Transforming agriculture in Africa’s Small Island Developing States: Lessons learnt and options for climate-smart agriculture investments in Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Seychelles

Download or read book Transforming agriculture in Africa’s Small Island Developing States: Lessons learnt and options for climate-smart agriculture investments in Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Seychelles written by Ahmed, F., Houessenou, P., Nikiema A., Zougmore, R. and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2021-12-01 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are 52 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the world. These boast of rich biodiversity landscapes, including a large variety of endemic species and indigenous knowledge that can make them the repository of our planetary ecosystem (UNEP, 2014). Nevertheless, the SIDS are identified as being one of the negatively impacted areas of climate change in the world, with huge implications for biodiversity loss and survival. There is a general consensus that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from small islands are negligible in comparison to global emissions, but the effects of climate change are devastating as a consequence of the sea level rise associated with global warming (Nurse et al., 2014). Long-term risks projected for small islands include increase in coastal flooding, freshwater stress and risks across marine ecosystems. Other threats to the SIDS include more frequent strong winds and cyclones, sea water intrusion into aquifers, and freshwater scarcity (Kelman and West, 2009). The apparent inability of these countries to adequately and effectively adapt to these impacts is the result of a combination of factors, including their exposure, sensitivity and vulnerability to shocks, and the costly nature of adaptation measures (Robinson, 2019). The report includes an introductory chapter, and climate change and the importance of the AFOLU sectors in the second and third chapters, respectively. The fourth and fifth chapters discuss the challenges in agriculture and the needs and priorities for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The adoption of CSA for integrated climate action as well as barriers to adopting promising CSA technologies/practices are discussed in Chapter 6. Furthermore, the capacity development needs required to address barriers to adoption of CSA opportunities and drive sustainable and tranformational results at scale are discussed. Lastly, the forward-looking chapter discusses knowledge gaps, such as the insufficient capture of the fishery subsector in the country CSA profiles, given its contribution to food security and the countries’ economy, and recommends priority areas to serve as entry points for CSA investments.