Agriculture is both a victim of climate change and part of the solution, and governments, lenders and development partners now ask that investments show their climate logic. Smallholder systems face shorter growing seasons and more frequent drought and flood, while food prices and nutrition outcomes depend on the whole chain from field to plate. Practitioners need more than a list of techniques; they need a way to choose and sequence them.

The Professional Climate-Smart Agriculture & Food Systems Training Course connects farm-level practice to system-level thinking. It begins with climate trends and risk assessment for crop, livestock and fisheries systems, then reviews proven practices for soil, water, crop and livestock management. Later modules deal with climate information and early warning, insurance and credit products, value chain resilience, post-harvest handling, gender and inclusion, and the policy and finance settings that make adoption possible. Participants also learn basic ways to estimate adaptation benefits and greenhouse gas effects of a practice.

Work is based on field scenarios and project case files from East and Southern Africa. Participants analyse a farming system, draft a prioritised practice package and outline how it would be financed, delivered and monitored. They conclude with a presentation of a climate-smart action plan for their own programme or organisation.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Explain the principles of climate-smart agriculture and how it links to food system outcomes.
• Assess climate risks and vulnerabilities for crop, livestock and fishery systems.
• Select soil, water, crop and livestock practices suited to a particular agro-ecological zone.
• Use climate information services and early warning in farm and programme decisions.
• Evaluate the costs, benefits and trade-offs of adaptation options.
• Design measures that strengthen value chains and reduce post-harvest loss.
• Identify finance, insurance and policy instruments that support scaling.
• Develop a climate-smart project concept with clear indicators.

The course is intended for practitioners and decision makers in agriculture and food systems, including:

• Agronomists and agricultural extension officers
• County and national agriculture and livestock officers
• Programme managers in NGOs and development partner projects
• Agribusiness, cooperative and farmer organisation leaders
• Agricultural lenders and insurance product developers
• Researchers and academics in agriculture and environment
• Food security and nutrition specialists
• Climate change and environment officers working with farming communities

Participants leave the course with:

• A climate risk screening matrix for a chosen farming system.
• A prioritised package of climate-smart practices with costs and expected benefits.
• A scaling pathway covering extension, finance, inputs and markets.
• A short list of indicators for monitoring adaptation and productivity.
• A draft project concept note ready to refine with colleagues or funders.
• Contacts and ideas from peers working in different agro-ecological zones.

The programme is grounded in the field realities of African farming systems. It includes:

• Illustrated lectures with photographs and data from smallholder settings
• Field scenarios in which groups choose and defend practice packages
• Participatory tools such as seasonal calendars, vulnerability maps and cost-benefit tables
• Project case files from East and Southern Africa
• Concept note clinics with feedback from the facilitator and peers

Participants who complete the five days of study and the practical assignments receive a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion issued by Vision Reach Global Consultancy.