Agriculture in the Face of Climate Change in West Africa: The Positive Effects of Agroecology

One of the biggest problems facing agriculture in West Africa today is the decline in crop yields because of climate change. Indeed, according to available research, climate change is not only a threat to the food security of millions of people in West Africa but also affects the whole range of agricultural activities and thus the source of income of millions of people in the region. 

Climate change and agriculture in West Africa 

Climate change poses a significant threat to crop yields in West Africa, primarily due to rising and fluctuating temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns, as agriculture in the region is largely rain-fed. The combination of high climate variability and limited economic and institutional capacity to respond further heightens the region’s vulnerability [1].  

Staple crops necessary for the food security of its population, such as rice, groundnuts, millet, yams, sorghum, maize, and beans, are expected to experience yield declines of up to 6% soon[2,3,4]. Other studies [3] suggest that crop yields in West Africa could decline by up to 10% under a 2°C warming scenario, and by as much as 20% if temperatures exceed this threshold.  

According to Sultan et al. [2], countries in the Western Sahel are expected to face even greater temperature increases, coupled with declining rainfall, significantly impacting crop yields. To mitigate the effects of climate change on agriculture in West Africa, individuals, organisations, and administrations need to take responsibility for climate change mitigation. 

Mitigating the effects of climate change on agriculture in West Africa requires that responsible individuals, organisations, and administrations in the region implement appropriate adaptation strategies.  Research findings [4,5] suggest that crop yields impacted by climate change could increase by up to 13% if farmers adopt appropriate strategies, such as using drought-resistant crop varieties, adjusting planting dates to align with rainfall patterns, and applying organic fertilisers.  

However, to implement appropriate adaptation strategies, more studies are needed to understand the contextual factors in West Africa that influence the effects of climate change on agricultural activities and help provide more accurate projections of climate impacts on crop yields [4].  

Agroecology is positioned as a technological platform that integrates the most effective strategies for addressing climate change challenges in this region. In West Africa, several organisations are actively developing projects – such as CIRAWA (Figure 1), which will be discussed later – that promote agroecology as a key tool for mitigating the adverse effects of climate change on agriculture and ensuring food security in the region. 

Agroecology in West Africa: Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture   

Agroecology has proven to be the most important strategy to help mitigate the effects of climate change on agriculture in West Africa. The following practices are being employed and promoted as important solutions for the region: 

• Agroforestry and conservation agriculture: Experiments conducted in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have demonstrated that agroforestry and conservation agriculture can sustainably mitigate the negative impacts of climate change, enhance biodiversity, and intensify agricultural production – thereby contributing to food security in the region [6]. Agroecological practices such as mulching, the zaï cropping system (Figure 1a), the half-moon water conservation technique (Figure 1b), manure application, composting, and the use of cover crops have all yielded highly favourable results. Additionally, studies in the region [7] indicate that implementing agroforestry over a period of two decades can sequester up to 135 metric tonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to approximately 166% of West Africa’s annual emissions from deforestation and fossil fuels. 

• The use of climate-resilient crop varieties: Adopting climate-resilient crops is an important agroecological strategy in West Africa. For example, studies in Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria show that farmers who adopt these types of crop varieties reduce production constraints, improve yields, and boost smallholder consumption and marketing of their production [8]. The use of indigenous crops such as fonio, sorghum, and Bambara peanuts are particularly important in this regard. In addition to their natural adaptation to West Africa, these crops are drought tolerant [9], which makes them naturally resilient to climate change.  

• Synergies between crop and livestock practices and crop residue recycling: Synergies between livestock activities, crops, and crop residue recycling are also practised as an agroecological strategy in West Africa [10]. Crop-livestock integration improves farming systems by recycling nutrients [11, 12], improving soil health and farm diversification [12, 13], and intensifying crop yields [14]. 

The CIRAWA Project: Building Climate Resilience in West Africa Through Agroecology 

The CIRAWA project is an EU-funded project in West Africa under the Horizon Europe programme to explore the potential of agroecology, to enhance crop yields and improve the overall resilience of the region to climate change.  The project aims to build on both indigenous and scientific knowledge already present in the region, complemented by expertise from Europe, to unlock the potential of agroecology in addressing climate change in West Africa.  

