Adapting to climate change in the mixed crop and livestock farming systems in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Mixed crop and livestock farms are the backbone of African agriculture, yet there is little information on how these systems may be affected by changes in climate. Addressing this knowledge gap could help smallholders adapt to climate change. Mixed crop–livestock systems are the backbone of African agriculture, providing food security and livelihood options for hundreds of millions of people. Much is known about the impacts of climate change on the crop enterprises in the mixed systems, and some, although less, on the livestock enterprises. The interactions between crops and livestock can be managed to contribute to environmentally sustainable intensification, diversification and risk management. There is relatively little information on how these interactions may be affected by changes in climate and climate variability. This is a serious gap, because these interactions may offer some buffering capacity to help smallholders adapt to climate change.