East Africa stands at a crossroads. With rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and growing food insecurity, the region’s agricultural policies are under increasing scrutiny. On one side stands Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA)—a donor-backed, technology-driven approach promising productivity, resilience, and emissions reductions. On the other, critics decry a continuation of “climate-stupid” practices—input-intensive, top-down models that have deepened dependency, degraded soils, and failed smallholder farmers.

So, which is it? Are East African nations on the brink of a green productivity revolution, or are they doubling down on a failing model?

The promise of climate-smart agriculture

CSA has gained traction across East Africa, buoyed by international donors and development agencies. Backed by organizations like the World Bank and AICCRA, CSA promotes practices such as drought-resistant seeds, conservation tillage, agroforestry, and precision irrigation. The goal is a “triple win”: increase yields, build resilience, and reduce emissions.

In Kenya, for example, the Climate-Smart Agriculture Project aims to boost productivity while enhancing climate resilience among smallholders. Similarly, AICCRA has worked with the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) to scale CSA across the continent, integrating soil health and climate adaptation into national strategies.

Policy support is growing. The East Africa Climate Change Policy explicitly prioritizes adaptation and encourages climate-smart practices. CSA Investment Plans (CSAIPs) are being developed to align national agricultural strategies with climate goals.

The critic’s corner: “Climate-stupid” agriculture

Despite the fanfare, many African farmers and civil society groups are sounding the alarm. They argue that what passes as “climate-smart” is often just a repackaging of the Green Revolution model—heavy on synthetic fertilizers, hybrid seeds, and corporate control.

The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) has been particularly vocal. In a scathing critique, they point to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) as a case study in failure. Despite billions in funding, AGRA has not delivered on its promises. In fact, food insecurity has increased by 31% in AGRA-targeted countries, and crop diversity has declined as farmers abandon resilient indigenous crops like millet and sorghum for maize monocultures.

Farmers are calling this “climate-stupid agriculture”—a model that enriches agribusinesses while undermining local knowledge, seed sovereignty, and ecological resilience. With fertilizer prices doubling or tripling in recent years, the input-dependent model is becoming economically and environmentally unsustainable.

Where policy fails: The missing middle

The crux of the issue lies not in the concept of CSA itself, but in how it is implemented. Too often, policies are top-down, technocratic, and detached from local realities. Farmers—especially women and smallholders—are rarely at the table when decisions are made.

A recent study in Ghana found that while farmers appreciated CSA’s potential for food security and income, they lacked training and information on how to implement it sustainably. Environmental stewardship was often seen as a secondary concern, reflecting a narrow, yield-first narrative that dominates policy discourse.

Moreover, finance flows remain skewed. Only 4% of global climate finance goes to agrifood systems, and a mere fifth of that reaches smallholders—the very people on the frontlines of climate change.

Toward a smarter, Afrocentric approach

So, what would a truly climate-smart agricultural policy look like for East Africa?

1. Farmer-Led Innovation: Invest in farmer-managed knowledge systems, such as AFSA’s network of agroecological hubs producing low-cost bio-fertilizers and pesticides.
2. Policy Coherence: Align CSA with agroecological principles, ensuring that productivity gains do not come at the expense of biodiversity, soil health, or social equity.
3. Inclusive Finance: Redirect climate finance toward smallholders, women, and youth, supporting resilience credits, carbon markets, and climate insurance tailored to local needs.
4. Seed Sovereignty: Protect and promote indigenous seed systems, ensuring farmers’ rights to save, exchange, and develop their own varieties.
5. Youth Engagement: Integrate CSA and climate education into agricultural curricula, vocational training, and youth entrepreneurship programs.

Conclusion: Smartening up or stupidifying down?

The answer lies not in rejecting CSA outright, but in reclaiming its soul. East Africa doesn’t need a greenwash of old models—it needs contextual, inclusive, and ecologically sound agricultural policies.

As Leonida Odongo of Haki Nawiri Afrika aptly put it:

“We have the expertise. The best people to solve problems in Africa are people from the continent itself.”

The choice is clear: climate-smart must mean farmer-smart, ecology-smart, and future-smart. Anything less is just climate-stupid.

References
https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2022/09/12/african-farmers-to-uk-stop-funding-climate-stupid-agriculture-on-our-continent/

https://afsafrica.org/press-release-our-africa-our-agriculture/

https://aiccra.cgiar.org/thematic-work/climate-smart-agriculture-policies-and-priorities

https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climate-smart-agriculture
https://wfpc.sanford.duke.edu/research/monetizing-resilience-to-mobilize-climate-capital-understanding-the-value-of-climate-smart-agriculture-in-east-africa/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666683923000123
https://edepot.wur.nl/568380

https://africanlii.org/akn/aa-au/doc/briefing-paper/2023-10-24/scaling-climate-smart-agriculture-for-accelerated-agri-food-systems-transformation-in-africa/eng@2023-10-24/source.pdf

https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/440241486868444705/kenya-climate-smart-agriculture-project