Sustainable Agriculture Strategies for Climate Adaptation and Mitigation: A Comprehensive Guide

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has emerged as a transformative framework for simultaneously achieving food security, climate adaptation, and greenhouse gas mitigation goals. However, the social dimensions of CSA—particularly gender equity, social inclusion, and the differentiated experiences of marginalised communities—remain insufficiently integrated into both research and practice. This review synthesises the burgeoning literature on gender and social equity in CSA, drawing on peer-reviewed studies and authoritative institutional reports. Searches were conducted over literature published between 2006 and 2026. The analysis reveals persistent gender gaps in access to land, credit, information, and extension services that undermine women's full participation in and benefit from CSA practices. Structural inequalities rooted in patriarchal norms, discriminatory land tenure systems, and male-biased technology transfer mechanisms perpetuate women's vulnerability to climate change whilst simultaneously constraining agricultural productivity gains. Social equity concerns extend beyond gender to encompass smallholder farmers, indigenous communities, and other socially marginalised groups whose knowledge systems, livelihood assets, and adaptive capacities are frequently overlooked in mainstream CSA programming. The review identifies key institutional, financial, and policy barriers to equitable CSA, examines regional perspectives from sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and Latin America, and charts promising pathways towards gender-transformative and socially inclusive CSA systems. Findings indicate that Sub-Saharan Africa’s smallholder farming systems face climate risks that disproportionately constrain women’s access to climate-smart agriculture. In South Asia, gender gaps in access to extension services are particularly pronounced, as cultural norms restrict women’s interactions with male extension agents and limit participation in mixed-gender farmer groups. Significant gender gaps in agricultural resource access persist in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially among rural indigenous and Afro-descendent communities, where customary norms and ethnic marginalisation exacerbate gender-based disadvantages. These findings underscore the urgency of adopting an intersectional lens in CSA research and policy, recognising that transformative agricultural change is achievable only when it confronts the structural social inequalities that perpetuate food insecurity and climate vulnerability.