Traversing the Interconnected Dynamics of Climate Change And Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Nana Yaw Brenya  AGYEMAN; Benjamin DAMOAH; Elijah Osei Manu

doi:10.38142/ijesss.v6i2.1363

Authors

Nana Yaw Brenya AGYEMAN Walter Sisulu University, South Afirca
Benjamin DAMOAH University of Southern Mississippi, United States
Elijah Osei Manu Walter Sisulu University, South Afirca

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.38142/ijesss.v6i2.1363

Keywords:

Agriculture, Climate Change, Farming, Food Security, Impact, Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Globally, Climate change adversely impacts people's lives. Climate change has not spared Sub-Saharan Africa in terms of farming and food security. Sub-Saharan Africa's overdependence on agriculture and farming adversely impacts the standard of living and quality of life. This study explored secondary data analysis of global institutions' reports to examine the impact of climate change on food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper synthesizes themes and patterns to comprehend the effects of climate change on food supply. The data was analyzed through a thematic analysis to identify patterns and themes from the secondary data. The findings established that climate change reduces farming productivity, which causes food shortages and increases the vulnerability of farming. Food security can be improved by adopting climate-change agricultural practices and increasing investment in agricultural infrastructure. The paper concludes that climate change impacts food security. This paper recommends that the government and global institutions support Sub-Saharan African farmers. It contributes to raising awareness of measures to improve food security in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abiri, R., Rizan, N., Balasundram, S. K., Shahbazi, A. B., & Abdul-Hamid, H. (2023). Application of Digital Technologies for Ensuring Agricultural Productivity. Heliyon, 9(12). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22601

Agostoni, C., Baglioni, M., La Vecchia, A., Molari, G., & Berti, C. (2023). Interlinkages Between Climate Change and Food Systems: The Impact on Child Malnutrition—Narrative Review. Nutrients, 15(2), 416. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15020416

Ahmad, N., Zainudin, I. F., & Seman, N. A. A. (2023). Perceived Usefulness and Ease of Use Towards the Intention of Using Drone Technology among Micro Farmers in Malaysia. Research in Management of Technology and Business, 4(2), 225-240. https://doi.org/10.55057/ijbtm.2023.5.s5.32

Alaimo, K., Chilton, M., & Jones, S. J. (2020). Food Insecurity, Hunger, and Malnutrition. In Present Knowledge in Nutrition (pp. 311-326). Academic Press.

Assan, N. (2022). It is time for reimagining the future of food security in sub-Saharan Africa: Gender-Smallholder Agriculture-Climate Change Nexus. Trends Journal of Sciences Research, 1(1), 76–85.

Badolo, M. (2024). The Badolo Food Resilience Scientific Framework for Advancing Food Security Resilience to Climate Change in Sub-Saharan Africa. OSF Preprints.

Balasundram, S. K., Shamshiri, R. R., Sridhara, S., & Rizan, N. (2023). The Role of Digital Agriculture in Mitigating Climate Change and Ensuring Food Security: An Overview. Sustainability, 15(6), 5325. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065325

Baynachew, B., Thaddeus, C., Emmanuel, O., & Uzomah, N. (2019). Climate Change, Food Insecurity, and Household Adaptation Mechanisms in Amaro Ward, The Southern Region of Ethiopia. Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, 11(5), 106–113. https://doi.org/10.5897/jaerd2019.1042

Bismark, M., Agyare, W., Mexoese, N., & Samuel, A. (2021). Comparing Farmers’ Perceptions of Climate Variability with Meteorological and Remote Sensing Data, Implications for Climate-Smart Agriculture Technologies in Ghana. American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, 5(4), 104. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajese.20210504.14

Chari, F. and Ngcamu, B. (2022). Climate Change and Its Impact on Urban Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Literature Review. Environmental & Socio-Economic Studies, 10(3), 22-32. https://doi.org/10.2478/environ-2022-0014

Cheng, M., McCarl, B., & Fei, C. (2022). Climate Change and Livestock Production: A Literature Review. Atmosphere, 13(1), 140. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13010140

Damoah, B. (2023). Ramifications of Violent Protest on the Environment. International Journal of Environmental, Sustainability, and Social Science, 4(3), 652-663. https://doi.org/10.38142/ijesss.v4i3.532

Damoah, B., & Adu, E. O. (2022). Environmental Education in South African Schools: The Role of Civil Society Organizations. Research in Social Sciences and Technology, 7(3), 1-17.

Damoah, B., & Khalo, X. (2024). Extreme Temperature Variability in the Southeastern United States: Trends in Mississippi State. International Journal of Environmental, Sustainability, and Social Science, 5(6), 1991-2002.

Damoah, B., Adu, E., Ofori, E., & Apraku, A. (2024). Aggravation of climate change crisis in Gulf Regions of United States: A Review of Anthropogenic Factors. Journal of Ecohumanism, 3(4), 438-449.

