Determinant factors of climate change adaptation by pastoral/agro-pastoral communities and smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the determinant factors of climate change adaptation (CCA) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Design/methodology/approach Studies that focused on determinant factors of CCA by crop–livestock farmers and pastoralists in SSA and written in English were reviewed from five major databases using the applications of Endnote and NVivo. The review process followed a sequence of steps to reach into the final selection. Findings A total of 3,028 papers were recovered from the databases and screened for duplicates (777) and publications before 2000 (218). The titles and abstracts of 2,033 papers were reviewed, and 1,903 of them were excluded owing to preliminary exclusion criteria. Finally, 130 papers were selected for full-text review and more detailed assessment, where 36 papers qualified for the final review. The most important determinant factors of CCA by pastoralists were household income, access to information, access to extension services, government support and access to market. In the case of agro-pastoralists, access to information, household income, age and land/livestock ownership were found as the major determinant factors. Household income, land ownership, access to information, farm size, household size and access to extension services were the determinant factors found for CCA by smallholder farmers. Research limitations/implications This systematic review identified the major determinant factors according to production systems and highlights the importance of considering specific factors in designing CCA strategies. Originality/value After clearly stating the research question, a literature search was conducted from the major databases for climate-related research, and a comprehensive search was performed by two independent researchers.

Climate Change, Perceptions, and Adaptation Responses Among Farmers and Pastoralists in the Cameroon Highlands

“…Increased adoption of farming was reported by pastoralists in Niger, Benin, Burkina-Faso, Uganda, and Kenya (Cuni-Sanchez et al 2012, 2019aEgeru 2016;Kariuki et al 2018;Snorek et al 2014;Zampaligré et al 2014). However, in a recent review of climate change adaptation strategies implemented by pastoralists in Africa (Menghistu et al 2020) increased farming was only mentioned in four studies.…”

“…Several factors are known to influence the choice of adaptation strategy among pastoralists, the most important being household income, labor availability, access to information and markets, and institutional/government support (Tilahun et al 2017;Menghistu et al 2020).…”

“…Although an important amount of the literature about local communities' perceptions of climatic changes and adaptation strategies used has been published in the past decade (for reviews see Reyes-García et al 2016;Savo et al 2016), most literature focused on farmer communities (Reyes-García et al 2019). In Africa, some studies have documented pastoralists' perceptions or adaptation (for reviews see Cuni-Sanchez et al 2019a;Menghistu et al 2020), but most studies available focused on the dry lowlands of West or East Africa, with no insights from highlands, although pastoralists can be found on highlands.…”

Identifying leverage points for strengthening adaptive capacity to climate change

“…Adaptive capacity is not simply about having the necessary resources at hand but also about the willingness and capability to convert resources into effective adaptive action (Brown and Westaway 2011;Cinner et al 2018). People's ability to adapt to climate change in an African agricultural context is commonly influenced by age, farm size, the nature of farming, and access to the market and extension services (Gbegbelegbe et al 2018), with variations in determinants across pastoralists, agro-pastoralists and smallholder farmers (Menghistu et al 2020). The existing adaptive capacity literature is extensive but fragmented with little cross-referencing, leading to questions regarding how effectively the field is advancing the science of adaptive capacity (Siders 2019).…”

West African food system resilience

“…A declining forage base can therefore lead to rising household malnutrition levels. Agropastoralist families in Sudan areas that combine livestock and cropping (mostly food, rarely cash crops) are more successful in self-provisioning than pastoralists and are more food resilient.4.8.4 Adaptations to reduce vulnerabilityIn response to greater climate variability and socioeconomic shocks, pastoralism and agro-pastoralism have made a series of adaptations over the past four decades(Ickowicz et al 2012;Menghistu et al…”