by CIAT Comunicaciones | Mar 7, 2016

Agriculture in parts of sub-Saharan Africa must undergo significant transformation if it is to continue to produce key food crops, according to a new study published today in Nature Climate Change.

Maize, beans and bananas are most at risk according to the study, ‘Timescales of transformational climate change adaptation in sub-Saharan African agriculture.‘

The study examines region-by-region the likely effect of different climate change scenarios on nine crops that constitute 50% of food production in sub-Saharan Africa. The research is the first to allocate timeframes for changes in policy and practice in order to maintain production levels and avoid placing food security and the livelihoods of smallholder farmers at risk.

While six of the nine crops studied are expected to remain stable under moderate and extreme climate change scenarios, up to 30% of areas growing maize and bananas, and up to 60% of those producing beans are projected to become unviable by the end of the century. In some areas transformations will need to take place as soon as 2025. Transformation could mean changing the type of crop grown in the area in question, improving irrigation systems, or in extreme circumstances, moving away from.

“This study tells where, and crucially when, interventions need to be made to stop climate change destroying vital food supplies in Africa,” says Julian Ramirez-Villegas, lead author of the study, working with the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). “We know what needs to be done, and for the first time, we now have deadlines for taking action,” he adds.

See more at: http://blog.ciat.cgiar.org/new-research-exposes-urgent-need-to-transform-key-agriculture-regions-across-africa-by-as-early-as-2025/#sthash.tOfshpsf.dpuf