Southern African agriculture and climate change: a comprehensive analysis. IFPRI Issue Brief

Abstract

Agriculture is the main source of employment and income for southern Africa’s rural population. This crucial economic activity is endangered by climate change. This study, Southern African Agriculture and Climate Change: A Comprehensive Analysis, focuses on ways to foster agricultural development and food security in southern Africa to reduce the effects of climate change. The authors develop several weather-based scenarios for how climate change might affect countries in the region between now and 2050. National contributors from Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe 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 developing crops and livestock suitable for hotter and drier environments and providing farmers with irrigation, weather, and climate information.