West african agriculture and climate change: A comprehensive analysis

Abdulai Jalloh, Gerald Nelson, Harold Roy-Macauley, Timothy Thomas and Zougmoré, Robert

No 75, Issue briefs from International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Abstract: Agriculture is vital to livelihoods in West Africa. It is the main source of employment for the 290 million people who live in the region, employing 60 percent of the workforce, and accounts for 35 percent of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP). This crucial economic activity is endangered by climate change. How to foster agricultural development and food security in West Africa despite the effects of climate change and other challenges is the subject of the study West African Agriculture and Climate Change: A Comprehensive Analysis. The authors develop several weather-based scenarios for how climate change might affect countries in the region between now and 2050. National contributors from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo review the scenario results for their countries and propose a variety of policies to counter the effects of climate change on agriculture and food security. These policies include cultivation of crops that require less water, expanded irrigation, and improved infrastructure.

Keywords: climate change; rainfall; drought; Irrigation; Water management; Adaptation; Agriculture; Poverty; Gender Women; Agricultural development; Agricultural policies; Economic development; Smallholders; maize; rice; Wheat; Sorghum; millets; Cassava; Sweet potato; soybean; Potato; Tobacco; Groundnuts; Pigeonpea; cowpea; Plantain; Sugarcane; oilseeds; Livestock; Agricultural productivity; crop yield; General Circulation Models GCM; Commodities; Food prices; Education; income; Nutrition; malnutrition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (46)

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Related works:
Working Paper: East african agriculture and climate change: A comprehensive analysis (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fpr:issbrf:75

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