Competing priorities: addressing climate change in an agriculture-dependent region : how Sub-Saharan Africa is handling this

Abstract

Africa suffers multiple impacts of climate change such as droughts, floods, water scarcity and famine, yet it contributes an insignificant amount of greenhouse gas emissions, estimated to be less than five percent of the total global ratio. The agriculture sector, which is a source of food, employment, and income to over 70 percent of the sub-Saharan African population, is highly vulnerable to heightening impacts of climate change. Agriculture also induces climate change through the emission of greenhouse gases. In order to address climate variability and the adverse undertook an exploratory analysis of published and unpublished literature from reputable platforms for the period 2010-2022 to illustrate how climate change and agriculture are inter-reliant but competing priorities in SSA. As a result, the paper recommends mainstreaming climate-smart agriculture as a policy priority and developing holistic and transformative climate and agriculture policies and institutional frameworks mainstreamed into national and sub-regional development agendas. The basis of these recommendations are to increase agricultural production while devising climate adaptation measures and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.