Climate change in African Mountains: an increasing challenge and contribution of local adaptation responses

The document reports on interviews with 1,500 farmers in ten African mountain regions, identifying increased temperatures, reduced fog, and erratic rainfall as primary climatic changes. These changes have led to lower yields for maize, cassava, and coffee, as well as reduced milk production and increased soil erosion. Farmers are adapting through on-farm strategies like changing planting dates and adopting new crop varieties, though wealth and conflict significantly influence the capacity to adapt. The brief recommends improving access to credit and markets, enhancing knowledge exchange, and accounting for the impacts of violent conflict in adaptation planning.

• Farmers across the studied African mountain regions have observed several climatic changes, most notably increased temperatures, reduced fog, changes in the amount and distribution of rainfall, and a rise in extreme climate events.
• Climate change is negatively impacting agriculture, livestock, and human health, specifically resulting in lower yields for coffee, maize, and cassava, decreased cow's milk production, increased pests and diseases, and higher rates of soil erosion and landslides.
• Local adaptation is primarily driven by on-farm strategies, such as adjusting planting dates, using new crop varieties, increasing soil conservation, and applying more fertilisers and pesticides, alongside increased veterinary care.
• The ability to adapt is heavily influenced by socio-economic factors; wealthier households implement more adaptation strategies, while violent conflict in regions like Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo limits the number of strategies used.
• To improve adaptation, the document identifies three priorities: enhancing access to credit, technical skills, and markets; increasing knowledge exchange between farmers and providers of new technologies; and addressing the specific constraints caused by violent conflicts and national policies.

APA

Zafra-Calvo, N., Aneseyee, A. B., Baderha, G. K. R., Batumike, R., Bitariho, R., Imani, G., Jha, N., Kaganzi, K. R., Kaplin, B. A., Klein, J. A., Leite, A., Marchant, R. A., Martin, E. H., Mcharazo, F., Mwangi, B., Ngute, A. S., Nkengurutse, J., Nkurunziza, A., Olaka, L., ... Cuni-Sanchez, A. (2025). Climate change in African Mountains: an increasing challenge and contribution of local adaptation responses. Basque Centre for Climate Change. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/202501291004031179988863.pdf

Chicago

Zafra-Calvo, Noelia, Abreham B. Aneseyee, Ghislain K. R. Baderha, Rodrigue Batumike, Robert Bitariho, Gerard Imani, Nisha Jha, et al. Climate change in African Mountains: an increasing challenge and contribution of local adaptation responses. Basque Centre for Climate Change, 2025. https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/202501291004031179988863.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Zafra-Calvo |first1=Noelia |last2=Aneseyee |first2=Abreham B. |last3=Baderha |first3=Ghislain K. R. |last4=Batumike |first4=Rodrigue |last5=Bitariho |first5=Robert |last6=Imani |first6=Gerard |last7=Jha |first7=Nisha |last8=Kaganzi |first8=Kaiza R. |last9=Kaplin |first9=Beth A. |display-authors=etal |title=Climate change in African Mountains: an increasing challenge and contribution of local adaptation responses |publisher=Basque Centre for Climate Change |date=January 2025 |url=https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/202501291004031179988863.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{zafracalvo2025climate, author = {Zafra-Calvo, Noelia and Aneseyee, Abreham B. and Baderha, Ghislain K. R. and Batumike, Rodrigue and Bitariho, Robert and Imani, Gerard and Jha, Nisha and Kaganzi, Kaiza R. and Kaplin, Beth A. and Klein, Julia A. and Leite, Ana and Marchant, Robert A. and Martin, Emanuel H. and Mcharazo, Fatuma and Mwangi, Ben and Ngute, Alain S.K. and Nkengurutse, Jacques and Nkurunziza, Aline and Olaka, Lydia and Soromessa, Teshome and Tchoffo, Romeo O.K. and Thorn, Jessica P.R. and Sullivan, Martin J.P. and Cuni-Sanchez, Aida}, title = {{Climate change in African Mountains: an increasing challenge and contribution of local adaptation responses}}, institution = {Basque Centre for Climate Change}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://www.bc3research.org/h6T8Uy8Nm4gFs0O/202501291004031179988863.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }