Integrated Pathways for Climate-Smart Food Systems: Innovation, Adoption, and Inclusive Resilience

Integrated Pathways for Climate-Smart Food Systems: Innovation, Adoption, and Inclusive Resilience

Climate-smart food systems are an evolving field at the intersection of agriculture, technology, social inclusion, and climate resilience. Current demands on food systems extend beyond boosting productivity; societies now expect them to withstand climate shocks, sustain livelihoods, reduce environmental degradation, and ensure equitable access to benefits. However, translating the promise of climate-smart innovations into practical outcomes depends not only on technology itself but also on how effectively solutions are embedded in local contexts, adopted by diverse communities, and supported by enabling institutions. It also requires understanding the pathways through which food systems may evolve under changing climate risks, socio-economic conditions, policy priorities, and institutional capacities.

Recent evidence from across regions highlights that while advanced digital farming tools and integrated smart agriculture can deliver productivity and efficiency gains — as exemplified by smart soybean systems in Korea — the broader transformation of food systems also hinges on approaches that empower women and marginalized groups, promote nutrition, and address structural barriers such as access to credit, education, and complementary practices. Experiences from India and Uganda further demonstrate that progress is greatest when climate-smart agriculture integrates participatory design, inclusive resource management, and systemic support for adoption and diffusion.

This Research Topic aims to advance an integrated understanding of climate-smart food systems by spotlighting links between innovation, adoption, and inclusive resilience. The central objective is to interrogate how technical advances — from digital agriculture and smart mechanization to climate-resilient livestock and aqua-horticulture — can be successfully adopted, scaled, and adapted by smallholder and resource-constrained farming systems. A complementary focus is on how scenarios, foresight analysis, and adaptation pathways can help assess the robustness of climate-smart options under alternative future climate, market, policy, and socio-economic conditions. Key research questions include: What institutional and socio-economic factors most shape adoption at farm or community level? How can gender-responsive or community-led strategies increase equitable access and impact? What are the trade-offs and synergies between productivity, sustainability, and social outcomes? Which pathways can support inclusive transformation while managing uncertainty, distributional impacts, and long-term resilience?


Welcome contributions include:

· Integrated climate-smart production systems for crops, livestock, aquaculture, or mixed farming

· Adoption, diffusion, and scaling of climate-smart practices and technologies in smallholder contexts

· Digital and precision agriculture for enhanced resilience, labor efficiency, and sustainability

· Climate-smart livestock management and innovations in agroecological or aqua-horticultural approaches

· Gender-responsive, community-based, or socially inclusive adaptation strategies

· Scenario-based analyses, foresight approaches, and adaptation pathways for climate-smart food systems

Assessment of climate-smart options under future climate, socio-economic, market, or policy conditions

· Institutional, financial, and policy drivers that enable or constrain uptake

· Trade-offs and synergies among productivity, resilience, environmental health, and equity

· Robust case studies, comparative analyses, policy reviews, and mixed-methods research