Mountain regions across Africa are facing the intensifying impacts of climate change, but little has been understood about how the communities that live in them are coping—until now. A new MRI-funded study, published this month in Nature Climate Change, sheds light on the ways smallholder farmers in African mountain regions are navigating the challenges of a rapidly changing climate.
“Our study highlights the severity of climate change impacts in African mountains, which for many years have not been considered a major issue in central Africa – simply due to a lack of historical meteorological data,” explains study lead author Dr. Aida Cuni-Sanchez. “It also shows that farmers are trying to adapt to these changes, but that they face numerous constraints, particularly in conflict-affected regions.”
Harnessing Local Knowledge
The study, undertaken by students from eight universities across Africa, is the first to use a standardized questionnaire to interview 1,500 farmers across 10 different African mountain regions – and paints a vivid picture of the local climate shifts being observed. Farmers are reporting significant changes, including rising temperatures, reduced fog, altered rainfall patterns, and an increase in extreme events like droughts. These changes have already begun to take a toll on the livelihoods of African mountain communities, many of whom rely on agriculture for survival.
“These days the fog disappears very early in the morning in the dry season, which negatively affects the growth of maize seeds” – Farmer from the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia.
Farmers highlighted that the most widespread climate-related impacts include lower yields of crops such as maize, cassava, and coffee. Pest and disease outbreaks among crops and livestock have also worsened, with reports of reduced milk production from cows. In addition to these losses, the changing climate has negatively impacted human health, and resulted in reduced water availability. Soil erosion has also intensified, further threatening the agricultural foundation of these communities.

Adapting to a Changing World
Despite these challenges, farmers have shown remarkable resilience, adapting their farming practices in response to the changing climate. Many have adjusted planting dates or adopted new, more resilient crop varieties. The use of fertilizers and pesticides has increased, along with the implementation of soil conservation techniques to mitigate erosion and changing water availability. Farmers are also seeking additional sources of income by diversifying their livelihoods where possible, tapping into off-farm labour or exploring new business opportunities.
These adaptive measures are not without their challenges, however. Farmers across the regions face a variety of constraints that hinder their ability to fully adapt to the changing conditions. Access to credit, technical skills, and markets are crucial factors that impact the effectiveness of adaptation strategies. Farmers also highlight the need for better knowledge exchange between agricultural experts, governments, and local communities. Without these critical resources, many farmers struggle to implement sustainable changes that would help them thrive in the face of increasing climate change.
“They gave us improved maize seeds. But people here prefer to eat cassava. Few people planted those seeds that year, and even fewer the next one. They should have asked us what we wanted.” – Farmer in Bamboutos, Cameroon.

Context-Specific Challenges and Opportunities
While many adaptation challenges are shared across the different mountain regions, the study also reveals that the specific context of each region plays a key role in shaping how farmers respond. Wealthier households are generally better equipped to implement a broader range of adaptation strategies, such as investing in irrigation, soil conservation or adopting new technologies. However, in conflict-affected areas like parts of Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, farmers are less likely to invest in long-term solutions due to the insecurity that prevents them from committing to strategies like agroforestry or soil conservation, which require time to yield results.
“You can move your cows to another village during insecurity, but you can’t move your crops.” – Farmer from the Itombwe Mountains, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Interestingly, the study found that adaptation in some East African sites was more transformational than in others, thanks to stronger social capital. In these areas, communities with a higher degree of collaboration and mutual support were better able to implement more ambitious, long-term strategies, signalling that strong social ties can play an important role in successful climate adaptation.

The Way Forward: Inclusive and Contextual Solutions
This research underscores the urgent need to recognize the climate vulnerabilities of African mountain regions, which have often been overlooked in broader climate change discussions. The study reveals that while farmers are adapting to climate change, their efforts are largely incremental—small, reactive changes rather than large-scale transformations. However, it also highlights that adaptation can be more transformational in certain contexts, particularly where social capital is strong.
To help farmers in these regions better cope with the changing climate, the study calls for more inclusive adaptation strategies that involve local communities in the decision-making process. By considering farmers’ preferences and leveraging their deep local knowledge, interventions can be better tailored to meet the specific needs of each community. Additionally, addressing barriers such as access to credit, markets, and technical training is crucial to unlocking the potential for more sustainable, large-scale adaptation.

With climate change set to intensity, the findings from this study provide a clearer picture of how these communities are already feeling its impacts and, crucially, how they are striving to adapt to them. Moving forward, it is essential for scientists, policymakers, and practitioners to prioritize these regions and collaborate with local communities in order to build resilience for the future.
Reflecting on the study, lead author Dr. Cuni-Sanchez also underlines the novelty of the approach used: “In most African mountains there are no meteorological stations, or long-term records of crop yields. Just because changes have not been recorded, it doesn’t mean they did not take place. We approached farmers’ perceptions and their indigenous knowledge as living records of past changes, and we show that there have been numerous climatic changes and impacts, in all mountains studied. We hope that our approach [locally relevant standardised questionnaires] inspires researchers and practitioners working in other data-deficient regions, as climate change is affecting us all.”
Citation: Cuni-Sanchez, A., Aneseyee, A.B., Baderha, G.K.R. et al. ‘Perceived Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Responses in Ten African Mountain Regions.’ Nat. Clim. Chang. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02221-w
This research received funding from the Mountain Research Initiative through our Synthesis Workshops funding programme.
Cover image: Planting fruit trees to help diversify livelihoods. Location: Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. Photo credit: Rob Marchant.