Key Challenges and Financial Needs to Promote Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) in Pakistan: A Case Study of Hunza, Pakistan

The undertaking of current research is to explore key challenges and financial needs to promote climate-smart agriculture (CSA) in Pakistan: a case study of Hunza (Latitude: 36° 18′60.00″N, Longitude: 74° 38′ 59.99″ E and altitude of 8200 ft.), Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. The goal of the climate-smart agriculture (CSA) notion is to better integrate agricultural development and meteorological responsiveness. It aims to ensure food security, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and strengthen resilience in the context of a changing climate. A field-based survey was conducted by visiting farmers in the Hunza region, i.e., Karimabad, Aliabad, Hyderabad. The collected data sample was heterogeneous as respondents were of different socio-economic and educational backgrounds. Results showed that climate change in the form of rise in temperature and intense rainfall resulted in the shift in the crop sowing and harvesting timings, decline in crop productivity, and occurrence of insect, pests, and disease attacks. Furthermore, farmers’ knowledge about climate-smart agricultural practices and technologies was very limited. A survey also reports that farmers of this region are far behind than other farmers in the country. This could be due to poor connections between farmers, researchers, and extension workers, unavailability of modern machinery, lack of support from relevant government departments, and poor finance facilities. Hence it is important to provide all facilities to the farming community of this region so that farmers can have adequate adaptation and mitigation strategies against climate change.