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3 Reflections on Agriculture in an African Climate Change
Context
Almost half of the population in Africa lives in extreme poverty (FAO et al. 2015).
While much has been done over the last two decades to reduce poverty and hunger,
there are still about 230 million people who are deemed undernourished (FAO et al.
2015). At the same time, there has been a rapid increase in population on the African
continent. It is estimated that half of the predicted 2.2 billion increase in the global
population for the period 2013–2050 will occur in Africa alone (UN 2017).
Increasing urbanisation occurs in parallel with increasing population, and urban
dwellers are projected to account for more than a half of the population in Africa by
2030 (UN 2018). Projections based on population growth and food consumption
patterns indicate that agricultural production will need to increase by 70–100% in
order to meet food demands by 2050, in a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario (FAO 2017).
This poses a serious challenge for agricultural production systems, which must
undergo a major transformation in the coming decades in order to meet the intertwined challenges of achieving food security and reducing poverty, while adapting
to climate change and preserving the existing natural resource base.
African farming systems are very diverse in terms of livelihood strategies, population pressures, access to markets, institutions, and agroecological conditions.
What is common, however, is the domination of smallholder farming systems. It is
estimated that more than 33 million farms are smallholdings, which constitute 80%
of the total number of farms in Africa (Altieri et al. 2012). Furthermore, smallholder
farms produce about 70% of the total food supply across the continent and up to
90% in some regions of sub-Saharan Africa (Wiggins 2009). Although they play a
vital role in achieving food security and poverty reduction, the irony is that most of
smallholder farmers are living in hunger and poverty. The main features of smallholder farmers are dependence on agriculture for livelihoods and subsistence, lack
of access to assets, and labour-intensive production systems using simple, often
outdated technologies. They are also often forced to farm degraded and infertile
soils. Productivity of their lands is low, as shown by the low yields achieved.
Consequently, smallholder farmers receive low economic returns for their production efforts. Most smallholder farmers located in rural areas lack both physical and
institutional infrastructure, which limits their livelihood opportunities. These problems are mostly seen on farms in remote or isolated regions. Smallholders are disadvantaged in both domestic and international markets because of the small volume
and often low quality of the products they trade in. Lastly, women often play a vital
role in production. They are responsible for 30–60% of the agricultural labour supplied in Africa (Palacios-Lopez et al. 2015) yet seldom have any major role in political activities or decision-making processes in patriarchal communities.
Projected increases in annual surface temperatures and decreased rainfall in
many regions of Africa and the increased incidence of extreme weather events such
as droughts and floods will pose further constraints on already vulnerable smallholder farming systems. Future projections predict significant yield decreases of
Need for Personal Transformations in a Changing Climate: Reflections…
3 Reflections on Agriculture in an African Climate Change
Context
Almost half of the population in Africa lives in extreme poverty (FAO et al. 2015).
While much has been done over the last two decades to reduce poverty and hunger,
there are still about 230 million people who are deemed undernourished (FAO et al.
2015). At the same time, there has been a rapid increase in population on the African
continent. It is estimated that half of the predicted 2.2 billion increase in the global
population for the period 2013–2050 will occur in Africa alone (UN 2017).
Increasing urbanisation occurs in parallel with increasing population, and urban
dwellers are projected to account for more than a half of the population in Africa by
2030 (UN 2018). Projections based on population growth and food consumption
patterns indicate that agricultural production will need to increase by 70–100% in
order to meet food demands by 2050, in a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario (FAO 2017).
This poses a serious challenge for agricultural production systems, which must
undergo a major transformation in the coming decades in order to meet the intertwined challenges of achieving food security and reducing poverty, while adapting
to climate change and preserving the existing natural resource base.
African farming systems are very diverse in terms of livelihood strategies, population pressures, access to markets, institutions, and agroecological conditions.
What is common, however, is the domination of smallholder farming systems. It is
estimated that more than 33 million farms are smallholdings, which constitute 80%
of the total number of farms in Africa (Altieri et al. 2012). Furthermore, smallholder
farms produce about 70% of the total food supply across the continent and up to
90% in some regions of sub-Saharan Africa (Wiggins 2009). Although they play a
vital role in achieving food security and poverty reduction, the irony is that most of
smallholder farmers are living in hunger and poverty. The main features of smallholder farmers are dependence on agriculture for livelihoods and subsistence, lack
of access to assets, and labour-intensive production systems using simple, often
outdated technologies. They are also often forced to farm degraded and infertile
soils. Productivity of their lands is low, as shown by the low yields achieved.
Consequently, smallholder farmers receive low economic returns for their production efforts. Most smallholder farmers located in rural areas lack both physical and
institutional infrastructure, which limits their livelihood opportunities. These problems are mostly seen on farms in remote or isolated regions. Smallholders are disadvantaged in both domestic and international markets because of the small volume
and often low quality of the products they trade in. Lastly, women often play a vital
role in production. They are responsible for 30–60% of the agricultural labour supplied in Africa (Palacios-Lopez et al. 2015) yet seldom have any major role in political activities or decision-making processes in patriarchal communities.
Projected increases in annual surface temperatures and decreased rainfall in
many regions of Africa and the increased incidence of extreme weather events such
as droughts and floods will pose further constraints on already vulnerable smallholder farming systems. Future projections predict significant yield decreases of
Need for Personal Transformations in a Changing Climate: Reflections…