Agriculture and Ecosystem Resilience in Sub Saharan Africa

This volume discusses emerging contexts of agricultural and ecosystem resilience in Sub Saharan Africa, as well as contemporary technological advances that have influenced African livelihoods. In six sections, the book addresses the sustainable development goals to mitigate the negative impacts on agricultural productivity brought about by climate change in Africa. Some of the challenges assessed include soil degradation, land use changes, natural resource mismanagement, declining crop productivity, and economic stagnation. This book will be of interest to researchers, NGOs, and development organizations.Section 1 focuses on climate risk management in tropical Africa. Section 2 addresses the water-ecosystem-agriculture nexus, and identifies the best strategies for sustainable water use. Section 3 introduces Information Communication Technology (ICT), and how it can be used for ecosystem and human resilience to improve quality of life in communities. Section 4 discusses the science and policies of transformative agriculture, including challenges facing crop production and management. Section 5 addresses landscape processes, human security, and governance of agro-ecosystems. Section 6 concludes the book with chapters uniquely covering the gender dynamics of agricultural, ecosystem, and livelihood resilience. 

This volume discusses emerging contexts of agricultural and ecosystem resilience in Sub Saharan Africa, as well as contemporary technological advances that have influenced African livelihoods. In six sections, the book addresses the sustainable development goals to mitigate the negative impacts on agricultural productivity brought about by climate change in Africa. Some of the challenges assessed include soil degradation, land use changes, natural resource mismanagement, declining crop productivity, and economic stagnation. This book will be of interest to researchers, NGOs, and development organizations.

Chapter1: Agricultural Food Crop Production and Management Challenges under the Variable Climatic Conditions in Rungwe district, Tanzania.- Chapter2: Constraints to Agricultural Transformation in Yumbe District-Uganda.- Chapter3: Indigenous grasses for rehabilitating degraded African drylands.- Chapter4: Adoption of Recommended Maize Production Practices and Productivity among Farmers in Morogoro District, Tanzania.- Chapter5: Nitrate-Nitrogen Pollution and Attenuation Upstream of the Okavango Delta in Angola and Namibia.- Chapter6: Biochar application to soil for increased resilience of agroecosystems to climate change in Eastern and Southern Africa.- Chapter7: The Efficacy of the Soil Conservation Technologies Adopted in Mountain Agro-Ecosystems in Uganda.- Chapter8: Consequences of Land Tenure on Biodiversity in Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve in Kenya: Towards Responsible Land Management Outcomes.- Chapter9: Abundance and Diversity of Wetland Birds: The Case of Dinder National Park, Sudan.- Chapter10: Characterising the hydrological regime of a tropical papyrus wetland in the Lake Kyoga Basin, Uganda.- Chapter11: Ecological Sustainability: Miombo Woodland Conservation with Livestock Production in Sub-Saharan Africa.- Chapter12: Impacts of dams on downstream riparian ecosystems’ health and community livelihoods: A case of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.- Chapter13: The fragility of agricultural landscapes and resilience of communities to landslide occurrence in the tropical humid environments of Kigezi highlands in South Western Uganda.- Chapter14: The loss of agricultural and ecological resilience of abandoned lands in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.- Chapter15: Catching Rain: Sand Dams and other strategies to develop locally resilient water supplies in semi-arid areas of Kenya.- Chapter16: Are Livestock keepers in and around forests key stakeholders in forest management?Experiences from Mabira Central Forest Reserve, Uganda.- Chapter17: A Review of Studies related to Charcoal Production, Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Tanzania.- Chapter18: Aboveground Species Diversity and Carbon Stocks in Small Holder Coffee Agroforestsry in the Highlands of Uganda.- Chapter19: The contribution of smallholder tree growers to increasing tree cover in Kaliro District.- Chapter20: Climate Impact Adaptation through Aquaculture: Ecological Considerations and Regulatory Requirements for Tropical Africa.- Chapter21: Livelihood Resilience, Climate Risk Management and Agriculture in the mid Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe.- Chapter22: Determinants of Urban Resilience in sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review.- Chapter23: Determinants of Utilization of Strategies that Enhance Farmers' Resilience to Rainfall Variability in Mt. Elgon Region, Eastern Uganda.- Chapter24: On the Adoption of Climate Smart Agricultural Technologies andPractices in Drylands in Uganda: Evidence from a Micro-level Study in Nakasongola District.- Chapter25: Assessing the Efficacy of ICT in Weather Forecast Information Dissemination in Uganda: Evidence from Farming Communities in Mbale and Rakai Districts.- Chapter26: Empowering rural farmers in Africa to improve their livelihood through effective environment risk communication: Case study Uganda.- Chapter27: Effectiveness of Communication Channels on Level of Awareness and determinants of Adoption of Improved Common Bean Technologies among Smallholder Farmers in Tanzania.- Chapter28: Implications of the Media-Scientists’ Relationship on the Crop Biotechnology Debate in Uganda.- Chapter29: Pathways for Addressing Gender Based Constraints for Effective Participation in Profitable Crop Value Chains in Tanzania.- Chapter30: The Impacts of Climate Change on Small Holder Households in Mt. Elgon Region of Uganda -Does Gender matter?.- Chapter31: UsingIndigenous Knowledge to Enhance Rainfall Forecasts among Smallholder Farmers in Mt. Elgon Region, Eastern Uganda?.- Chapter32: Gender norms, technology access and women farmers’ vulnerability to climate change in Sub-Saharan Africa.- Chapter33: Identification of optimal agricultural development strategies in the West African Sahel Mékrou transboundary river basin.