Damoah, B., Khalo, X. (2023). Reinvigorating Climate Change Education in Universities a Social Transformative Agenda. Environmental Science & Sustainable Development, 19-26.

Damoah, B., Khalo, X., & Omodan, B. (2023). Disparities in rural universities transformation: A review from a South African perspective. Prizren Social Science Journal, 7(3), 1-10.

Durán-Sandoval, D., Uleri, F., Romero, G., & López, A. (2023). Food, Climate Change, and the Challenge of Innovation. Encyclopedia, 3(3), 839-852. https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia3030060

Escalante, L. E., & Maisonnave, H. (2023). Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change on Women's Poverty: A Bolivian Case Study. Journal of International Development, 35(5), 884-896. https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3711

FAO (2022). The state of food security and nutrition in the world 2022*. United Nations. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc0639en

Farhall, K., & Rickards, L. (2021). The “gender agenda” in agriculture for development and its (lack of) alignment with feminist scholarship. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 573424. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.573424

Fronda, J. G. (2024). Empowering Nueva Ecija’s farmers through microfinancing: A blueprint for enhancing financial literacy and agricultural resilience. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 14(4), 123-130. https://doi.org/10.32479/ijefi.16330

Fukase, E., & Martin, W. (2020). Economic growth, convergence, and world food demand and supply. World Development, 132, 104954. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.104954

Giller, K. E., Delaune, T., Silva, J. V., van Wijk, M., Hammond, J., Descheemaeker, K., ... & Andersson, J. A. (2021). Small farms and development in sub-Saharan Africa: Farming for food, for income, or lack of better options? Food Security, 13(6), 1431-1454. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-021-01209-0

Gomez-Zavaglia, A., Mejuto, J. C., & Simal-Gandara, J. (2020). Mitigation of emerging implications of climate change on food production systems. Food Research International, 134, 109256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109256

Harris, A., Jones, M., & Ismail, N. (2022). Distributed leadership: taking a retrospective and contemporary view of the evidence base. School Leadership & Management, 42(5), 438–456. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2022.2109620

IPCC. (2022). Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability*. Cambridge University Press. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/

Ipinnaiye, O., & Olaniyan, F. (2023). An exploratory study of local social innovation initiatives for sustainable poverty reduction in Nigeria. Sustainable Development, 31(4), 2222-2239. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2502

Kogo, B. K., Kumar, L., & Koech, R. (2021). Climate change and variability in Kenya: a review of impacts on agriculture and food security. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23(1), 23-43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00589-1

Kom, Z., Nethengwe, N. S., Mpandeli, N. S., & Chikoore, H. (2022). Determinants of small-scale farmers’ choice and adaptive strategies in response to climatic shocks in Vhembe District, South Africa. GeoJournal, 87(2), 677-700. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-020-10272-7

Kulkarni, S. (2021). Climate Change, Soil Erosion Risks, and Nutritional Security. Climate Change and Resilient Food Systems: Issues, Challenges, and Way Forward, 219–244. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4538-6_8

Kurgat, B., Lamanna, C., Kimaro, A., Namoi, N., Manda, L., & Rosenstock, T. (2020). Adoption of climate-smart agriculture technologies in Tanzania. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2020.00055

Laborde, D., Martin, W., & Vos, R. (2021). Impacts of COVID‐19 on global poverty, food security, and diets: Insights from global model scenario analysis. Agricultural Economics, 52(3), 375-390. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12624

Liliane, T. N., & Charles, M. S. (2020). Factors affecting the yield of crops. Agronomy-climate change & food security, 9, 9-24. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90672

Maity, A., Paul, D., Lamichaney, A., Sarkar, A., Babbar, N., Mandal, N., & Chakrabarty Chakrabarty, S. K. (2023). Climate change impacts seed production and quality: current knowledge, implications, and mitigation strategies. Seed Science and Technology, 51(1), 65–96. https://doi.org/10.15258/sst.2023.51.1.07

Mensah, E. P., Bannor, R. K., Oppong-Kyeremeh, H., & Kyire, S. K. C. (2022). An assessment of postharvest losses to support innovation in the egg value chain in Ghana. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 14(4), 947–959. https://doi.org/10.1080/20421338.2021.1920679

Morgan, D. L., & Nica, A. (2020). Iterative thematic inquiry: A new method for analyzing qualitative data. International journal of qualitative methods, 19, 1609406920955118. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406920955118

Mtega, W. P., & Ngoepe, M. (2020). Knowledge management best practices among rice farmers in selected areas of Tanzania. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 52(2), 331-344. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961000619856087

Naazie, G., Dakyaga, F., & Derbile, E. (2023). Agro-ecological intensification for climate change adaptation: tales on smallholder farmers soil and water management practices of smallholder farmers in rural Ghana. Discover Sustainability, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-023-00142-w

Nakalembe, C. and Kerner, H. (2023). Considerations for ai-eo for agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Environmental Research Letters, 18(4), 041002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acc476

