Climate Change Impacts on West African Agriculture: An Integrated Regional Assessment (CIWARA)

Adiku, S G K and MacCarthy, D S and Hathie, I and Diancoumba, M and Freduah, B S and Amikuzuno, J and Traore, P C S and Traore, S and Koomson, E and Agali, A and Lizaso, J I and Fatondji, D and Adams, M and Tigana, L and Diarra, D Z and N'diaye, O and Valdivia, R O (2015) Climate Change Impacts on West African Agriculture: An Integrated Regional Assessment (CIWARA). In: Handbook of Climate Change and Agroecosystems: The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project Integrated Crop and Economic Assessments, Part 2. Series on Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation . World Scientific Publishing, pp. 25-73. ISBN 978-1-78326-563-3

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Abstract

The West African Sub-Saharan region (Fig. 1) is home to some 300 million people, with at least 60% engaged in agricultural activity. Climate change is now recognized as a major constraint to development worldwide. While climate change primarily relates to the future, historical trends give evidence of climate change already occurring. Temperature increases of 1 to 1.5◦C have been observed over the last 30 years in West Africa (EPA Ghana, 2001; IPCC, 2007) and there are projections of further warming of the West African region in the foreseeable future (2040–2069; Fig. 2a). The impact of climate change on West African rainfall is less clear. The analysis of historical data over the last 30 years shows that, whereas some zones experienced increased rainfall by as much as 20% to 40%, other locations experienced a decline in annual rainfall by about 15%. Future projections suggest a drier western Sahel (e.g., Senegal) but a wetter eastern Sahel (e.g., Mali, Niger; Fig. 2b). The southern locations of WestAfrica (e.g., Ghana) are projected to experience no change or slight increases in annual rainfall (Hulme et al., 2001). Irrespective of whether these zones will be dryer or not, there is historical evidence of shifts in rainfall patterns with extreme events (i.e., droughts and floods) becoming more frequent (Adiku and Stone, 1995) and it is probable that this trend may persist into the future...

Item Type:	Book Section
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
CRP:	UNSPECIFIED
Series Name:	Series on Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation, and Mitigation
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Climate Change Impacts, West African Agriculture, Integrated Regional Assessment, Farming System, Agricultural Production Systems, Climate Change Adaptations, Senegal
Subjects:	Others > Climate Adaptation Others > Impact Assessment Others > Climate Change Others > African Agriculture Others > West Africa
Depositing User:	Mr Ramesh K
Date Deposited:	13 Jul 2018 06:35
Last Modified:	13 Jul 2018 07:03
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/10790
Acknowledgement:	UNSPECIFIED
Links:	Google Scholar

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