This series of IFPRI Research Briefs is based on research supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany, under the project "Food and Water Security under Global Change: Developing Adaptive Capacity with a

Approximately 80 percent of poor people in Sub-Saharan Africa continue to depend on the agricultural sector for their livelihoods, but-unlike in other regions of the world-agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa is characterized by very low yields due t

In southern Africa, by the middle of the 21st century climate change is expected to cause temperature increases of 1–3°C, broad summer rainfall reductions of 5–10 percent, and an increase in the incidence of both droughts and floods.

The agricultural sector in developing countries is particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change.

Agricultural production remains the main source of livelihood for rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing employment to more than 60 percent of the population and contributing about 30 percent of gross domestic product.

Maize is the primary food staple in southern Africa, and 50 percent of the total maize output in the area is produced in South Africa, where maize constitutes approximately 70 percent of grain production and covers 60 percent of the country's crop

Over the coming decades, global change will have an impact on food and water security in significant and highly uncertain ways, and there are strong indications that developing countries will bear the brunt of the adverse consequences, particularl

Human activities such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation have significantly increased the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) leading to global climate change.

Climate change is expected to have serious environmental, economic, and social impacts on South Africa. In particular, rural farmers, whose livelihoods depend on the use of natural resources, are likely to bear the brunt of adverse impacts.

With likely long-term changes in rainfall patterns and shifting temperature zones, climate change is expected to increase the frequency of climate-related shocks, such as floods and droughts in Sub-Saharan Africa.