Towards Sustainable and Resilient Agricultural Systems: Assessing the Role of ACSAD in Applying Climate-Smart Technologies (Improved Varieties and Conservation Agriculture) in the Management of Agricultural Natural Resources under Climate Change
Keywords:
climate change, conservation agriculture, food security, improved varieties, water productivity.Abstract
Arab environments face significant environmental challenges, including water scarcity, declining areas of arable land, drought coinciding with extreme heatwaves, decreasing soil fertility, degradation of agricultural and natural ecosystems, and loss of biodiversity due to climate change. These factors have negatively affected agricultural production and the realization of Arab food security. Against a backdrop of increasing population growth and changing consumer preferences, the problems of poverty and hunger have intensified, and the food deficit has widened, particularly in rural communities in arid and semi-arid Arab regions. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop innovative, practical, and climate-smart solutions for the agricultural sector that enhance the productivity of strategic food crops, reduce the gap between production and consumption, improve adaptation capacity, and mitigate the negative impacts of climate change.
National academic institutions and research bodies have worked on improving adaptation to dry environments and water scarcity, enhancing the adaptive capacity of agroecosystems, and bridging production and food gaps. This has been achieved by evaluating the role of improved varieties approved in Syria and conservation agriculture systems as climate-smart technologies in sustaining agricultural production stability. The results showed an increase in wheat yield (both bread and durum wheat) by approximately 25–30% under conservation agriculture compared to conventional tillage, an improvement in rainwater productivity by about 25%, a 22% increase in the efficiency of mineral fertilizer use, and a 33% increase in farmers’ profit margins due to improved agricultural process efficiency (output/input ratio). Additionally, soil organic matter content improved by 65% through enhanced soil organic carbon sequestration, and soil water content in the root zone increased by about 36%, particularly under rainfed conditions at the Izra’ Research Station in southern Syria. These contributions have helped narrow production and food gaps and improve the adaptive capacity of agricultural systems under climate change
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