Climate-smart Technologies Research Articles

Factors Influencing Willingness to Adopt Recommended Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc) Agronomic Practices Among Smallholder Farmers in Semi-Arid Lands of Embu County, Kenya

The study assessed the willingness of smallholder farmers to adopt the recommended agronomic practices of Bambara groundnut in semi-arid lands of Embu County. The study was carried out in three sub-counties i.e. Mbeere North, Mbeere South, and Embu West, of Embu County. Data were extracted with the help of a well-structured questionnaire which was distributed to 384 smallholder farmers who were participants at the farmers’ field schools at the three sites. The data were analyzed using means, percentages, and logistic regression. Results of the study revealed that 60.94% of the farmers were willing to adopt the recommended agronomic practices. The willingness of the farmers to adopt the recommended agronomic practices was influenced by farming experience, farm size, extension contact, participation in farmers’ groups, cropping technologies adoption, and intercropping system used by the farmers. The application of the farmer participatory approach is an innovative way of introducing and promoting less popular but sustainably proven agricultural technologies among smallholder farmers. This is a climate-smart strategy to address the challenges of food in the area. Awareness creation among the farmers using the right extension channels can increase farmers’ willingness to adopt climate-smart technologies such as the production of the highly nutritive and drought tolerant Bambara groundnut in dry areas.

Climate-Smart Technologies for Improving Sugarcane Sustainability in India–A Review

Climate-Smart Technologies for Improving Sugarcane Sustainability in India–A Review

Household Baseline Survey on Indigenous Chicken Production Characteristics and Constraints in Busia and Machakos Counties of Kenya

Aims: To collect preliminary baseline data prior to validation of three climate-smart technologies.
 Study Design: A structured questionnaire was employed with participation of actors along the Indigenous Chicken value chain.
 Place and Duration of Study: Study was conducted from May 2019 to June 2020 within four (4) Sub-Counties in Busia and Machakos where high Indigenous Chicken populations are found.
 Methodology: A total of 160 households were surveyed. Targeted household information was recorded viz: distribution of respondents by village in the Counties; farmer socio-economic factors; flock structure and characteristics; disease and parasite constraints, management practices; disease reporting and communication amongst recruited farmers.
 Results: Results revealed that 56.5% of the respondents were male and 43.5% were female wit mean age of 50 years. Most farmers had formal education (97%) and practiced semi extensive poultry farming system (59%). Both indigenous and exotic chicken (62%) were kept for income purposes (82.6%) and only young chicks received feed supplements (55.8%). Newcastle (18.5%) and coccidiosis (16.4%) comprised the two major disease constraints reported. Prevalent bird disease symptoms were diarrhea (24.9%) and coughing (23.1%) while mites (27.9%) and fleas (22.3%) dominated the ecto-parasites. Disease control strategies comprised: vaccines (72.8%), dewormers (44.9%) and ethno-veterinary medicine. Aloe secundiflora and Aloe feroxin, were singled out as locally available and effective means of treating diarrhea (62.9%), respiratory infections (61.9%) and worm control (64.5%). Most Indigenous Chicken farmers (76.8%) failed to report illnesses among their flock and did not access to health services (72.1%). Farmers accessed health information through radio (26.5%) as opposed to mobile phones (1.65%).
 Conclusion: Findings of this survey reveal a low-grade free-range poultry system characterized by poor disease control. This scenario calls for targeted efforts by both government and private stakeholders to improve Indigenous Chicken management and help farmers adopt alternative climatic smart disease control interventions.

Gender Divide in Irish Potato Production among Farming Households in Uasin-Gishu County, Kenya

Women contribute substantively to the agricultural sector and support food security. However, gender-based differences in terms of control and access to financial and productive resources inhibit their sustainability, resilience, and agricultural productivity. This study investigates the gender-based productivity differences in Irish potato production in Uasin-Gishu County, Kenya, and identifies the factors driving this disparity. This study adopted a cross-sectional field survey and simple random sampling to collect quantitative data from 256 respondents (67 female and 189 male farmers). The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition model decomposed the gap into the endowment (differences in resource endowments) and structural (differences in return to the endowment factors) effects. Our study finds a production gap of 11% favoring male farmers, with a structural effect (53 %) larger than the endowment effect (33%). This study confirms that a notable number of factors, including land, education, climate-smart technologies, and fertilizer, cause the gap. Therefore, these factors represent the potential intervention areas in any attempt to reduce the gender gap. Policymakers should devise interventions through a gender lens against using a one-fits-all intervention to uplift female farmers from their low productivity traps. Keywords: Oaxaca-Blinder, Female, male, agricultural, farmers, gap DOI: 10.7176/JESD/13-14-04 Publication date: July 31 st 2022

