NCSA Center | Yezin Agricultural University (Official Website)

NATIONAL CLIMATE SMART AGRICULTURE CENTER

With the purpose of building the capacity of farming and forestry stakeholders to mitigate climate change and improve land condition by adopting climate smart agriculture and sustainable forest management policies and practices, National Climate Smart Agriculture Center of YAU was established in 17th August, 2018 by the coordination efforts of Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MoNREC) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Irrigation (MoALI). NCSA Center is responsible for overall coordination of CSA initiatives, providing and disseminating information related to climate smart agriculture, vetting training programs, increasing access to national and international expertise, and generating linkages and alignment among concerned institutions and with national strategies related to climate smart agriculture and climate change. NCSA Center aims to be a regional center of excellent on climate change, agriculture and nature natural resource, leading CSA initiatives and building capacities of concerned Government personnel and other stakeholders on CSA as an effective tool for climate change mitigation and adaptation in Myanmar.

NCSA Center Goals

The NCSA Center have three objectives of (i) coordinating development and packaging of best practices for CSA systems, information and technologies, (ii) demonstrating and disseminating knowledge on CSA and sustainable land management (SLM) technologies and practices and (iii) conducting advocacy activities related to CSA/SLM and climate change in coordination with appropriate organizations (DoA, DAR, YAU and other relevant organizations), and takes the following responsibilities in Myanmar Agriculture Sector.

Technical Advisory, Monitoring and Evaluation on CSA works of concerned departments / organizations
Training and Education Programs (Farm level to Postgraduate level)
Coordination and Implementation of CSA Research and Projects with appropriate organizations
Knowledge Sharing and CSA Database Management

Management Board of NCSA Center

In order to operationalize the CSA Center effectively in a sustainable manner, a National CSA Technical Support Group has been formed and chaired by YAU. This working group represents a national cohort of Myanmar’s best experts associated with CSA/SLM approaches including representation from YAU, Department of Agriculture (DoA), Department of Agriculture Research (DAR), Department of Planning (DoP), Department of Agricultural Land Management and Statistics (DALMS), Forest Department (FD), Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, FAO and inline development partner organizations. The main objective of the TSG is to coordinate among the relevant stakeholders, make strategic decisions and guide effective operationalization of the NCSA Center.

Currently, its research programs are mainly focused on agricultural adaptation strategies and practices including adaptation options, climate vulnerability, adaptive capacity and perception of farming households and community, mitigation strategies such as crop physiology and GHG emission, crop breeding programs on stress resistant and tolerant varieties for the stress-prone environment, etc. Based on its research programs and also networking and collaborating with inline institutions within the country and or international organizations, NCSA Center wants to be a knowledge hub and a database center of climate change, agriculture and environment, especially climate smart agriculture, sustainable forest management, sustainable land management.

Training Programs Conducted by NCSA Center

Carbon Balance Appraisal of Projects and Policies: Ex-Ante Carbon Balance Tool , 2018
Farm Level Training on Climate Smart Agriculture, 2018
Training Programs scheduled by NCSA Center
Capacity building on Agro meteorology (TSG members and NCSA center staff)
Capacity development on Carbon Balance Appraisal of Projects and Policies: Ex-Ante Carbon Balance Tool (Ex-Act) (Concerned Stakeholder)
Training of trainers on Green House Gas Collection and Measurement (Development Partners and NGOs)
Series of training of trainers on climate smart agriculture (Local DoA staff from different agro ecological zone)

Research Conducted by NCSA Center

Field Research

2018 Dry Season: Role of Azolla as a Biofertilizer in Addressing Climate Smart Agriculture
2018 Wet Season: Effect of Rice Varieties on Methane Emission
2019 Dry Season: Effects of Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and Rice Varieties on Methane Emission from a Paddy Field
2019 Wet Season: Effects of Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and Rice Varieties on Methane Emission from a Paddy Field
2020 Dry Season: Effects of Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and Rice Varieties on Methane Emission from a Paddy Field
2020 Wet Season: Effects of Water Management Technique and Different Nitrogen Sources on Methane Emission from a Paddy Field

Social Science Research

Farmers’ Awareness on Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Current Farming Practices in Selected Area of Myanmar
Role of Indigenous Knowledge in Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for Agriculture: A case study in Middle of Myanmar
Contribution of agroforestry to climate change adaptation and livelihood development: A case study in Ywar-ngan Township, Shan State, Myanmar

Consolidation and broadening the activities and functions of the NCSA Center

Seven major responsibilities for the operationalization of NCSA Center in operationalized phase are

Leading daily operations of NCSA Center during the project period as well as beyond project period
Collection and Sharing of Documents of CSA/ SLM
Resource Mobilization (Allocation of HR to ensure effective operations of NCSA Center)
Represent NCSA Center in review and implementation of ADS and CSA Strategy as necessary
Liaison / Networking with all other organizations / projects talking actively about CSA and creation of a CSA database.
Organize proposed and ad-hoc trainings, workshops, field visits (monitoring and exchange visits) related to CSA/SLM techniques and practices as necessary
Provide the secretariat function to all CSA activities and operation of NCSA Center