IISD Food Security and Climate Change Initiative: Integrating Mitigation and Adaptation in the Agriculture Sector

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues for an integrated approach to climate change in the agriculture sector, moving away from treating mitigation and adaptation as separate policy goals. It identifies specific agricultural management practices that provide a 'triple dividend' of increased food security, improved adaptive capacity, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, while outlining the financial, institutional, and technical barriers to their adoption.

• The agricultural sector is a significant contributor to climate change, directly responsible for approximately 14 per cent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with an additional 17 per cent resulting indirectly from land-use changes such as deforestation for agricultural expansion.
• Many agricultural practices offer synergistic benefits for both mitigation and adaptation, often by increasing soil carbon content, which comprises an estimated 89 per cent of the sector's global mitigation potential. Examples include: - Cropland management: Reduced or zero tillage, agroforestry, use of cover crops, and integrated nutrient management. - Soil and water management: Irrigation, water harvesting, and improved water management in rice production to reduce methane. - Livestock management: Diversifying feeds and implementing rotational grazing or destocking. - Land restoration: Revegetation and erosion control on degraded lands. - Food system efficiency: Reducing food loss (common in developing countries) and food waste (common in developed countries).
• Widespread adoption of integrated agricultural practices is hindered by several barriers: - Financial: High upfront costs for infrastructure and limited access to credit, insurance, and markets for smallholders. - Institutional: Weakened agricultural extension services and conflicting or undefined land tenure laws. - Technical: Difficulties in establishing baselines and high costs for measuring and monitoring emission reductions. - Knowledge: A gap in context-specific research regarding trade-offs and benefits for different landscapes.
• To overcome these barriers, the report suggests national policy options including the coordination of mitigation, adaptation, and development strategies to avoid conflicting goals, the strengthening of agricultural extension services, and the clarification of land-tenure laws.
• At the international level, the report recommends that the UNFCCC promote an agreement on agriculture that covers both adaptation and mitigation, potentially through a work programme under the Subsidiary Body on Scientific and Technical Advice (SBSTA) and ensuring the Climate Fund does not compartmentalize the two objectives.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). IISD Food Security and Climate Change Initiative: Integrating Mitigation and Adaptation in the Agriculture Sector. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/food_security_agri_mitigation.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. IISD Food Security and Climate Change Initiative: Integrating Mitigation and Adaptation in the Agriculture Sector. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/food_security_agri_mitigation.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=IISD Food Security and Climate Change Initiative: Integrating Mitigation and Adaptation in the Agriculture Sector |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/food_security_agri_mitigation.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndiisd, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{IISD Food Security and Climate Change Initiative: Integrating Mitigation and Adaptation in the Agriculture Sector}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/food_security_agri_mitigation.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }