Climate smart crop-livestock integrated farming as a sustainable agricultural strategy for humid tropical islands

This seven-year study, assessed the implementation of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices within an integrated farming system (IFS) combining crops and livestock on a humid tropical island. The results demonstrated that CSA practices—such as crop diversification, raised beds, crop rotation, green manure, rainwater harvesting, and sustainable land management—significantly increased productivity (from 2.8 to 35.6 tons per hectare) and net returns for smallholder farmers. Furthermore, they improved the overall sustainability of the system and contributed to climate change mitigation through reduced greenhouse gas emissions and enhanced carbon sequestration. The findings highlight IFS as an effective strategy to strengthen food security and resilience for small-scale farmers in the face of climate change.