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Knowledge4Policy
Knowledge for policy
Supporting policy with scientific evidence

We mobilise people and resources to create, curate, make sense of and use knowledge to inform policymaking across Europe.

  • Publication | 2025
Agricultural productivity and climate change vulnerability in West Africa: The role of technological innovation and carbon reduction strategies for sustainable agriculture

Agriculture practiced in West Africa incorporates a climate-sensitive environment that is threatened by increasing temperatures, rainfall variability, and environmental degradation. Yet despite the growing attention on the importance of technological innovation and carbon reduction measures being incorporated into agricultural policies, there is a lack of empirical analysis on how these variables interdependently influence agrarian productivity. The assumption underlying this research work is that the interdependence of technological innovation, climate vulnerability, and carbon emissions influences agricultural productivity asymmetrically across West African countries. This research utilizes a balanced panel data set from six West African countries between 1991 and 2021, employing the augmented mean group (AMG) approach to address aspects associated with cross-sectional dependence and country heterogeneity and robustness using fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS). The outcomes reveal the presence of significant cross-country variation, indicating that urbanization and land distribution for growing cereal crops enhance agricultural productivity. The adoption of Internet technology is found to have a negative correlation with productivity, which can be attributed to institutional limitations in farming and rural settings. Carbon emissions also hurt agrarian productivity. In contrast, precipitation and temperature variation are found to influence agricultural productivity in West Africa. It can thus be inferred that the outcomes support the requirement for adaptive climate policies, which can focus on technological innovation, as these influence Agri-productivity in West Africa.