UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION MECHANISMS IN AGRICULTURE IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: A REVIEW PAPER

Agricultural sectors in Sub-Saharan African, which have economies largely based on weather-sensitive agricultural production, are particularly vulnerable to climate change. This vulnerability has been demonstrated by the devastating effects of recent flooding and the various prolonged droughts of the twenty-first century. Thus, for many Sub Saharan African countries that are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, identifying different adaptation options to climatic variation is crucial in designing appropriate coping strategies. Adaptation at the farmer level requires three basic steps: detecting a shift in one’s external environment, determining that it would favor a change in behavior, and undertaking that change. Therefore, understanding these events is important for decision making for climate change adaptation investment priorities which could yield high returns.