An economic analysis of impact of climate change in irrigation ecosystem of Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu, India

Climate change refers to long-term changes in the weather pattern and temperature trend. Due to drastic climate change and global warming, the availability of fresh water for irrigation became a major concern. Hence the present study was conducted to study the impact of climate change in canal, ground water and both canal and ground water irrigation ecosystems of Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu, India. For the present study, three blocks were purposively selected from the Tiruchirappalli district. 150 sample farmers were selected from 15 villages. Percentage analysis showed that there was an increase in irrigation intensity in all three-irrigation ecosystems and there was an increased number of irrigation for Sesame and Groundnut in the study area. All three irrigation ecosystems showed a decline in water availability. The irrigated area of major crops in the Tiruchirappalli district declined significantly along with an increase in the area of specific crops namely Sugarcane, Green Gram and Sorghum. The Ricardian model was employed to quantify the impact of climate change on the net income of farmers in all the three irrigation ecosystems. The Ricardian model revealed that both the Kharif season rainfall and the Rabi season rainfall had a positive impact on the net income of farmers in all three-irrigation ecosystems while the Kharif season maximum temperature had a detrimental effect on the net income in both canal and groundwater irrigation ecosystem. Tobit model was used to analyse the factors influencing the adoption of climate-smart technologies in the irrigation ecosystem. Tobit model results revealed that farm size, education and extension contact were the factors influencing the adoption of climate-smart technologies in all the three-irrigation ecosystems. The major constraint in all the three irrigation ecosystems was the labour shortage to adopt climate-smart technologies followed by the consequent yield reduction. Government should plan for climate strategies to enhance the beneficial effects and to mitigate the harmful effects of climate change in the district.

Farm level adaptation to climate change: insight from rice farmers in the coastal region of Bangladesh

ABSTRACT Coastal agriculture and livelihoods worldwide are highly vulnerable to changing climates, and Bangladesh is no exception due to its geophysical location. This paper examines rice farmers’ vulnerability, adaptation strategies, and adaptation barriers to managing climate change impacts in the coastal region of Bangladesh. Survey data were collected from 220 randomly selected rice farmers located across two coastal districts of Bangladesh. A multinomial logit model was applied to analyze determinants of adaptation strategies of rice farmers. The results reveal that flood is the main risk to vulnerability, followed by cyclones and storms surges and saline intrusion. The main adaptation strategies are cultivating flood and salinity tolerant rice varieties, direct seeding of rice, supplementary irrigation, cultivation of non-rice crops that have shorter growth duration, and rearing of livestock, poultry, and duck. The econometric analysis shows that factors such as household head's education, household income, farm size, access to information, and extension services significantly influence the choice of adaptation strategies of the rice farmers. We recommend to increase investment in research, training of farmers, and targeted extension services to disseminate climate-smart technologies and information for minimising vulnerability of the farmers.

Impact of a Climate Smart Technology: Case of the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration on Trees Biodiversity in Sudano-Sahelian Parklands of Kayes and Koulikoro, in Mali

In the Sahel, parklands are degraded due to climate change, human and animal pressure. The objective of this research was to assess the effect of Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) on trees biodiversity in Sudano-sahelian parklands of Kayes and Koulikoro, in Mali. Trees inventory was carried out in agricultural areas. The size of an inventory plot was 2500m². The inventory plots were 500 meters apart. The total area inventoried was 20 hectares. The woody flora of studied areas was made of 27 species of trees. Most represented families were Combretaceae (6 species); Mimosaceae (4 species) and Cesalpiniaceae (3 species). Families, species and genera of trees have varied according to the rural communities. In fact 8, 15, 12 and 11 species have been identified respectively in Tieneguebougou; Farako; Guemou and Bienkolobougou. The characteristic species has varied depending on studied areas with 2, 7, 3 and 3 species in respective localities. The index of regularity showed an identical high level of trees organization in Tieneguebougou, Guemou and Bienkolobougou. But, the index was low in Farako. A comparison of indexes values showed although the floristic composition was low in Tieneguebougou; Guemou and Bienkolobougou, their woody stand organization was further constant. The FMNR has increased the biodiversity of trees and consequently the volume of wood in agrarian areas. This biodiversity of trees contributes to carbon sequestration and strengthens the resilience of populations by providing them with goods (firewood, honey, etc.) and eco-systemic services. FMNR is a climate-smart technology, whose scaling up in Mali is essential.

Are SACU countries self-sufficient in cereals? A dynamic panel analysis

ABSTRACT Most countries within Southern Africa are reliant on cereal imports from South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) region, cereal insecure countries are often import-dependent. Changing income levels, pandemics, climatic conditions and the trade environment all create a wedge and put pressure on food self-sufficiency. This paper uses a robust dynamic approach of a five-country panel to investigate the key determinants of cereal self-sufficiency in the SACU region. Long-term and short-term effects of selected variables are tested using a dynamic panel data model. The key long-term drivers for cereal self-sufficiency are identified and the short-term results reveal that land surface and rainfall are statistically most significant at a level of ten percent. The Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality test suggests that SACU member states could propose further macroeconomic harmonisation and good governance to stabilise national income to cushion against the possible increased cost of cereal production especially in Lesotho, Eswatini and Namibia. The adoption of climate smart technology to safeguard against rainfall variability and reduce the carbon footprint is important to foster an increase in agricultural productivity. A lack of effective harmonised policies may lead to an acceleration in cereal production insecurity and increased poverty.

Effects of common tillage practices on soil moisture retention within a crop rooting zone in a sandy loam soil

Several reports states that global warming is likely to be about 1.0 ℃ above pre-industrial conditions and may even reach 1.5 ℃ between 2030 and 2052. It is therefore envisaged that as a result, climate change will intensify and rainfed arable conditions will become more unpredictable particularly in semi-arid conditions like those of Botswana due to increased heat stress resulting due to evaporative soil water losses. Considering this, several countries have therefore been experimenting with different climate smart technologies with a view to find suitable ones for arable crop production. A study was carried out at Botswana University of Agriculture & Natural Resources (BUAN) fields in 2014 to investigate the effects of different common tillage methods practiced in Botswana and how they influenced the resultant soil moisture retention. A Completely Randomized Block Design field study comprising Mouldboard ploughing, Disc ploughing, Chisel ploughing all at 200 mm depth and a no-till control were compared. During the study, soil moisture content measurements for each tillage method were taken during different sampling dates. The results showed that the no-till method retained more soil moisture when compared to the other 3 tillage methods. It retained 10%, 20% and 29% more moisture than the Disc, Chisel and Mouldboard ploughing respectively.

Understanding the capacity of key actors and their role in the seed potato systems: The case of Eritrea

Understanding the combined effects of the biophysical, socioeconomic, and institutional components of a seed system can help to improve the effectiveness of seed system interventions. This study examined whether and how institutional factors are contributing to the inadequate supply of quality seed potato in Eritrea and identified where and how bottlenecks within the seed systems might improve the efficacy of seed potato interventions. The research methodology included semi-structured interviews with seed potato system actors, focus group discussions with farmers and local experts, a review of seed potato intervention program reports, farm visit reports, and other literature. The study identified some structural system failures that block the effective functioning of the seed potato intervention. The study recommendations include (i) investment in climate-smart technologies (such as water harvesting structures and new varieties) as well as for electricity supply in the high grades seed production center (ii) shifting the traditional supply-driven approach to a demand driven approach for greater participation of the actors in the seed potato intervention (iii) strengthening the human skill of the actors for greater interaction and collaboration between the different government actors and (iv) developing local strategies to encourage decentralized service provision systems. In the longer term, consideration should be given to greater private sector participation in sourcing and supply of seed and other inputs, even as a pilot-scale activity.

