What is the Future of Rain-fed Horticultural Crops Production in a Changing West African Climate? : A Review

Abstract

Within West Africa (WA), poverty, population growth rate and food insecurity are high and most agriculture is conducted at an un-mechanised level, reliant on rain-fed conditions. As with elsewhere around the world, there is a clear fingerprint of climate change on WA, with increasing temperatures and shifts in precipitation patterns. As the century progresses and climate change intensifies, so too will the impact on rain-fed horticulture. This creates an urgent need to understand and synthesis the responses of horticultural crops to climate change and identify adaptation options. This review provides an overview of climate change across WA and the impacts on key horticultural crop groups (vegetables, plantations, fruits and root and tubers) and identifies regions within WA where these crops may be more or less vulnerable to changing conditions. Adaptation actions and strategies- ranging from education, introduction of new cultivars and development of effective cropping systems, to transference of skills from other regions and expansion of farmer-government-NGO collaborations are discussed.