How can we adapt farming to an uncertain future? Could the answer be Climate Smart Agriculture? Find out with this free course. Can Climate Smart Agriculture help farming meet the challenges of climate change? Global warming is a reality so it’s vital our societies and industries respond to the changing climate. Can farming meet this challenge? Explore the principles and practical applications of Climate Smart Agriculture: mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, adaption to climate change and stable or increased food production in the context of European dairy farming and wine production.
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How does farming impact on global warming and greenhouse gases? What are the barriers to adopting CSA and how can these be addressed?
What topics will you cover?
Week 1:
- Climate change and greenhouse gases
- The interactions between climate change and agriculture
- Food security
- Climate smart agriculture; history, principles and examples
- Different views on the food production system
Week 2:
- The basics of milk production, cow husbandry, digestion and herd management
- Greenhouse gas emissions and the possibilities for reducing them, within dairy farming
- The importance of plants for our atmosphere
- Other forms of sustainable farming
- Possible options for reducing energy consumption
Week 3:
- The basics of wine production
- General, sustainable crop management practices
- Problems for the wine industry created by climate change
- Possibilities for adapting the wine industry to climate change
- Examples of how data can be used to to help make decisions in agriculture
- Critical views regarding climate smart agriculture
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...
- Investigate the interactions between climate change and agriculture, including basic facts about the effects of climate change and the most important greenhouse gases.
- Describe the principles of climate smart agriculture, in particular the three pillars of mitigation, adaptation and productivity.
- Explore the basics of milk and wine production, possible future problems in these sectors and how they can be subject to adaptation and mitigation.
- Discuss the complexity of food production systems, why it can be difficult to implement climate smart agriculture and other forms of sustainable farming, and how the effects can be measured.
- Reflect on how consumer behaviour, policies and regulations, and financial aspects influence the adoption of climate smart and other sustainable practices.
