Climate change poses serious challenges to agrarian communities in northern Nigeria, where smallholder farmers are increasingly confronted with declining rainfall, frequent droughts, and soil degradation, all of which threaten food security and livelihoods. This study examines how climate-smart agriculture (CSA) policy interventions can enhance resilience among farmers in Mubi North, Adamawa State. Guided by resilience theory, the CSA framework, and governance perspectives, a mixed-methods approach was employed, combining household surveys (n = 250), focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. The findings indicate that flooding (M = 4.35) and unpredictable rainfall (M = 4.01) were perceived as the most severe climate-related impacts. Among CSA practices, the use of drought-resistant crops was rated the most effective (M = 3.65), while adoption of irrigation remained relatively low (M = 3.22). CSA practices were strongly associated with reduced crop failure (M = 3.90) and improved food security (M = 3.57), although institutional support received a lower rating, scoring below 3.0. Cross-tabulation analysis showed that CSA adoption was higher among farmers with 21–30 years of experience. However, Chi-square tests indicated no statistically significant relationship between socio-economic variables and CSA adoption (p = 0.999). Binary logistic regression further revealed that access to extension services, availability of credit, and perception of climate change were significant positive predictors of CSA adoption, whereas education level and farm size were not significant. These results suggest that institutional and knowledge-based factors, rather than socio-demographic characteristics, are the primary drivers of CSA uptake. The study concludes that CSA can effectively enhance adaptive capacity and resilience, but its potential is limited by weak institutional support. Strengthening participatory, community-driven CSA policies, alongside improved extension services, credit access, and cooperative support, is recommended to sustainably build resilience among farmers in Mubi North and similar vulnerable agrarian communities.