The project brings together 14 partners from nine countries in Africa and Europe to build a more resilient food supply system in eight regions of four CIRAWA partner countries in West Africa. The four partner countries are Ghana, Cape Verde, The Gambia, and Senegal. The following strategies will be deployed to achieve the project objectives: High-quality seed production; agricultural residue valorisation and biological fertiliser production; saline soil reclamation through phytoremediation; and soil, water, and crop fertility management practices.  

Working closely with smallholder farmers and local communities, CIRAWA will apply innovative agroecological practices that will increase crop productivity, conserve natural resources, and improve livelihoods. Through farmer field training schools, knowledge-sharing platforms and capacity-building initiatives, CIRAWA aims to empower farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural techniques that increase their resilience to climate change. 

References

1. Sultan, B., & Gaetani, M. (2016). Agriculture in West Africa in the twenty-first century: climate change and impacts scenarios, and potential for adaptation. Frontiers in plant science, 7, 211434.

2. Sultan, B., Roudier P., & Traoré S. The impacts of climate change on crop yields in West Africa. In: Sultan, B., Lalou, R., Sanni, A. M., Oumarou, A., & Soumaré, M. A. (Eds.). (2020). Rural societies in the face of climatic and environmental changes in West Africa. Marseille: IRD, 2017, p. 199-214. (Synthèses). ISBN 978-2-7099-2424.

3. Sultan, B., Defrance, D., & Iizumi, T. (2019). Evidence of crop production losses in West Africa due to historical global warming in two crop models. Scientific reports, 9(1), 12834.

4. Roudier, P., Sultan, B., Quirion, P., & Berg, A. (2011). The impact of future climate change on West African crop yields: What does the recent literature say? Global environmental change, 21(3), 1073-1083.

5. Oettli, P., Sultan, B., & Baron, C. (2009). Exploring the effect of climate change on crop yield in West Africa. AMMA International.

6. Bayala, J., Kalinganire, A., Tchoundjeu, Z., Sinclair, F., & Garrity, D. (2011). Conservation agriculture with trees in the West African Sahel–a review. ICRAF occasional paper, 14, 57.

7. Tschora, H., & Cherubini, F. (2020). Co-benefits and trade-offs of agroforestry for climate change mitigation and other sustainability goals in West Africa. Global Ecology and Conservation, 22, e00919.

8. Tabe-Ojong, M. P. J., Lokossou, J. C., Gebrekidan, B., & Affognon, H. D. (2023). Adoption of climate-resilient groundnut varieties increases agricultural production, consumption, and smallholder commercialization in West Africa. Nature Communications, 14(1), 5175.

9. Porcuna-Ferrer, A., Calvet-Mir, L., Faye, N. F., Klappoth, B., Reyes-García, V., & Labeyrie, V. (2024). Drought-tolerant indigenous crop decline in the face of climate change: A political agroecology account from south-eastern Senegal. Journal of Rural Studies, 105, 103163.

10. Vall, E., Orounladji, B. M., Berre, D., Assouma, M. H., Dabiré, D., Sanogo, S., & Sib, O. (2023). Crop-livestock synergies and by-products recycling: Major factors for agroecology in West African agro-sylvo-pastoral systems. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 43(5), 70.

11. Berry, P. M., Stockdale, E. A., Sylvester-Bradley, R., Philipps, L., Smith, K. A., Lord, E. I., & Fortune, S. (2003). N, P and K budgets for crop rotations on nine organic farms in the UK. Soil use and management, 19(2), 112-118.

12. George, S., Wright, D. L., & Marois, J. J. (2013). Impact of grazing on soil properties and cotton yield in an integrated crop–livestock system. Soil and Tillage Research, 132, 47-55.

13. Hanson, J. D., & Franzluebbers, A. (2008). Principles of integrated agricultural systems. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 23(4), 263-264.

14. Peterson, C. A., Nunes, P. A. D. A., Martins, A. P., Bergamaschi, H., Anghinoni, I., Carvalho, P. C. D. F., & Gaudin, A. C. (2019). Winter grazing does not affect soybean yield despite lower soil water content in a subtropical crop-livestock system. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 39, 1-10