cows. In this project we look at the function of grass in relation to the reduction of methane and ammonia emissions. -
Reducinq freshwater use in pork production - the case study of Ireland
23 July 2019 - Project - PhD project by Shilpi Misra. The livestock sector is highly dependent on water availability, as water is used for animal drinking, cleaning, feed production and product processing. At the same time, livestock production is putting pressure on already water stressed areas, contributing to water scarcity, irreversible environmental changes and harmful human health effects. This PhD project aims to reduce freshwater use in pork production, using the Irish pig sector as a case study. -
FEED-X - Removing the barriers to sustainable feed and affordable food by 2030
17 January 2019 - Project - FEED-X is one of the pilot projects of Project X Global, a WWF-founded corporate systems accelerator that helps organisations make shifts in their sustainability agenda. The vision of FEED-X is to remove the barriers to more affordable and sustainable food production in the global feed industry by 2030. -
CSA/SuPER project: Upscaling climate smart agriculture via microfinance in Tanzania
01 December 2018 - Project - CSA/SuPER project tests a new model that combines micro-finance and farmer training to upscale the adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices by small-scale farmers in developing countries. -
HortiFresh to stimulate fruits and vegetables sector in West-Africa
19 September 2018 - Project - Healthy and quality fruits and vegetables through new ways of doing business. That is the goal of the new HortiFresh programme in West-Africa, led by the Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation. It facilitates public-private partnerships that work on factors holding back the professionalisation and commercialisation of the fruits and vegetable sector in Ghana and Ivory Coast. -
Collaboration with Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)
10 May 2017 - Project - Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security is one of the four cross-cutting Global integrating programs of CGIAR. The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) will address the increasing challenge of global warming and declining food security on agricultural practices, policies and measures through a strategic collaboration between CGIAR and WUR. -
Sustainable Intensification of Dairy Production Indonesia
31 May 2016 - Project - Indonesian dairy production is challenged by low productivity and high impact on the environment. This is due to poor manure management, poor feeding, poor reproduction and animal health problems. Wageningen UR Livestock Research, together with its partners, works on increasing sustainability of smallholder dairy farms in West Java. -
CIMMYT project
21 April 2016 - Project - The project focuses on generating an enabling environment for scaling Climate Smart Agriculture practices. This will be supported through linking the lessons learned from current Climate Smart Agriculture experiences in Climate Smart Villages with the LAPA frameworks to accelerate adoption of CSA interventions. -
Gender inclusion in climate change adaption policies and implications for adoption of climate smart agricultural practices in Uganda and Tanzania
22 February 2016 - Project - Taking an interpretative approach to narrative policy analysis, this study unfolds different understandings of gender issues in climate change adaptation policies in agriculture in Uganda and Tanzania. Narratives are taken as a central object of study, giving special attention to how they construct policy, identity and agency in a variety of contexts.