Why climate smart agriculture? Climate-smart agriculture has three objectives that make it a holistic and equitable solution for poverty in the age of climate change:

  • Increased adaptability of farmers to changing climate conditions
  • Mitigation or lessening of greenhouse gas emissions caused by farming
  • Increasing productivity, helping farmers earn a profit

Thanks to the generosity of donors, foundations, and a special partnership with Rick Steves, families in Agros villages in Nicaragua completed their first year of this new program in the summer of 2020. Families attended trainings that taught them to adapt to our changing world, be more environmentally friendly, and earn more to support their families.

Results were impressive:

  • Chemical fertilizer usage reduced by 40%
  • Pesticide usage reduced by 50 – 75%
  • Cost of farming reduced by 15 – 32%
  • Yields increased by 18%
  • Completion of a nursery with capacity to produce 50,000 plants to reforest watershed areas

The climate smart program also established a vermicompost production and training facility that has produced more than 50 tons of compost; built a water irrigation system; and installed the first hydroponic module in the Matagalpa region. As a result, families have seen the number of annual harvests increase from one to three—improving their crop yields by 18 percent and their household incomes by 15 percent.

Read the full article about Agros by Alberto Solano, Guillermo Jiménez, and Sierra Golden at Global Washington.