Smallholder agriculture is facing a myriad of challenges in the wake of a changing climate. To counter this, several measures have been suggested in attempts to reduce the vulnerability of smallholder farmers who are the worst affected by changes in climate. However, despite these interventions not much improvement in agricultural production has been realized by the smallholder farmers. This suggests the need for more alternative options for these resource poor farmers. One such intervention is climate smart agriculture (CSA), which is probably one of the most viable and sustainable options. It offers both mitigation and adaptation measures to climate changes. However, problems of its viability and sustainability have been raised by several authors who argue that there are barriers, limits and costs, which may hinder its adoption by farmers. This review discusses the achievements attained so far in improving the productivity of smallholder agricultural soils under changing climatic conditions. The review also looks at the prospect of CSA with regards to South African smallholder agriculture.