Climate smart agriculture? Adaptation strategies of traditional agriculture to climate change in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

IntroductionSub-Saharan Africa faces increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather patterns due to climate change, posing significant threats to food security and rural livelihoods. Traditional agriculture, deeply rooted in the region's history and culture, is particularly vulnerable to these changes. This study investigates the adaptation strategies of traditional agricultural farmers to climate change using southeast Nigeria as a microcosm of the broader challenges facing sub-Saharan Africa.MethodsMultistage sampling procedure was used to select 75 farmer group leaders in the study region. Cross-sectional data were collected through semi-structured interview schedules and focus group discussions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and principal component analysis using Varimax rotated matrix.ResultsFindings showed that farmers rely on face-to-face discussions with neighbors (76.0%), fellow farmers (66.7%), and radio (54.7%) as their primary sources of information on climate change. Results showed that traditional adaptation practices such as use of organic manure (x¯ = 3.89), traditional organic composting (x¯ = 3.80), afforestation (x¯ = 3.71), agroforestry (x¯ = 3.61) were the topmost traditional agricultural practices use to cushion the effect of climate change. Conserving the overall soil health, soil moisture retention, reducing CO2 emissions and maintaining crop productivity were the major reasons for using the traditional approaches. Climate-induced drought and high cost of accessing weather information (x¯ = 1.93), and inadequate funding (x¯ = 1.92), among others were the key constraints to adaptation.DiscussionResults showed that farmers prioritize agronomic manipulation and integrated research approaches as key strategies to adapting traditional agriculture to climate anomalies. Although farmers used their indigenous practices, continuous learning and improvement through capacity-building workshops and progress monitoring are essential for effective climate change adaptation. Policymakers should invest in promoting indigenous knowledge, provide access to credit for climate-resilient infrastructure, promote climate-smart agricultural practices and foster collaborative research as the cornerstone for sustainable rural development.

How Do Arable Crop Farmers’ Adapt to Climate Change? New Evidence from Nigeria

“…In the present information age, information problems could pose serious challenges to the farmers' coping strategies as they may not be aware of recent developments regarding climate change adaptations and the necessary readjustments needed. The findings of Esiobu et al [6,7,22,33] reported that lack of adaptive capacity due to constraints on resources like information may result in further food insecurity. Similarly, about 98.33%, 87.50%, 83.33%, 82.50% and 80.83 of the arable crop farmers identified Inadequate climate change adaptation fund; poor extension contact; high cost of inputs; poor access to farm credit and limited availability of farmland respectively.…”

“…"The success of climate change adaptation is also location-specific and is influenced by the socioeconomic and institutional context of the area" [6]. Rainfed agriculture, which is extremely susceptible to climatic unpredictability and change, is the main source of production for arable crop farmers in Nigeria [7]. "Arable crop farming has been impacted by changes in the distribution and volume of rainfall, which have led to low precipitation, flooding and recurrent droughts" [8].…”

Analysis of the effect of climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs) on food security of maize production in Southeast, Nigeria

“…Analysis of the effect of climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs) on food security of maize production in Southeast, Nigeria Introduction Climate change poses significant challenges to agricultural productivity and food security (Willett et al, 2019;Okoronkwo et al, 2024;Raza et al, 2024) [54,40,43] , particularly in Southeast Nigeria, where agriculture serves as a cornerstone of livelihoods and sustenance. In response to these challenges, Climate-Smart Agricultural Practices (CSAPs) have emerged as a promising approach to enhancing agricultural resilience (Adegbeye et al, 2020) [2] , mitigating climate risks, and improving food security outcomes (Mach, et al, 2019) [29] .…”