Make people live off
the Land sustainably

Praxis

Agroecological innovations in a context of climate change in Africa

Editors : AVSF
CARI
ISARA Lyon
Authors : Debray Valentine
Derkimba Adeline
Roesch Katia
Year : 2015

Agroecological innovations in a context of climate change in Africa

Climate change effects are already being felt across Africa. Global warming, increasing rainfall variability and extreme events multiplication accentuate the risks for peasants who often already have to deal with natural resources scarcity. Peasants are among the most vulnerable to these evolutions and therefore need to take adaptation measures that will secure the maintenance of their farming systems. Agroecology should present great potential for adaptation. Literature review on climate change in four climatic zones of Africa (arid, sub-arid, sub humid and humid tropical) permitted to underline major challenges. he study was coordinated by AVSF, CARI and ISARA in the framework of the "Climate and Development Commission of Coordination Sud" and with the financial support of the French Agency for Development (AFD).


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Agroecological innovations in a context of climate change in Africa

Climate evolutions accelerate land degradation, further restrict water availability, and limit growth season length and crop and animal productivity. All over Africa, peasants implement agroecological practices to efficiently use natural resources for food production. This study presents adaptation strategies to climate change developing agroecology in the 4 major climatic zones of Africa, identifying 4 agricultural systems: oasis systems in arid zone, agro pastoral one in sub-arid zone, mixed crop-livestock one in sub humid and agroforestry in humid tropical regions.  Smallholder farmers practices, linked with collective organization, contribute to improve the management of all the agroecosystem’s components, strengthening farming systems’ resilience to face climate change. Farming systems’ adaptation could therefore lay in the combination of practices that improves the global system’s functioning. The study was coordinated by AVSF, CARI and ISARA in the framework of the "Climate and Development Commission of Coordination Sud" and with the financial support of the French Agency for Development (AFD).



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