Review on the opportunities and challenges to implement climate smart agriculture practice in Ethiopia

Developing the agricultural sector is the most effective way to reduce poverty in nations where agriculture is a key economic sector. However, climate change continues to pose a significant threat to agriculture, impacting food security and productivity. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) seeks to sustainably increase productivity, improve resilience (adaptation), and minimize or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation), while also supporting national food security and development goals. Despite its advantages, the adoption of advanced CSA technologies is still insufficient to meet the growing demands for food production and greenhouse gas reduction. Therefore, this review assess the opportunities and challenges associated with traditional and new climate smart agriculture practices in Ethiopia. The data employed in this review were obtained from secondary sources. Despite their opportunities, the smallholder farmers face barriers to implement climate smart agricultural practices such as limited arable land, land tenure issues, insufficient knowledge of climate smart agriculture, slow return on investment, and insufficient political support. To promote wider implementation, it is recommended to explore measures such as providing capacity building opportunities and financial support, and developing special policies tailored to smallholder farmers.