There is a growing and critical need for decision-makers
at different levels in Africa, from local (community) to
national and sub-regional scales, to develop matching
response strategies and policies in order to reduce
vulnerability and foster resilient livelihood systems on
a sustainable basis. This document presents the main
findings of a critical review conducted to examine the
current evidence of research and policies on climate
change adaptation in the agricultural sector in Southern
Africa.
The review was commissioned under the AfricaInteract
project, funded by the International Development
Research Centre (IDRC) and coordinated by the West
and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and
Development (CORAF/WECARD). With a specific focus on
Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe, the desktop review
was guided by three main objectives: i) to synthesise
the major findings from agricultural research on climate
change adaptation conducted in Southern Africa; ii) to
identify research and policy gaps on climate change
adaptation with a specific focus on Southern Africa’s
agricultural sector; and iii) to identify key stakeholders
and opportunities for climate change adaptation for the
agricultural sector in Southern Africa. For the purposes of
the study, agriculture was defined broadly to include not
only crops and livestock, but also forestry and fisheries
systems. Information was primarily drawn from available
but limited refereed journal articles, official government
documents and grey literature from reports and websites
of diverse organisations practically addressing or actively
engaged in debate on climate change issues in the
Southern African region.