Stakeholder-driven transformative adaptation is needed for climate-smart nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Climate Science
• Nutrition Science

Background:

• Sub-Saharan Africa faces growing climate risks and population growth, threatening nutrition security.
• Limited research exists on simultaneously addressing climate-smart agriculture and nutrition security.
• A robust evidence base is needed for effective food system transformation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore stakeholder-driven scenarios for food system transformation towards climate-smart nutrition security.
• To assess the impacts of agricultural changes on nutrition security and greenhouse gas emissions in four African countries.
• To provide policy-relevant information for achieving nutrition security under climate change.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an integrated assessment framework (iFEED) combining climate-food-emissions modeling.
• Developed stakeholder-driven scenarios for food system transformation.
• Translated complex model outputs into policy-relevant implication statements.

Main Results:

• Diversifying agricultural production to include more micronutrient-rich foods is crucial for population-level nutrient supply.
• Significant yield improvements are necessary to prevent agricultural area expansion.
• Transformations may increase greenhouse gas emissions, with import reliance posing economic and political challenges.

Conclusions:

• Climate-smart agriculture and diversified food production are vital for future nutrition security in the region.
• Balancing agricultural transformation with emission reduction is a key challenge.
• Reducing reliance on imports is essential for economic and political stability.