In the literature, a lot of information is available about climate change perceptions and impacts in sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is limited attention in the region to emerging initiatives, technologies and
policies that are tailored to building the adaptive capacity of agricultural systems to climate change and
variability. In this paper, we discuss the prospects for climate-smart agriculture technologies and enabling
policies in dealing with climate change and variability at different sub-regional levels of sub-Saharan Africa to sustain farm productivity and livelihoods of agrarian communities
This paper reviewed the prospects for climate-smart agriculture (CSA) development and promotion in West Africa as well as lessons learnt and challenges with a focus on climate change and variability. It was evident from the literature that West Africa is vulnerable to climate change and variability, on account of its socio-economic and physical characteristics. As climate change and variability persists, the region’s quest to use agriculture as the mainstream opportunity to deliver on set targets of the sustainable development goals will be strongly challenged without appropriate interventions. Adopting CSA seems to be a suitable strategy to achieving food security while also mitigating and adapting to climate-related risks. Among numerous CSA technologies, the review found (1) agroforestry (farmer-managed natural regenerations), soil and water conservation technologies (zai, half-moon, tie/contour ridges, conservation agriculture) and (3) climate information services as highly valued promising options for climate change adaptation and risk management in West Africa.
