The value of climate-resilient seeds for smallholder adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa

Title
The value of climate-resilient seeds for smallholder adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa
Publication Date
2020-10
Author(s)
Cacho, Oscar J
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1542-4442
Email: ocacho@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:ocacho
Moss, Jonathan
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0462-8340
Email: jmoss7@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:jmoss7
Thornton, Philip K
Herrero, Mario
Henderson, Ben
Bodirsky, Benjamin L
Humpenoder, Florian
Popp, Alexander
Lipper, Leslie
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Place of publication
Netherlands
DOI
10.1007/s10584-020-02817-z
UNE publication id
une:1959.11/29631
Abstract
Climate change is threatening food security in many tropical countries, where a large proportion of food is produced by vulnerable smallholder farmers. Interventions are available to offset many of the negative impacts of climate change on agriculture, and they can be tailored to local conditions often through relative modest investments. However, little quantitative information is available to guide investment or policy choices at a time when countries and development agencies are under pressure to implement policies that can help achieve Sustainable Development Goals while coping with climate change. Among smallholder adaptation options, developing seeds resilient to current and future climate shocks expected locally is one of the most important actions available now. In this paper, we used national and local data to estimate the costs of climate change to smallholder farmers in Malawi and Tanzania. We found that the benefits from adopting resilient seeds ranged between 984 million and 2.1 billion USD during 2020–2050. Our analysis demonstrates the benefits of establishing and maintaining a flexible national seed sector with participation by communities in the breeding, delivery, and adoption cycle.
Link
Citation
Climatic Change, 162(3), p. 1213-1229
ISSN
1573-1480
0165-0009
Start page
1213
End page
1229
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International

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