Organic food and farming in West Africa: A systematic review

Abstract

Organic agriculture can play a pivotal role in addressing different challenges (e.g. poverty, biodiversity loss, climate change). However, organic agriculture is ‘knowledge intensive’ and its development requires investments in research and innovation. This systematic review casts light on research on organic food and farming (OFF) in West Africa. It draws upon a search performed in April 2020 on the Web of Science. An overview of both bibliometrics and topics addressed in the analysed literature is provided. The analysed literature indicates that organic agriculture can support climate change mitigation and adaptation, conserve biodiversity and reduce environmental impacts. However, the comparative performance of organic farming is site-specific. Similarly, the organic-conventional yield gap depends, inter alia, on crops and cropping practices. Furthermore, different factors hinder the development of OFF in West Africa, which include agricultural policy, agronomic research, institutional environment and extension management, among others. The study concludes that organic agriculture is poorly developed in West Africa. Therefore, it is recommended that awareness on OFF should be raised, organic farmers supported and research on organic farming strengthened to fill the existing knowledge gap and unlock the sector potential.

Keywords

• agriculture policy
• agroecology
• biodiversity
• climate change
• food security
• organic agriculture
• rural livelihoods
• sahel
• sub-saharan africa