Can livestock jointly address food security and climate challenges?

The global food and agriculture system is under increasing pressure to deliver on both food security and climate change agendas, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. This challenge is especially relevant for the livestock sector, as livestock play a significant role in food security and contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions. Unsustainable use of natural resources can jeopardize agricultural resilience to climate and other shocks as well as the capacity of the sector to adapt to those changes (i.e. in temperature, humidity) already taking place. Despite a growing consensus that meeting future food demand urgently requires “suites” of interventions that jointly address food security and climate change, progress is hindered by a lack of consistency and conceptual grounding regarding how these outcomes are interconnected.

The objective of this PhD research is to explore whether livestock development can contribute to addressing jointly both food security and climate challenges. To explore this question, the project will develop a framework for assessing synergies/tradeoffs among food security and climate change mitigation and adaptation in livestock systems, apply it at different levels in the case country of Cameroon, and develop policy-relevant recommendations applicable to other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The research that will be undertaken in this project will be structured into four papers:
1. Developing a framework for measuring synergies/tradeoffs among food security and climate change outcomes in the livestock sector.
2. Jointly addressing food security and climate change at farm level: Applying the framework to livestock systems in Cameroon.
3. Exploring the implications of a regional approach to jointly addressing food security and climate change at different time scales: Applying the framework to the Adamawa region Cameroon.
4. Enhancing synergies among food security and climate change outcomes in livestock development: Policy recommendations for Sub-Saharan Africa based on a case study of Cameroon.