Fourteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

The changing climate is hitting smallholder farmers hard. It is doing so especial in the African continent which is regularly pronounced as most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Climate change brings droughts and floods, pests and diseases; it means poorer crops, less food, and lower incomes. This study considers climate-smart agriculture, which seeks to increase productivity in an environmentally and socially sustainable way, strengthen farmers’ resilience to climate change, and reduce agriculture’s contri¬bution to climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon storage on farmland. Climate-smart agriculture includes proven practical techniques such as mulch¬ing, intercropping, conservation agriculture, crop rotation, integrated crop-livestock management, agro forestry, improved grazing, and improved water management. In spite of the potential of Climate Smart Agriculture to improve resilience and to enhance agricultural production and rural livelihoods, systematic response to climate change through adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture practices and technologies is still very limited in Africa for a host of reasons. Some of the challenges facing Climate-smart agriculture in Africa includes: Lack of practical understanding of the approach; Lack of data and information and appropriate analytical tools at local and national levels; Inadequate coordinated, supportive, and enabling policy frameworks; Lack of adequate and innovative financing mechanisms and effective risk-sharing schemes; Limited credit and finance; and Poor physical and social infrastructure to mention few. To support the implementation of climate-smart agriculture and resolve the challenges in Africa, it is necessary to improve the coordination of policies and strengthen local, national and regional institutions.