12 October, 2024

Adapting East and Southern Africa’s livestock to climate change

Authors

Issa Awal Mohamed, Michiel Schaeffer, Florent Baarsch

As climate change increasingly impacts livestock farming, the need for strategic adaptation has never been more critical. This paper introduces a tailored framework designed to help livestock farmers in Eastern and Southern Africa make informed, context-specific adaptation choices.

The framework features a decision tree that guides farmers through possible adjustments within their current management systems or switches to alternative ones. By considering different climate change scenarios and models, the framework provides a nuanced evaluation of adaptation options that vary across livestock value chains, climate zones, and farming systems.

As the climate changes, so too do the recommended strategies. For example, under moderate heat stress, agroforestry would be a suitable option for cattle, but sheep may require alternative approaches due to their vulnerability to heat.

This decision tree-based tool offers a dynamic solution for the region’s livestock sector, enabling time-sensitive and context-specific decisions that support effective adaptation to climate change.

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