eprintid: 10795
rev_number: 15
eprint_status: archive
userid: 1305
dir: disk0/00/01/07/95
datestamp: 2018-07-17 08:22:54
lastmod: 2018-07-17 08:31:21
status_changed: 2018-07-17 08:22:54
type: book_section
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Jalloh, A
creators_name: Faye, M D
creators_name: Roy-Macauley, H
creators_name: Sereme, P
creators_name: Zougmore, R B
creators_name: Thomas, T S
creators_name: Nelson, G C
icrisatcreators_name: Zougmore, R B
affiliation: Natural Resources Management, West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD) (Dakar)
affiliation: Policy, Markets, and Trade Programme, West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD)
affiliation: West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD)
affiliation: West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (WECARD)
affiliation: Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS), Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
affiliation: ICRISAT (Niamey)
affiliation: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (Washington)
affiliation: Environment and Production Technology Division, International Food Policy Research Institute (Washington)
country: Senegal
country: Niger
country: USA
title: Overview
ispublished: pub
subjects: s2.8
subjects: s28
subjects: s4009
full_text_status: public
keywords: Crops, Climate change, Agriculture, Food security
Agricultural development, Sustainability, Agricultural policy
abstract: The part of Africa designated as West Africa is made up of 16 countries—
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria,
Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Its land area is about 5 million square kilometers,
and its population in 2010 was about 290 million. With the exception
of Mauritania, these countries are members of the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS). The subregion comprises a diversified agricultural
base spread over a wide range of agroecological zones with significant
potential for improved agricultural productivity.
Agriculture is the major source of livelihood for the majority of West
Africans. The agricultural sector employs 60 percent of the active labor force
but contributes only 35 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The disparity
between contribution to GDP and share of population means that
many West African farmers are very poor, producing close to subsistence levels
and facing numerous constraints such as droughts, soil acidity, and nutrientdepleted
and degraded soils that impinge on agricultural development. The
most important foodcrops grown and consumed in West Africa are cereals—
sorghum, millet, maize, and rice; roots and tubers—cassava, sweet potatoes,
and yams; and legumes—cowpeas and groundnuts. Major cash crops are
cocoa, coffee, and cotton...
date: 2013
date_type: published
series: IFPRI’s climate change in Africa series
publisher: International Food Policy Research Institute
place_of_pub: Washington
pagerange: 1-35
pages: 408
refereed: TRUE
isbn: 978-0-89629-204-8
book_title: West African agriculture and climate change: A comprehensive analysis
editors_name: Jalloh, A
editors_name: Nelson, G C
editors_name: Thomas, T S
editors_name: Zougmore, R
editors_name: Roy-Macauley, H
official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.2499/9780896292048
citation:   Jalloh, A and Faye, M D and Roy-Macauley, H and Sereme, P and Zougmore, R B and Thomas, T S and Nelson, G C  (2013) Overview.   In:  West African agriculture and climate change: A comprehensive analysis.   IFPRI’s climate change in Africa series .  International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, pp. 1-35.  ISBN 978-0-89629-204-8     
document_url: http://oar.icrisat.org/10795/1/CHAPTER%201.pdf