Climate variability increasingly threatens agriculture and smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in Ethiopia

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the recommendations and future work and stated challenges and abstract of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2025 and 2026, spanning 4 journals. Those papers have been cited 3 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 4 representative gaps

• Challenges Facing Agronomists and Effective Strategies for Promoting Sustainable Agriculture in Zambia’s Modern Agriculture: Insights from Mkushi District, Zambia (2026) · Journal of Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Animal Science · doi

  i. Government and agricultural stakeholders should improve access to agricultural resources such as irrigation systems, improved seed, mechanization, and climate-smart inputs. ii. Agricultural institutions should strengthen continuous technical training for agronomists in sustainable and climate- smart agricultural practices. iii. Policymakers should promote adoption of modern agricultural technologies through improved infrastructure and affordable agricultural financing. iv. The Ministry of Agriculture should strengthen implementation and monitoring of agricultural support policies to enhance sustainability objectives. v. Future studies should include larger samples and multiple districts to generate broader evidence on sustainable agriculture promotion in Zambia. REFERENCES Adamu, F., & Wambui, C. (2021). Sustainable agriculture in Africa: Current trends and challenges. African Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, 9(1), 45–58. Aker, J. C. (2011). Dial “A” for agriculture: Using information and communication technologies for agricultural extension in developing countries. Agricultural Economics, 42(6), 631–647. Alubi, T., Tembo, A., & Daka, A. (2024). Access to agro- meteorological information among smallholder farmers in Chongwe District: A demographic and socio-economic analysis. Journal of Environment, Climate, and Ecology, 1(1), 38-45. Anderson, J. R., & Feder, G. (2007). Agricultural extension. In R. Evenson & P. Pingali (Eds.), Handbook of agricultural economics, 3. 2343–2378). Elsevier. Barrett, C. B., Christiaensen, L., Sheahan, M., & Shimeles, A. (2020). On the structural transformation of rural Africa. Journal of African Economies, 26(Suppl. 1), i11–i35. Below, T. B., Mutabazi, K. D., Kirschke, D., Franke, C., Sieber, S., Siebert, R., & Tscherning, K. (2012). Can farmers’ adaptation to climate change be explained by socio-economic household-level variables? Global Environmental Change, 22(1), 223–235. Black, S. (2022). Conducting in-depth interviews in rural areas (1st ed.). University of Zambia Press. Brown, R. (2022). Using SPSS for statistical analysis in agricultural research (3rd ed.). Wiley. Burke, W. J., Jayne, T. S., & Black, J. R. (2012). Factors explaining the low and variable profitability of fertilizer application to maize in Zambia. Agricultural Economics, 43(6), 659–670. Chambers, R. (1994). Participatory rural appraisal (PRA): Analysis of experience. World Development, 22(9), 1253–1268. Chanda, M. (2022). The role of agronomists in promoting sustainable agriculture in Zambia. Zambia Journal of Agronomy 10(3), 78–94. Chen, L., & Patel, M. (2020). Promoting sustainable agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa: Strategies and barriers. International Journal of Sustainable Development, 15(2), 102–118. Chileshe, L., & Mwale, N. (2020). Technological and

  generalrecommendations
  Keywords: agricultural sustainable agriculture zambia journal climate africa economics rural access improved smart strengthen agronomists technologies
• Why social inclusion matters in sustainable intensification (2026) · npj Sustainable Agriculture · doi

  4. 3. Dorosh, P. & Thurlow, J. Beyond agriculture versus non-agriculture: decomposing sectoral growth–poverty linkages in five African countries. World Dev. 109, 440–451 (2018). Ivanic, M. & Martin, W. Sectoral productivity growth and poverty reduction: National and global impacts. World Dev. 109, 429–439 (2018). Ligon, E. & Sadoulet, E. Estimating the relative benefits of agricultural growth on the distribution of expenditures. World Dev. 109, 417–428 (2018). 5. 6. Ortiz-Bobea, A., Ault, T. R., Carrillo, C. M., Chambers, R. G. & Lobell, 7. 8. 9. D. B. Anthropogenic climate change has slowed global agricultural productivity growth. Nat. Clim. Change 11, 306–312 (2021). Perez, C. et al. How resilient are farming households and communities to a changing climate in Africa? A gender-based perspective. Glob. Environ. Change 34, 95–107 (2015). FAO. The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems. (2023). Jones-Garcia, E. & Krishna, V. V. Farmer adoption of sustainable intensification technologies in the maize systems of the Global South. A review. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 41, 8 (2021). 10. Alwang, J. et al. Pathways from research on improved staple crop germplasm to poverty reduction for smallholder farmers. Agric. Syst. 172, 16–27 (2019). 11. Cariappa, A. A. G. & Krishna, V. V. Carbon farming in India: are the existing projects inclusive, additional, and permanent? Clim. Policy 25, 756–771 (2025). 12. Foster, A. D. & Rosenzweig, M. R. Democratization, Elite Capture and Economic Development. NBER Working Paper No. 29797. (National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, 2022). 13. Merritt, W. S. et al. Reflecting on an integrated approach to understanding pathways for socially inclusive agricultural intensification. J. Dev. Stud. 58, 1569–1587 (2022). 14. Roth, C. H. et al. Overcoming barriers to social inclusion in agricultural intensification: Reflections on a transdisciplinary community development project from India and Bangladesh. Community Dev. J. 59, 87–107 (2024). 15. Marty, E. et al. Enabling gender and social inclusion in climate and agriculture policy and planning through foresight processes: assessing challenges and leverage points. Clim. Policy 24, 1034–1049 (2024). 26. Jain, M. et al. How much can sustainable intensification increase yields across South Asia? A systematic review of the evidence. Environ. Res. Lett. 15, 083004 (2020). 27. Kotu, B. H., Alene, A., Manyong, V., Hoeschle-Zeledon, I. & Larbi, A. Adoption and impacts of sustainable intensification practices in Ghana. Int. J. Agric. Sustain. 15, 539–554 (2017). 28. Krishna, V. V. & Veettil, P. C. Productivity and efficiency impacts of conservation tillage in northwest Indo-Gangetic Plains. Agric. Syst. 127, 126–138 (2014). 29. Kuyah, S. et al. Innovative agronomic practices for sustainable intensification in sub-Saharan Africa. A review. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 41, 16 (2021). 30. Jat, R. S. et al. Sustainability, productivity, profitability and soil health with conservation agricultur

  generalfuture work
  Keywords: intensi cation growth productivity agricultural sustainable agriculture poverty world global impacts climate change clim krishna
• Exploring the Relationship between Climate Variability and Crop Yields in Niger State, Nigeria (2026) · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · doi

  Climate variability is a major challenge for agricultural production in sub-Saharan Africa. The study area is vulnerable to climate-related hazards such as drought and flood. There is a need to develop strategies to mitigate the effects of climate variability on agricultural production.

  generalstated challengesevidence 5/5
  Keywords: climate variability major challenge agricultural production sub-saharan africa
• Spatio-temporal dynamics of climate variability and its impact on major crop yields across different agro-ecological zones of the Ayehu watershed, Northwest Ethiopia (2025) · Discover Sustainability · cited 3× · doi

  Climate variability increasingly threatens agriculture and smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in Ethiopia, but little is known about its localized impacts on crop production across diverse agroecological zones.

  generalabstractevidence 4/5
  Keywords: climate variability increasingly threatens agriculture smallholder farmers livelihoods ethiopia little known localized impacts crop production

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