Global Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (GACSA)

Why it was created

• Farmers need food and income. They also face heat, drought, floods and changing rain.
• Farming can add greenhouse gases to the air.
• Countries needed a place to share ideas and find support.
• GACSA brings these needs into one discussion.
• It does not offer one farming method for every place.

Who takes part, and how it runs

• Members include governments, farmer groups, research bodies, civil society and businesses.
• It is a platform for organisations, not a treaty between states.
• A Strategic Committee guides the work.
• A Facilitation Unit helped organise the alliance.
• Three action groups covered knowledge, investment and enabling policy.

Where FAO fits

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) hosted the Facilitation Unit.
• That does not make GACSA a lawmaking body.
• FAO also gives separate advice to UN climate talks.
• Sources: FAO launch record and FAO alliance project.

Three linked goals

1. Food and income: grow food more steadily and improve farm incomes.
2. Resilience: help farms cope with drought, heat and floods. This is adaptation.
3. Fewer emissions: reduce or remove greenhouse gases where possible. This is mitigation.

• A farmer first looks at the local risk, like unreliable rain.
• Next, the farmer tests a response and checks all three goals.
• One practice may help one goal more than another.

What it might look like

• Water-saving irrigation: helps in dry spells, but equipment and power cost money.
• Mixed crops: if one fails, another may grow. The best mix depends on soil and market.
• Trees on farms: shade crops and store carbon, but can compete for light or water.
• Soil cover: crop waste protects soil and holds moisture, but may be needed as animal feed.
• These are possible tools, not a fixed GACSA-approved list.
• Sources: FAO on climate-smart agriculture and FAO on trade-offs.

What it can and cannot do

• It can share field lessons and connect partners.
• It can help people find investment.
• Members can learn from local trials before using ideas widely.
• GACSA cannot pass a law or enforce a farming rule.
• Joining does not bind a member to a target.
• It is not the Paris Agreement or a UN climate negotiation decision.

Why some people criticise it

• “Climate-smart” covers many kinds of farming.
• Critics ask for clear tests of real benefits.
• A project could look good on paper but leave farmers with high costs.
• It might raise food output while harming water or nature.
• A strong plan measures results and asks who pays and who gains.
• Women and small farmers must be able to take part.
• Sources: FAO on gains and trade-offs and FAO food security committee discussion.

• Indian researchers test ways to help farms cope with climate change.
• In July 2026, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) set a goal of 100 Climate Smart Villages before ICAR turns 100.
• These villages can show how local methods work.
• The goal does not come from a binding GACSA rule.
• A shared name does not mean shared legal control.
• Source: DD News on ICAR’s 2026 roadmap.