Toward improving nitrogen use efficiency in rice production: the socio-economic, climatic and technological determinants of briquette urea adoption

AbstractDeep placement of briquette urea (BU) is environmentally friendly and promotes for better nitrogen use efficiency. Nonetheless, its farm-level adoption is low. This paper contributes to the existing literature on climate-smart technology adoption by examining the factors that affect the BU adoption decision using the national representative Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS-15) dataset consisting of 3384 rice farmers in Bangladesh. BU adoption probability is higher for farms that specialize in rice production, have more assets, use mobile phones for farming and have better access to extension services. Also, empowered women have a higher propensity to adopt BU. However, living in the feed the future zone decreases adoption probability. BU adoption probability is inversely correlated with rainfall and salinity vulnerability, while the opposite is observed for cyclone and drought vulnerability. Compared to the prilled urea (PU) users, the BU adopters applied a significantly lower amount of urea. The adopters produce more and have a relatively higher return, though the differences are insignificant. The relatively high price of BU compared to PU and the associated high labor requirement dampers the benefit of adopting the technology. Reallocation of subsidies from PU toward BU could be an effective way of promoting BU technology.

A comprehensive review on grain legumes as climate‐smart crops: Challenges and prospects

Global food production needs to be doubled by 50% by the middle of 21st century to ensure the food and nutritional security for 9 billion people explicitly in the challenging scenarios such as land degradation, water scarcity and environmental pollution. Climate change is evident worldwide due to exponential rise in atmospheric carbon-di-oxide (eCO2) and temperature (eT). It leads to more complexity in achieving the sustainable food security. Grain legumes are the major sources of dietary proteins with multifaceted impact on ecosystem services. Being the C3 crops climate change (more specifically eCO2) usually has positive impact on physiology and productivity of grain legumes as compared to C4 cereal crops. Grain legumes can allocate the above ground photosynthates into the below ground parts like roots and nodules resulting improvement in plant biomass, rhizospheric activities and higher input (water and nutrients) use efficacy. However, the impact of eT on grain legume is not always favourable. High temperature explicitly in the reproductive phase is extremely deleterious causing flower abortion and abnormal pod filling. Besides, eT impairs the performance of grain legumes because of higher evaporative demand, poor root-microbial association and pest severity. Therefore, both agronomic and genetic interventions must be integrated to raise successful grain legumes and to achieve the targeted yield in the changing climatic conditions. The targeted breeding programmes should be selection of high yielding, biotic stress resistant and abiotic stress tolerant grain legume genotypes that are adapted to eCO2 and eT conditions. Further, integrating the grain legumes with desirable traits to the food production system might impart resilience towards climate change. In this comprehensive review the impacts of climate change (eCO2 and eT) on above and below ground crop growth, productivity, water use efficiency and disease-pest severity are thoroughly discussed. Further, climate smart technologies which make grain legumes as a perfect candidate crop in the future climatic condition are also highlighted.

Vermicompost Amended With Rock Phosphate as a Climate Smart Technology for Production of Organic Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris)

Vermicomposting is being promoted as climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technology for developing organic nutrient sources that can be adopted by smallholder farmers. The amendment of soils with cost-effective and available inorganic fertilizers like rock phosphate (RP) and phosphorus-solubilizing microorganisms should also be promoted. Our study investigated the seedling and maturity growth of Swiss chard. The crop maturity study investigated the effect of amending an Oxisol soil with three phosphorus (P) sources applied at three different rates (0, 25, and 50 mg P kg−1 soil), cow and pig manures, and P-solubilizing bacteria resulting in the following treatments: control (soil), soil + RP alone, soil + RP-enriched cow manure vermicompost (VC) with phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria (PSB), and soil + RP-enriched pig manure vermicompost (VP) with PSB. The study investigated the growth performance and accumulation of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), and lead (Pb) in the edible parts of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. valgaris var. Cicla). The seedlings were grown using pine bark compost and the three P sources (VC, VP, and RP) at five different application rates (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%). The results revealed that the use of 50 mg P kg−1 as VP gave the highest fresh weight of 39.78 g, leaf area of 240.41 cm2, and a total P in tissues of 326.91 mg kg−1 at 8 weeks after transplanting. The 50 mg P kg−1 application as VC resulted in a higher Zn content of 8.50 mg kg−1, which was above the permissible level. These results suggest that the best treatment mixture for establishing fully matured Swiss chard was the 50 mg P kg−1 as VP. Therefore, pig manure vermicompost that has been inoculated with phosphorus-solubilizing microorganisms is a promising CSA technology that can improve organic vegetable production by smallholder farmers.

