Climate smart agriculture : beyond the theoretical definition

Abstract

It has been long recognized that effective climate policies need to account for economic, environmental and social impacts, exemplifying the notion of “triple-wins”. In the context, of rapid population growth and urbanization rate, this rationale has acquired even more impetus through the notion of climate smart agriculture applied to urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA), i.e. farming practices that take place within or on the fringe of a city. Notwithstanding, this increasing popularity of UPA as climate-smart strategy, substantial challenges still remain, especially in terms of impacts’ assessment. This research aims to contribute to fill existing knowledge gaps, through the development of triple-wins comparative analysis, enabling the practical investigation of UPA´s impacts, and thus a better understanding of whether and to which extent these farming practices can support the building of more resilient and sustainable cities in low and middle-income countries. Accordingly, it builds upon a multi-methods research design comprising of: qualitative content analysis, case study research, and a multiple criteria decision analysis method, the PROMETHEE II.