Biophysical and Economic Factors of Climate Change Impact Chain in the Agriculture Sector of ECOWAS

The chapter assesses key biophysical and economic factors of climate change impact chain in the agriculture sector of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), mainly within the decade following the launching of the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) and Maputo Accord. This is done through a review of literature and analysis of data mainly from international databases. We find that land resources for agricultural production are substantial, but land degradation and land productivity are serious problems, particularly in the context of climate change. Although the region has experienced unprecedented growth, financing agricultural development is still an issue. Developing quality infrastructure and stimulating agricultural trade may provide a win-win strategy to build resilience to climate change and strengthen economic development. The economics of adaptation to climate change in the agricultural sector of ECOWAS has mainly focused on the magnitude of costs and returns on country-wide and technology-specific measures. There is a need, however, to integrate biophysical and economic factors of climate change impact chain in sound analytical frameworks to provide “multi-metric” considerations of non-monetary and nonmarket measures, risks, inequities, and behavioral biases in addressing climate change.