Dairy farming activities play important roles in nutrition and health, livelihoods and employment, and culture, in Kenya and Senegal. Faced with various challenges such as climate change, increased populations, insecurity, and conflicts over (water, land, feed) resources, dairy production systems will have to undergo changes in the future that allow them to adapt.

The link between climate change and conflict has been widely studied in the past decade. Despite empirical evidence leading to ambiguous, sometimes contradictory, conclusions, it is generally accepted that climate-related security risks are manifested through a non-linear and complex interplay between climate threats, sources of vulnerability, and drivers of conflict. The effects of this “vicious circle” are underlined by socioeconomic and political factors acting as drivers of insecurity.

The impacts of climate change in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), are already well known to farmers. Over 2 million people in Kenya face threat of food insecurity due to climate change. Maize production is particularly vulnerable to climate change. It is projected to face not only 15% climate-related declines in yield without adaptation but also challenges from diminished cropland suitability and poor agronomic inputs and management; degraded environmental bases with declining soil fertility and degraded water systems are already apparent.

For decades, global coffee consumption has grown, as tastes and offerings for consumers have increased around the world, and global demand for coffee will continue to grow in the years to come. At the same time, climate change presents coffee producers and other supply chain actors with major challenges. Its impacts are already reducing the area that is well suited for growing coffee, and this lends urgency to the adoption of farming strategies than can secure future coffee supplies and the livelihoods of coffee-producing families.

This factsheet gives answers on how climate exacerbates root causes of conflict in Guatamala, using a pathway analysis. Two main pathways are identified: 1. Livelihood and Food Insecurity: Climate change impacts may exacerbate socioeconomic conditions leading to vulnerability in households dependent on rain-fed subsistence agriculture, and further contribute to food and livelihood insecurity. This, in turn, may spur economic migration towards urban centres inside and outside the country.

The impacts of climate change in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA), are already well known to farmers. Climate change affects women more negatively compared to men in five impact areas: (i) agricultural production; (ii) food and nutrition security; (iii) health; (iv) water and energy; (v) climate-related disaster, migration, and conflict. Over 2 million people in Kenya face the threat of food insecurity due to climate change. Maize production is particularly vulnerable to climate change.

The Gender and Climate Empowerment Index for climate-resilient agriculture is based on four major measurable indicator domains—political, economic, agricultural, and social. Empowerment in relation to climate change relates to degree of vulnerability and ability to respond, recover from and adapt to climate change. In a context of growing climatic risks, appropriate technological solutions together with an empowering social environment are a prerequisite for ensuring food and livelihood security (Hariharan et al., 2020).

Climate change is hitting hardest some of those already most vulnerable, Rapidly exacerbating inequalities, including gender inequality, Climate action is urgently needed – at scale, and with a gender lens, Growing interest in the potential of social protection, Social protection programs reach billions of resource-poor people globally, Existing vast literature suggests substantial potential to support climate resilience – but little evidence framed explicitly around climate (and even less around gendered climate impacts), The Sharm El Sheikh Implementation Plan for COP27 (UNFCCC, 2022)

In recent years, northern Zambia has experienced climate change in the form of droughts and heavy rainfall, threatening the production and livelihoods of small-scale fish farmers. To help them anticipate and adapt their farming practices to changing weather patterns, local and international actors have been disseminating climate-smart information (CSI) mainly through physical trainings, radio broadcasts and roadshows.

Climate change and climate shocks are putting the most vulnerable people at risk, as extreme weather events are becoming more and more intense in many regions of the world. Extreme heat, drought, floods and unpredictable farming seasons are harming farmers and their production systems, threatening their livelihoods. In marginalized and vulnerable populations, aquaculture is a key means for sustaining livelihoods because of its contribution to food security and nutrition, but many fish farmers in Zambia endure unfavorable climates for sustainable fish farming.

Rainfed agriculture is at the centre of many West African economies and a key livelihood strategy in the region. Highly variable rainfall patterns lead to a situation in which farmers’ investments to increase productivity are very risky and will become more risky with climate change. Process-based cropping system models are a key tool to assess the impact of weather variability and climate change, as well as the effect of crop management options on crop yields, soil fertility and farming system resilience and widely used by the West African scientific community.