Adaptation Measures for Africa’s Climate

Resilient Agriculture

Mary Nyasimi

March 21-22, 2016 Nairobi, Kenya

Diversity of Africa’s Agricultural/Farming Systems

Land Area and Agricultural Population Size

Sub-Saharan Africa

Farming System Land area (% of region)

Population (% of region)

Pastoral & Semi-Pastoral 32 8

Cereal/root crop mixed 13 15

Forest based 11 7

Root crop 11 11

Maize mixed 10 15

Agro-pastoral millet/sorghum 8 9

Others (8 more systems) 16 35

Land Area and Agricultural Population Size

North Africa and Middle East

Farming System Land area (% of

region)

Population (% of

region)

Pastoral-Sparse arid 83 14

Highland Mixed 7 30

Dryland mixed 4 14

Irrigated 2 17

Rainfed Mixed 2 18

Coastal artisanal fishing 1 1

Urban Based 1 6

Adaptation Measures

Eastern Africa

Mainly maize mixed farming systems - declining productivity due to poor

soil productivity, shortage of water & livestock feed severely constrain

crops farmers and pastoralists. Measures include:

Adjustment of crop planting dates

Agroforestry/tree-based interventions for reforestation and soil

conservation, enhanced carbon sequestration & other ecosystem

services at farm & landscape levels;

Integrated soil and water resources mgt. - expanding areas under

different forms of irrigation;

Changing crop types and cultivars to enhance agro-biodiversity

diversity

Diversification of production systems within agriculture and of livelihood

options outside agriculture/pastoralism;

Conservation agriculture

Indigenous knowledge practices that improve farmer access to weather

forecasting information for decision making

Southern Africa

Characterized by frequent droughts, declining soil productivity, high

dependence on rain-fed, lack of access to improved production and

processing technologies; lack of timely access to relevant climate

information to inform decisions. Measures include;

Introduction of new crop types

and varieties that tolerate or

escape (e.g. short maturing cycle)

droughts and/or dry spells,

changes in planting dates and

introduction of new fertilizer

formulations and resource

conserving technologies

Access to climate information and

technical knowledge from national

extension, NGOs and/or fellow

farmers

Northern Africa

Characterized by poor soil quality, increasing frequency of droughts, shrink

in size of agricultural land due to expansion of desert conditions. Measures

include;

Sustainable management of freshwater resources to support growth

of irrigated production systems

Crop diversification coupled to integrated soil and water

management practices including conservation agriculture

West Africa

Characterized by increased climate variability, declining soil fertility and

increasing land degradation will negatively impact on the diversity of crops

and livestock systems. Measures include;

Sustaining diversified

agricultural production systems

and tailoring them to respond to

changing agro-ecological

conditions;

Increasing farmer access to

production technologies that

enhance efficiencies in use of

endogenous and external

resources;

Strengthening farmer access to

and participation in local and

regional markets and trade;

Reducing high dependency on

rain-fed agricultural production

systems in sustaining livelihoods

Central Africa

Largest forest resources and

biodiversity, and therefore hold

potential for mitigation against

climate change.

Sustainable

management of the

forest systems

Interventions that

enhance farmer access

to, and use of land,

improved agricultural

technologies, climate

information and markets

hold promise for

adaptation.

Gender-transformative strategies

Climate Change impacts and effects are not gender neutral.

Women provide more than 60% of the labor force - this makes women at

greater risk of livelihood insecurity

Tap into women’s traditional

knowledge on land management

techniques, soil enrichment and

drought resistant seeds.

Provide women access to weather

and agro-advisory services,

fertilizers, irrigation and

mechanized equipment.

Investments in modern, low-

carbon energy systems e.g.,

agroforestry

Training national expertise on

gender mainstreaming and

climate change

Aesign of adaptation actions –

NAPs NDCs should integrate

gender considerations

Key Messages

1: Scientific data on climate risks and associated

agriculture losses is limited and/or lacking

Investment in Research on impacts of Climate change

Investment in equipment and data software to monitor weather

and climate

Gender disaggregated data on impacts of climate change

needed

2: Promotion, use and scaling up of inexpensive

agricultural adaptive technologies

Successful scale-scale localized agricultural intervention that

can greatly reduce the effects of extreme weather events:

Farmer-managed natural

regeneration of trees;

Green manure/cover crops

for restoring soil fertility and

moisture

Water harvesting to

improve yields and prevent

crop losses from drought

Climate information

services (forecasting, early

warning and agro-advisory,

emergency responses)

3: Institutionalization of adaptation measures into

national policy frameworks

African governments need to institutionalize climate smart

agriculture and ecosystems based adaptation, into national policy

frameworks for building resilience against impacts of extreme

weather and climate events e.g.,

INDCs ---- National Determined Contributions

National Adaptation plans

Climate Change Polices, Plans and Strategies

4: Low (and or untrained) institutional capacity to

implement adaptation measures

Ongoing monitoring and analysis of the efforts to integrate

adaptation measures into agricultural sector show that such efforts

are cost effective. However institutional capacity remains low and

the level of financing insufficient.

5: Multistakeholder participation

Increase farmer involvement and participation

Mobilization of multi-sector agencies to co-learn and innovate

with farming communities

Learning-based platforms and approaches that integrate

agricultural production to natural resources management

Thank you/Merci