Conceptualizing and Validating a Framework of Climate Smart Village in Flood Affected Ecosystem of West Bengal

Climate change is the major issue affecting the survival of human kind in the present day scenario. Farmers are the most vulnerable communities to these changes. Many climate smart technologies were devised and tried to promote through traditional extension system. But their adoption rate is very poor doe to multiple socio-economic and technological factors. Therefore focus extension approach were thought of and concept of climate smart village was introduced to promote climate smart technologies. But the past efforts on establishing climate smart villages were revolved around only on technological dimension ignoring socio-economic dimension of climate change. Hence, the present study conceptualizes the climate smart village integrating technological as well as social factors. The concept has been experimented during 2016-2021 at field level in the village Singimari, Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal in convergence mode with other related stakeholders line Krishi vigyan Kendra (KVK), state agricultural department, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), NGOs and farming communities. The findings revealed that adoption level of climate smart technologies and practices has increased significantly after establishment of climate smart village. Therefore, more number of climate smart villages should be established specially in vulnerable ecosystem for better adaptation to climate change.

Profitability and Farmer Acceptability of Selected Climate Smart Technologies and Practices for Maize-Beans Production in Drought-Prone Areas, Uganda

Climate change is increasingly affecting farm-level decisions on when to plant and which climate smart agriculture (CSA) options to use. This study was conducted to determine the profitability and farmer acceptability of different CSA options for maize-bean production in drought-prone areas of Uganda. It was conducted on-farm in Rakai and Nakasongola districts during 2020 and 2021. Variables included: planting date (early vs late); varieties (common beans: NABE 4 and NAROBEAN 2, and maize: Longe 5 and Bazooka); intercropping versus pure stand; and fertiliser use (manure, Diammonium phosphate (DAP) or combination). The experimental design was split-split plot, replicated six times. Over two years, early planting caused 16% and up to 46% higher yields of maize and beans, respectively, than late planting, resulting in 14% - 28% and 18% - 43% higher Benefit/Cost (B/C) ratio for maize and beans, respectively. Intercropping reduced maize and beans yield by 16% - 25% and 52% - 57%, respectively. The B/C was highest for sole maize; intercropping was more profitable than sole beans. Fertilizer (DAP) was most profitable when Bazooka was early-planted as sole crop followed by intercrop. For late planted-crop, manure was better. These practices were more beneficial when applied simultaneously for both crops excluding bean variety. Farmers’ lessons stressed the importance of early planting and fertilizer use; however, majority indicated they were to adopt more than two of the practices tested.

Private Sector Promotion of Climate-Smart Technologies: Experimental Evidence from Nigeria

Private Sector Promotion of Climate-Smart Technologies: Experimental Evidence from Nigeria

Constrains and determinants for improvement of rural livelihood in the coastal community of Bangladesh

Agriculture farmers face abundant risk for crop cultivation at rural area of Bangladesh. About 85% of population in coastal region of Bangladesh, Dumki upazila, related to agriculture for livelihood directly or indirectly. To mitigate the problem facing by the farmers, there are available a lots of climate smart technologies. However, different demographic, socio-economic, production, management and post-harvest determinants influences the adoption of these modern technologies. This study focuses on the identification of farmer’s socio-economic condition, their knowledge, attitude, and perception on improvement of existing livelihood based on selected personal and demographic variables. Both primary and secondary data has been collected from different sources to fulfill the objectives. The results of this study indicated that the farmer’s age, education level and farming experiences significantly influence the adoption of modern technologies. Farmer’s knowledge, perception and attitude differ on different demographic condition like, age, sex, education, farm size, farming year. Results also showed that lacking of quality seeds, lacking/high price of labor and other inputs for crop production hastens the adoption of modern technologies. This study provides some recommendation which might impacts on betterment of farmers’ occupational condition by establishing proper policy and legislation both in local and national level. Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. 2021, 7 (4), 348-358

Land Tenurial System Influence Among Smallholder Farmers’ Climate Smart Agriculture Technologies Adoption: Sub-Sahara Africa. A Review Paper

