Agriculture, livelihoods and climate change in the West African Sahel

Abstract

The West African Sahel is a harsh environment stressed by a fast-growing population and increasing pressure on the scarce natural resources. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood of the majority of the people living in the area. Increases in temperature and/or modifications in rainfall quantities and distribution will substantially impact on the natural resource on which agriculture depends. The vulnerability of livelihoods based on agriculture is increased and most likely exacerbate and accelerate the current 'downward spiral' of underdevelopment, poverty and environmental degradation. Notably, droughts, a short rainy season and/or very low rainfall will be felt by current systems. To cope with the difficult climatic situation, farm households have developed a range of strategies including selling of animals and on-farm diversification or specialization. At regional level, early warning systems including an operational agro-meteorological information system already provide farmers with crucial information. Substantial political, institutional and financial efforts at national and international level are indispensable for the sustenance of millions of lives. In terms of development, priority needs to be given to adaptation and implementation of comprehensive programs on water management and irrigation, desertification control, development of alternative sources of energy and the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices by farmers.

Hydro-climatic changes in the Niger basin and consistency of local perceptions

“…This can be generally attributed to inadequate and poorly coordinated governmental and non-governmental interventions. Involvement of local populations in designing and implementing these interventions could reduce effects of hydro-climatic changes and improve adaptive capacity of the region (Sissoko et al 2010). Higher adaptation of residents' downstream Kainji dam was due to flooding witnessed as a result of spill discharge from the reservoir and shows that people that experiences frequent flooding express more concern and greater willingness to take action against climate change (Spence et al 2011).…”

Climate hotspots: key vulnerable regions, climate change and limits to warming

“…In the Sahel region, Sissoko et al (2010) explain how existing coping strategies may break down under the pressures of future development in the context of yield decreases, confirmed by Ben Mohamed (2010), who report a projected loss in yields of millet, a major staple crop in the region, of 20% around 2°C warming, rising to 40% at about 3°C. The picture for parts of the African region covered in this issue is consistent with recent reviews, which indicate quite large negative impacts on food production at levels of warming lower than 2°C above pre-industrial (Burke et al 2009;Schlenker and Lobell 2010).…”

“…South Asia (Lal 2010;Mirza 2010), Sahelian and northern Africa (Sissoko et al 2010), Ben Mohamed (2010), Mougou et al (2010), Iglesias et al (2010) and parts of Russia (Dronin and Kirilenko 2010) by the time global mean warming reaches around 2°C above preindustrial. Lal (2010) shows that India needs to increase its production by 1.5% per year to feed its developing and growing population, faster than historical experience, but faces likely net cereal production losses in South Asia due to climate change of 4-10% for a 2°C warming.…”

Vulnerability of fishery-based livelihoods to the impacts of climate variability and change: insights from coastal Bangladesh

“…National scale studies cannot provide specific enough findings applicable to the household or community scale (Hahn et al 2009), and at the local scale, vulnerability assessments of agricultural livelihood systems dominate (e.g. Vincent 2007; Eakin and Bojórquez-Tapia 2008;Paavola 2008;Sissoko et al 2011). As the vulnerability of an agricultural livelihood system is different from that of fishery-based one, implications for vulnerability of one livelihood system to another is not necessarily transferable; more work is required in fisherybased systems.…”

“…Allison et al 2009;Quest_Fish 2012) or of agricultural livelihoods (e.g. Vincent 2007;Eakin and Bojórquez-Tapia 2008;Paavola 2008;Sissoko et al 2011).…”