Naorem, A., Jayaraman, S., Dang, Y. P., Dalal, R. C., Sinha, N. K., Rao, C. S., & Patra, A. K. (2023). Soil constraints in an arid environment—challenges, prospects, and implications. Agronomy, 13(1), 220. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13010220

Negri, M., Cagno, E., Colicchia, C., & Sarkis, J. (2021). Integrating sustainability and resilience in the supply chain: A systematic literature review and a research agenda. Business Strategy and the environment, 30(7), 2858-2886. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2776

Ofori, S. A., Cobbina, S. J., & Obiri, S. (2021). Climate change, land, water, and food security: Perspectives from Sub-Saharan Africa. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5, 680924. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.680924

Oiganji, E., Igbadun, H., Amaza, P. S., & Lenka, R. Z. (2025). Innovative Technologies for Improved Water Productivity and Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation, and Resilience: A Review. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management, 29(1), 123-136. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1179-9159

Omotoso, A. B., Letsoalo, S., Olagunju, K. O., Tshwene, C. S., & Omotayo, A. O. (2023). Climate change and variability in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review of trends and impacts on agriculture. Journal of Cleaner Production, 414, 137487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137487

Ostrom, E. (2019). Institutional rational choice: An assessment of the institutional analysis and development framework. In Theories of the Policy Process, Second Edition (pp. 21–64). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367274689-2

Peters, M. D., Marnie, C., Colquhoun, H., Garritty, C. M., Hempel, S., Horsley, T., & Tricco, A. C. (2021). Scoping reviews: reinforcing and advancing the methodology and application. Systematic reviews, 10, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-021-01821-3

Qiao, L., Wang, X., Smith, P., Fan, J., Lu, Y., Emmett, B., ... & Fan, M. (2022). Soil quality both increases crop production and improves resilience to climate change. Nature Climate Change, 12(6), 574–580. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01376-8

Quarshie, P., Abdulai, A., Abdulai, S., Antwi‐Agyei, P., & Fraser, E. (2023). Why “formal” climate adaptation strategies fail in sub-Saharan Africa: ignoring adapters’ agency in the case of smallholding agriculture farming practices in Bono East region of Ghana. Climate Resilience and Sustainability, 2(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/cli2.53

Raj, S., Roodbar, S., Brinkley, C., & Wolfe, D. W. (2022). Food security and climate change: differences in impacts and adaptation strategies for rural communities in the global south and north. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5, 691191. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.691191

Smith, V. H., & Glauber, J. W. (2020). Trade, policy, and food security. Agricultural Economics, 51(1), 159-171. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12547

Sundram, P. (2023). Food security in ASEAN: progress, challenges, and future. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7, 1260619. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1260619

Tacconi, L., & Williams, D. A. (2020). Corruption and anti-corruption in environmental and resource management. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 45(1), 305-329. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-012320-083949

Tesfay, S. (2024). What are the impacts of climate change on sustainable food production, food demand, and population numbers in sub-Saharan Africa? A systematic review. Food journal, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.59411/sc2by231

Thonicke, K., Bahn, M., Lavorel, S., Bardgett, R. D., Erb, K., Giamberini, M., & Rammig, A. (2020). Advancing the understanding of the adaptive capacity of social‐ecological systems to absorb climate extremes. Earth's Future, 8(2), e2019EF001221. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019ef001221

Vonthron, S., Perrin, C., & Soulard, C. T. (2020). Foodscape: A scoping review and a research agenda for food security-related studies. PloS one, 15(5), e0233218. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233218

Wakweya, R. B. (2023). Challenges and prospects of adopting climate-smart agricultural practices and technologies: Implications for food security. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 14, 100698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2023.100698

Wang, X. (2022). Managing land carrying capacity: Key to achieving sustainable production systems for food security. Land, 11(4), 484. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11040484

WFP (2022). Global report on food crises 2022. https://www.wfp.org/publications/global-report-food-crises-2022

World Bank (2022, October 17). What you need to know about food security and climate change. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2022/10/17/what-you-need-to-know-about-food-security-and-climate-change

Yarney, L., Sakyi, E., Chuks, J., & Achamwie, P. (2021). Climate change and rural female farmers in Ghana: a study of the Wenchi municipality. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202106.0088.v1

Zhai, L., & Lee, J.-E. (2024). Investigating Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Resilience: A Comprehensive Review within the Context of Climate Change. Atmosphere, 15(4), 474. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15040474

Zheng, H., Ma, W., & He, Q. (2024). Climate-smart agricultural practices for enhanced farm productivity, income, resilience, and greenhouse gas mitigation: a comprehensive review. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 29(4), 28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11027-024-10124-6

Zougmoré, R. B., Läderach, P., & Campbell, B. M. (2021). Transforming food systems in Africa under climate change pressure: Role of climate-smart agriculture. Sustainability, 13(8), 4305. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13084305