Land and Climate Seminar - Intensification of Cropping Systems in the Face of Climate Change: The Case of West Africa

Speaker: Dilys Sefakor MacCarthy

The expansion of agricultural land is a key contributor to changes in land use in West Africa, where Agriculture plays a major role in the economy, providing food and livelihoods for a large segment of the population. The expansion is primarily driven by the increasing demand for food due to a growing population, coupled with continuous soil degradation which results in low productivity. The rapid expansion combined with unsustainable management practices, threatens the long-term sustainability of agri-food systems and, consequently, food security. To address these challenges, concrete steps must be taken to promote the sustainable intensification of food systems. Snapshots of studies on intensification in the context of climate change within smallholder systems are presented to re-ignite the discussion on sustainable intensification.