Climate change jeopardizes global food and nutrition security by harming crop growth and reducing agricultural productivity. It is estimated that if the surface temperature rises by 1.5 °C, the yields of major crops are expected to decrease in the future by 5.7% (wheat), 4.5% (Rice), 6.3% (Corn), and 6.7% (Soybean), respectively. Climate change-driven natural disasters affected approximately 68.5 million people, with 94% impacted by droughts, floods, and storms, resulting in an economic loss of $131.7 billion in 2018. The pressing need to address climate change emphasizes the importance of developing and adopting sustainable practices to ensure food security for a growing population. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is recognized as a strategy to transform and reorient agricultural systems to enhance food security, build climate resilience, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under changing climatic conditions. CSA emphasizes soil, crop, water, pest control, aquaculture and fisheries, resource use and energy smart practices. CSA practices such as agroforestry, conservation agriculture, and precision farming increase crop yields and enhance resource-use efficiency, especially water and soil management. Additionally, CSA practices contribute to significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through sustainable soil management, low-input farming, and reduced chemical use, making agriculture a key sector for climate change mitigation. CSA showed great success in Sub Saharan Africa, as CSA adoption rate in some countries was quite high e.g. in Mali (39–77%), and Kenya (30–78%). Broadening the adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices faces challenges such as gaps in infrastructure, funding, land tenure security, knowledge, weak overall policy, and institutional support for smallholders. On the other hand, more sophisticated technologies bring new possibilities for accelerating the adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA). The integration of the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), remote sensing, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) enables real-time data capturing and monitoring which enhances resource management and, consequently, better decision-making. These technologies strengthen CSA by improving the rational use of resources and creating more accurate yield estimates and reducing environmental impacts. Unlike the ‘business-as-usual’ approaches, CSA is characterized by an emphasis on the ability to implement flexible, context-driven approaches with strong policies and financing frameworks aiming at supporting change. Adopting climate-smart agriculture practices will strengthen the adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers to climate change impacts while helping achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).