ISSN 2349-0837 Volume 6 Number1 Journal of Advances in Agriculture 833 | Page council for Innovative Research April 2016 www.cirworld.com Understanding and Building on Indigenous Agro-Pastoral Adaptation strategies for Climate Change in Sub-Saharan Africa: Experiences from Rural Cameroon Balgah Roland Azibo 1 , Jude Ndzifon Kimengsi 2 , Gertrud Buchenrieder 3 1*Senior Lecturer, Department of Agribusiness Technology, College of Technology University of Bamenda, P.O. Box 39, Cameroon, Senior Research Fellow, Bamenda University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 277 Nkwen Bamenda, Cameroon (*Corresponding author) 2 Senior Lecturer, Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Catholic University of Cameroon Bamenda (CATUC), Cameroon, P.O. Box 782, Bamenda, Cameroon 3 Professor, Institute of Agriculture and Nutrition Sciences, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, D- 06099, Halle – Saale, Germany ABSTRACT Rural communities in the Sub-Sahara African region have become focal points for climate adaptation especially in the agricultural sector. This is due to their significant involvement in agro-pastoral activities which constitute the lifeblood of most of the economies of this region, with about 85% of the indigenous populations relying on it for their survival. Both long and short term climatic oscillations have succeeded, and will continue to disrupt crop and livestock output thus signaling threats to food security. Although the communities have either consciously or unconsciously made use of some indigenous adaptation strategies, they are judged to be weak at the moment. This requires the designation of context- specific agro-pastoral adaptation frameworks. Using focus group discussions (FGDs) of 6 agro-pastoral groups (10 representatives each) in this region, complemented by content analysis, field surveys and the extensive review of literature on case studies for other SSA communities, we analyze current indigenous adaptation mechanisms in the agro-pastoral sector and attempt to construct an indigenous adaptation framework for rural agro-pastoral communities in Cameroon. Our analysis of data leads us to conclude that current adaptation measures rely mainly on crop diversification and mixed farming. Although these methods are good, the scale of operation and the degree of diversification is still low to climate- proof the agro-pastoral sector. Furthermore, these changes are introduced in the midst of poor farming practices such as slash and burn and related systems. Current indigenous adaptation strategies are weak and are correlated with income levels, level of farmers involvement in organizations, knowledge and perception. We recommend the effective engagement of agro-pastoral stakeholders as key in developing an adaptable framework, based on their knowledge of current adaptation strategies. Indexing terms/Keywords climate change; indigenous adaptation; agro-pastoralism; SSA; Cameroon Academic Discipline And Sub-Disciplines Agriculture; Rural Economics; Environmental studies SUBJECT CLASSIFICATION JEL: Q01; Q18; Q54 TYPE (METHOD/APPROACH) Participatory Rural Appraisal: Focus Group Discussions, contentment analysis; Quantitative analysis: surveys; Literary Analysis; Literature Review INTRODUCTION Climate variation is a global reality today. Rural communities around the globe in general and in the Sub-Sahara African (SSA) region are expected to be highest hit by climate variability (Molua 2009, IPCC 2014). This is based on the fact that most livelihoods in such areas depend to a large extent on agriculture. In sub Saharan Africa, the agro-pastoral sector remains the lifeblood of most economies of this region with about 85% of the indigenous populations in rural areas relying on such activities for their survival (Mahendra et al. 2008). The caprices of climate have therefore been the bane of economic development in SSA economies which are largely agro-pastoral dependent. The less resilient and vulnerable agriculture dependent societies continue to bear the brunt of climate change. Increasing dryness stand as one of the most devastating effects of climate variability and change and this has succeeded to disrupt food crop output thus signaling threats to food security (Odingo, 2008). It is not surprising therefore that such areas have become focal points for climate adaptation studies. Although the communities have either consciously or unconsciously developed and maintained some indigenous adaptation strategies, they are often judged to be weak at the moment and require much improvement (Holzmann et al., 2003). There is therefore a continuous need to analyze and include indigenous knowledge into adaptation strategies to reduce climate effects, especially on agro-pastoral communities in SSA. This article intends to contribute to this sphere of knowledge.