Briefing Paper

Cost Benefit Analysis of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies on Crop Production Systems in the Lowveld of Swaziland

“Challenges faced by smallholder rural subsistence farmers should be one of the key issues in policy and development discussions as they form 70% of the African populations and Swaziland is no exception. They manage large areas of agricultural productive land, however, productivity is very low and these households make up the largest share of the undernourished African population. With the negative impacts of global climate change, agricultural productivity continues to decline therefore leaving millions of rural households’ vulnerable, food insecure, poor and less resilient to climate change. Climate change also threatens sustainable development by its negative impacts through adverse effects on the environment, health, food security, economic activities, biodiversity and physical infrastructure. This is fueled by the high dependence of African economies, employment opportunities and rural livelihoods on the agriculture sector.”