Working Paper 103
Emma T. Liwenga, Abdulai Jalloh and Hezron Mogaka
August 2014
Climate change is rapidly emerging as a major risk factor affecting the agriculture sector across the East African region. This paper aims at synthesising research and policies related to climate change adaptation in the agricultural sector in Africa, with a particular focus on the East African region. The review was based on a detailed literature search with a focus on performance of the agricultural sector within the East African region.
Agricultural research is a crucial area for adaptation to climate change in order to deal with changes in the length of growing seasons, increased droughts and periodic waterlogging as well as increased temperature and salinity. Integrated approaches are also needed in development interventions aimed at promoting adaptation to climate change. Combining local and scientific knowledge systems is important for making climate information relevant locally and for empowering communities. Empirical studies on gender also need to be conducted in different agro-ecological zones to test its contribution to adaptation planning.
This review was undertaken under the auspices of the AfricaInteract project funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
