The eastern Africa sub-region has experienced recurrent drought and other climate-related impacts, with damaging effects on agriculture, food security and development. This report discusses institutional improvements for addressing disaster risks and presents options to strengthen the climate resilience of the agriculture and food sectors.

It is widely recognised that climate change poses significant serious threats to sustained economic growth and agricultural development, poverty reduction, food security and political stability globally. Nowhere are these challenges more marked than in Africa where two-thirds of all available land is classified either as desert or dry land, in relation to which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2013) has classified the continent as the most vulnerable to climate change variability. This anthology is a product of a call from OSSREA to collate evidence based researches in a book in a bid to assess how far countries in eastern and southern Africa are implementing the UNFCCC, Rio+20, Agenda 21 and other global and Africa-wide decisions concerning the need to address climate change. This will contribute to post-2015 development agenda for sustainable development goals (SDGs), in which climate change and disaster risk reduction will be priority areas of focus. We hope this book will serve as a valuable tool for experts, advisers and policymakers in pursing effective green growth policies and practices and achieving climate compatible development and in doing so inspire readers to choose a more sustainable pathway for humanity. It will also help in looking at climate change as both a challenge and opportunity for development. Further, this book aims at stimulating more research in climate compatible development and climate financing which have put most countries at crossroads.

The second of three books in IFPRI's climate change in Africa series, East African Agriculture and Climate Change: A Comprehensive Analysis examines the food security threats facing 10 of the countries that make up east and central Africa - Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda - and explores how climate change will increase the efforts needed to achieve sustainable food security throughout the region. East Africa's populations is expected to grow at least through mid-century. The region will also see income growth. Both will put increased pressure on the natural resources needed to produce food, and climate change makes the challenges greater. East Africa is already experiencing rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and increasing extreme events. Without attention to adaptation, the poor will suffer.

This 32-chapter volume represents the core of several oral and poster presentations made at the conference. In addition to Introduction and Conclusion sections, the book is thematically divided into 7 sections, namely, 1) Land Use and Farming Systems, 2) Effects of Climate Change on Crop Yield, 3) Soil Nutrient and Water Management for Carbon Sequestration, 4) Rehabilitation of Degraded Lands through Forestry and Agroforestry, 5) Management of Animal Production for Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 6) Smallholder Adaptation to Climate Change, and 7) Economic, Social and Policy Issues. It addresses these themes in the context of sustainable intensification (SI). It implies increasing agronomic production from the existing land while improving/restoring its quality and decreasing the C or environmental footprint. Simply put, SI means producing more from less.

There is sufficient evidence to support the fact that climate change is occurring and that this is set to accelerate. While some scholars argue that climate change is largely due to natural changes, others postulate that anthropogenic factors are the major cause. Climate change associated with increasing levels of carbon dioxide is likely to affect developed and developing countries differentially, with major vulnerabilities occurring in low-latitude regions. This book presents research findings and case studies with the endeavour to inform policies geared towards addressing problems emanating from these changes. Climate variability raises concerns over the future of agriculture, conditions of land and water availability. Therefore, climate change amplifies many economic and social risks, as well as deterioration of the environment. At the same time, non-climatic risk factors such as economic instability, trade liberalization, conflicts and poor governance all inflict upon vulnerable communities. Key discussions in this title rest on: Climate Change in Africa: its impact on rural communities, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, financial requirements of reducing green house gases, technological transfer and natural resources; Case Studies of Vulnerability to Climate Change and Variability in Eastern and Southern Africa: experiences of impacts and adaptation to extreme events, concrete experiences from farmers and crop production adaptation; and Challenges and Opportunities to Climate Change Adaptation: factors that influence choice of response strategies, challenges and opportunities for ecosystem-based approaches; and challenges and opportunities from the use of bio-fuels as a mitigation measure to climate change.