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Climate Change Adaptation in Africa pp 185–203Cite as

Potential for Scaling up Climate Smart Agricultural Practices: Examples from Sub-Saharan Africa

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Part of the book series: Climate Change Management ((CCM))

Abstract

Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is predominantly rain-fed, and erratic weather patterns and extreme weather events, exacerbated by the changing climate, adds to the challenges faced by smallholder farmers in producing enough food to feed the ever growing population of the region. While the farming communities are responding to these challenges, there is an intensive need for scaling-up adoption of appropriate interventions that can help increase crop yields and resilience to climate change. A review and analysis of potential climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAs) in SSA indicate that some CSAs are increasingly adopted by farmers and show potential for scaling up. Some particularly promising CSAs include drought tolerant (DT) maize varieties and sustainable intensification through crop associations which are increasingly adopted across SSA regions. Other CSA’s which also offer promise include water harvesting and small-scale irrigation, climate information, and natural resource conservation. The presence of successful smallholder CSA practices in SSA means that opportunities exist for cross-country learning and scaling up by supporting farmers’ efforts through exchange of knowledge, incentives and policies.

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Acknowledgements

This review paper was supported by the CGIAR Research Programs on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), CRP MAIZE, Drought Tolerance Maize for Africa (DTMA) project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Adoption Pathways and Maize–Legume Cropping Systems for Food Security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) projects funded by Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the donor or the authors’ institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Kindie Tesfaye

  2. International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology, ICIPE, Nairobi, Kenya

    Menale Kassie

  3. CIMMYT, Harare, Zimbabwe

    Jill E. Cairns & Mulugetta Mekuria

  4. CIMMYT, Nairobi, Kenya

    Misiko Michael, Tsedeke Abate & B. M. Prasanna

  5. CIMMYT, London, UK

    Clare Stirling

  6. Ministry of Agriculture, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Habtamu Hailu

  7. CIMMYT, El Batan, Mexico

    Dil Bahadur Rahut, Olaf Erenstein & Bruno Gerard

Authors
  1. Kindie Tesfaye
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  2. Menale Kassie
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  3. Jill E. Cairns
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  4. Misiko Michael
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  5. Clare Stirling
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  6. Tsedeke Abate
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  7. B. M. Prasanna
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  8. Mulugetta Mekuria
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  9. Habtamu Hailu
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  10. Dil Bahadur Rahut
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  11. Olaf Erenstein
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  12. Bruno Gerard
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kindie Tesfaye .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. FTZ-NK, HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Environmental and Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Simane Belay

  3. School of Water Resources, South Eastern Kenya University, Nairobi, Kenya

    Jokasha Kalangu

  4. Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

    Wuta Menas

  5. Department Ecosystems and Conservation, College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania

    Pantaleo Munishi

  6. Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe

    Kumbirai Musiyiwa

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Tesfaye, K. et al. (2017). Potential for Scaling up Climate Smart Agricultural Practices: Examples from Sub-Saharan Africa. In: Leal Filho, W., Belay, S., Kalangu, J., Menas, W., Munishi, P., Musiyiwa, K. (eds) Climate Change Adaptation in Africa. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49520-0_12

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