Crop Modelling: The Way towards Climate Smart Farming

Abstract

The growing challenges of climate change, coupled with the unprecedented rise in global food demand, calls for transformative strategies in agricultural systems to ensure long-term food security without compromising ecological sustainability. Climate-smart farming has emerged as an approach that enables farmers to maximize the potential of available resources with the main aim of increasing productivity and improving efficiency of applied inputs, and integration of emerging technologies paving way to a greener and climate-resilient agricultural future. Aligning with the objectives of climate-smart agriculture, crop models have proven to be invaluable tools for achieving food security. These mathematical models simulate crop growth under varying environmental conditions and management practices. Evolving from models which was used to study the complex weather–soil–plant interactions, to sophisticated operational systems for farm-level decision-making, crop models play a key role in optimization of resource use, sustainable management and to strengthen climate resilience. This review underscores the critical role of crop modelling in promoting climate-smart agriculture, highlighting its applications in yield forecasting, resource optimization, pest and disease management, and climate change adaptation. It also emphasizes future prospects for integrating emerging technologies to improve model accuracy, thereby supporting sustainable, resilient, and climate-smart agriculture.