Insights on agricultural greenhouse gas research and collaboration in southern Africa

Abstract

Food security and climate change challenges in Southern Africa have prompted research initiatives for agricultural productivity, adapting to climate change, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Still, the scale, scope, and complexity of the problem have not been addressed. One notable challenge is the lack of interconnections, information flows, and knowledge exchange among research programmes. Better coordination of actors involved in climate-smart agricultural research is needed to utilise resources more effectively and avoid duplication of work. The paper presents the results of a scoping literature review and the assessment of existing research programmes on agricultural GHG emissions in nine Southern African countries. Feedback from stakeholders was obtained through a survey and stakeholder workshops. The results show that agricultural GHG research is gaining prominence. The main research themes included different aspects of livestock emission (53%), while the remainder covered soils, crops, and pastures. There is still a big research gap, with less than 40% of the papers originating from outside South Africa. Substantial work has been conducted, but the research is highly fragmented, and there is no large-scale regional institutional collaboration. Several researchers and institutions are engaged in research, but a lack of funding and infrastructure limits the capacity to generate scientific evidence. The outcomes of this study highlight the need for a regional programme that will facilitate research collaboration toward low-emission and climate-resilient food systems.