Resilient Adaptation to Climate Change in African Agriculture

336 Pages·2010·6.13 MB·English

Resilient adaptation to climate change in
African agriculture
German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
The German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik
(DIE) is a multidisciplinary research, consultancy and training institute for
Germany’s bilateral and for multilateral development co-operation. On the basis of
independent research, it acts as consultant to public institutions in Germany and
abroad on current issues of co-operation between developed and developing
countries. Through its 9-months training course, the German Development
Institute prepares German and European University graduates for a career in the
field of development policy.

Dr Chinwe Ifejika Speranza is a researcher at the German Development Institute /
Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) in Bonn, Germany. She is a
Geographer and a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialist. She studied at
the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (BSc), the Universities of Zurich (MSc) and Bern
(PhD), both in Switzerland. Her research currently focuses on adaptation to climate
change in Africa, in particular, on adaptation to climate change in African
agriculture. She also teaches in the DIE post-graduate school and the DIE-Global
Governance School. Prior to that, she worked several years on GIS and its use for
development planning and the management of natural resources, and on food
security, drought vulnerability and risk in agro-pastoral areas. She also held teaching
responsibilities in these fields.
E-mail: [email protected]
Studies
54
Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik

Resilient adaptation to climate change in
African agriculture

Chinwe Ifejika Speranza

Bonn 2010
Studies / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik
ISSN 1860-0468

Ifejika Speranza, Chinwe: Resilient adaptation to climate change in
African agriculture / Chinwe Ifejika Speranza. – Bonn : DIE, 2010. (Studies /
Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik ; 54)
ISBN 978-3-88985-489-6

© Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik gGmbH
Tulpenfeld 6, 53113 Bonn
℡ [phone]
(cid:26) [phone]
E-Mail: [email protected]
http://www.die-gdi.de
Preface
This study was conducted in the context of a research project on "Adaptation
to climate change in Africa and Latin America" under the project lead of
Dr Imme Scholz and Dr Susanne Neubert, in Department IV: Environmental
Policy and Management of Natural Resources of the German Development
Institute. The project was funded by the German Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The study analyses how smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa
adapts to or can be adapted to climate change using the concept of a "resil-
ient adaptation" as an analytical lens. I adopted a multi-level and multi-actor
approach for analyses at two levels: the farm-level and the policy and insti-
tutional level. In the course of the study, I developed an analytical tool and
operational instrument, "the Resilience Check" to assess the contributions of
adaptations to the resilience of SSA agriculture to climate change. The study
also identifies ways through which adaptation in smallholder agriculture can
be promoted and made more resilient.
During the study, I benefited from discussions with various colleagues: I
gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Dr Susanne Neubert and
Dr Imme Scholz for their helpful comments and for reading through the
pre-versions of this study. I thank the review commission, comprising
Dr Imme Scholz, Dr Susanne Neubert, Dr Michael Brüntrup and
Mr Steffen Bauer, for their insightful comments. I am also grateful to
Dr Carmen Richerzhagen for reviewing the pre-version, Ms Isabel van de
Sand and Dr Waltina Scheumann for their comments. I would like to thank
the other members of the project team Britta Horstmann, the project
coordinator Anette Köhler-Rahm, and the secretary, Ms Ina Gampfer. I also
benefited from discussions and collaboration with Prof U. Wiesmann (Univ.
of Bern, NCCR-North-South research programme), Prof M. Nüsser (Univ.
of Heidelberg, Volkswagen research project), and the WOCAT team at
CDE. I thank the Department IV research assistants for collecting and
managing literature: Ina Jacoby, Miriam Bishokarma-Wenner, Simone
Dohms, Katharina Graf, and in particular, Michael Eichholz for support in
cartography. I am grateful to Silvano Speranza, Chidi and Ikechi Speranza
for their patience, understanding and support.
Chinwe Ifejika Speranza Bonn, March 2010

Contents
Abbreviations
Summary 1
1 Introduction 15
1.1 Aims and objectives 17
2 Background 18
2.1 Agriculture and development in sub-Saharan Africa 18
2.2 The SSA climatic zones and their implications for
agriculture 37
2.3 Climate change and SSA agriculture 40
2.3.1 Observed climate change and its impacts on SSA
agriculture 42
2.3.2 Projected climate change impacts on African
agriculture 46
2.4 Implications of climate change projections for
adaptation 47
2.5 Conclusion 50
3 Concepts and approaches for analysing
adaptation to climate change 51
3.1 Uncertainty, climate change, social-ecological
systems and sustainability 51
3.2 Vulnerability and poverty and their reduction 53
3.3 Definition of adaptation to climate change and its
linkages with resilience 57
3.3.1 Criteria for evaluating adaptation options 61
3.4 Social-ecological resilience and adaptive capacity 64
3.5 The resilience check – an analytical and operational
tool 70
3.6 Stakeholders and actor-oriented perspectives for
analysing adaptation to climate change 79
3.7 Conclusion 90
4 Farm-level resilience and adaptations of
agriculture to climate change 91
4.1 Adapting farming systems to climate change 91
4.1.1 Integrated farming systems, conventional,
conservation and organic agriculture 91
4.2 Adapting agricultural practices to climate change 106
4.2.1 Adaptation of rainwater management practices 107
4.2.2 Adaptation of irrigation management practices 116
4.2.3 Adaptation of soil management practices 121
4.2.4 Adaptation of seed management practices 126
4.2.5 Adaptation of crop management practices 128
4.2.6 Agro-forestry as an adaptation measure 131
4.2.7 Reforestation and avoiding deforestation 135
4.2.8 Adaptation of pests and diseases management
practices 136
4.3 Adaptation of livestock, pasture and rangeland
management practices 138
4.4 The contributions of farm-level adaptation practices
to climate change mitigation 140
4.5 On-farm and off-farm diversification, migration
and remittances 142
4.6 Farmer social networks and group-organisation 144
4.7 Implications and conclusion 148