Everyday climate adaptation practices in agriculture contribute to food security in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) faces considerable threats to its food security because of the adverse effects of climate change. Agriculture, which both influences and is influenced by climate change, requires a thorough understanding of how it impacts and is impacted by these changes. Such understanding...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Resilience Alliance
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | Ecology and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol29/iss4/art32 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) faces considerable threats to its food security because of the adverse effects of climate change. Agriculture, which both influences and is influenced by climate change, requires a thorough understanding of how it impacts and is impacted by these changes. Such understanding is essential for guiding everyday adaptation strategies that uphold sustainable practices and food security. This study explores the impact of various climate adaptation strategies, demographic, and economic factors on dietary diversity across SSA by using Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) as an objective and standardized measure. The research integrates everyday adaptation practices such as tree management, home gardening, crop diversity, intercropping, and composting, alongside demographic factors to assess their influence on food security. The findings reveal tree management and home gardening consistently show a positive influence on HDDS, regardless of seasonal variability. Crop diversity and intercropping also positively impact HDDS, although their effectiveness varies across seasons. Meanwhile, irrigation emerges as a critical factor in maintaining dietary diversity during challenging seasons. Female control within households emerges as a significant demographic factor positively associated with HDDS. Moreover, dietary diversity is generally lower in West Africa, particularly during adverse seasons, because of less stable and extreme agricultural conditions. Despite these adaptation practices, the study identifies a significant policy gap, as existing agricultural policies in the region do not fully support the integration of these everyday practices or address gender-specific needs. Therefore, there is a critical need for sustainable, gender-responsive, and region-specific agricultural policies that effectively incorporate these everyday climate adaptation practices to enhance resilience and food security in SSA. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1708-3087 |