Climate variability and extremes are very a great deal affecting lives in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nevertheless, where people are poor and vulnerable like in this region, these factors can add greatly to the hardship of their lives. Over the years climate versions and climate change are amongst the challenges the world face together with Sub-Sahara Africa nations. Climate-smart agriculture technologies provide efficient answers (i.e. increased productivity more advantageous family income, resilience and decreased greenhouse gasoline emissions). Smallholder farmers are the primary and secondary pillars of the agricultural sectors’, especially in low-income countries. Therefore, their involvement in climate change mitigation and adaption moves is imperative. Climate-smart agriculture applied sciences are looking for a manageable and greater secure earnings sustainability. This study aims to provide an overview of how the land tenure system affects climate-smart agriculture technologies adoption in Sub-Sahara Africa countries. Based on findings from selected articles, socioeconomic factors (e.g. access to credit, poor extension services, and inputs) and institutional factors (e.g. land tenure system, land scarcity) are major challenges to climate-smart agriculture technologies adoption, the major message is site-specific due to heterogeneity of smallholder farmers. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning land-use security is a critical factor of climate-smart technologies adoption among smallholder farmers. Full-time farming is a commitment that positively beautifies the adoption of climate clever agriculture mainly if the land is tightly closed and some practices take greater than one year to comprehend advantages (i.e. to achieve economic and environmental benefits). Keywords: Climate-smart agriculture, climate, agriculture, land, tenure, adoption, sustainability. DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/11-23-03 Publication date: December 31 st 2021

Constraints for adopting climate-smart agricultural practices among smallholder farmers in Southeast Kenya

CONTEXTClimate uncertainty challenges the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Awareness of climate-smart agricultural (CSA) practices and access to climate-smart technologies are key factors in determining the utilization of farm and land management practices that may simultaneously decrease greenhouse gas emissions, increase the adaptive capacity of farmers, and improve food security. OBJECTIVEUnderstanding how biophysical and socio-economic constraints affect the adoption of CSA practices and technologies plays an essential role in policy and intervention planning. Our objective was to identify these constraints among smallholder farmers in Taita Taveta County of Southeast Kenya across varying agro-ecological zones. METHODSWe conducted a Climate-Smart Agriculture Rapid Appraisal that consisted of four mostly gender-disaggregated smallholder farmer workshops (102 participants), a household survey (65 participants), key-informant interviews (16 informants), and four transect walks. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSOur results indicate a dissonance in the perceived awareness of CSA practices and utilization of CSA technologies between state actors and farmers. State actors emphasize lack of awareness as a barrier to adoption, while farmers express knowledgeability regarding environmental change and climate-smart practices but are confined by limitations and restrictions posed by e.g. market mechanisms, land tenure issues, and lack of resources. These restrictions include e.g. uncertainty in product prices, lack of land ownership, scarcity of arable land, and simply lack of capital or willingness to invest. Farmers are further challenged by the emergence of new pests and human–wildlife conflicts. Our research findings are based on the contextual settings of Taita Taveta County, but the results indicate that adopting CSA practices and utilizing technologies, especially in sub-Saharan regions that are heavily based on subsistence agriculture with heterogenous agro-ecological zones, require localized and gender-responsive solutions in policy formation and planning of both agricultural extension services and development interventions that take into account the agency of the farmers. SIGNIFICANCEThis study contributes to existing climate change adaptation research by increasing our understanding of how physical and socio-economic constraints can affect the adoption of new farm and land management practices, and how CSA-based intervention strategies could be restructured by local stakeholders to be more inclusive.

Climate smart technology for storage of fresh pro-vitamin A bio-fortified cassava

Climate change is a problem affecting food security across the globe. The climate change effect of rising temperatures can be mitigated by using climate-smart crops such as cassava and climate-smart technology such as an Evaporative Cooling Structure (ECS). A 150 kg capacity Metal-in-Block evaporative cooling structure was designed and constructed to investigate its suitability for storage of fresh cassava roots. The postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD), weight loss, and deterioration rate of 12 months old biofortified cassava roots (TMS 01/1368) were evaluated, while the performance of the evaporative cooling structure was evaluated in terms of temperature drop, humidity increase, and cooling effectiveness. Results showed that the cassava was still in good condition and quality with no sign of PPD, while the total weight loss was 8.7%. The average cooling efficiency of the evaporative cooling structure was 102.7%. The result showed a drop in temperature from an average of 31.97–25.7°C and an increase in relative humidity from an average of 68.96–87.12%. The evaporative cooler was able to preserve freshly harvested cassava for at least 8 weeks. Storage of cassava in an evaporative cooling structure is thus recommended as an effective technology for medium scale cassava storage.