Maize is the most staple food crop produced in sub-Saharan Africa which its cultivation has been expanding with time however, the productivity remains low. Low productivity of maize in Africa is contributed by different challenges such as pests and diseases, drought, floodings which are associated with the effects of climate change. Drought is among the critical constraints in maize production causing yield loss up to 100% under extreme conditions. With these challenges researchers have come with some of the promising technologies that help to reduce the effect of climate changes for instance breeding new climate resilience maize varieties which using modern breeding tools like marker assisted backcrossing, quantitative trait loci, genomewide association studies, double haploid, gene editing, genomic selection and high throughput phenotyping. These tools map traits of target for introgression to recipient varieties thus reducing time of breeding cycles. Some of the climate of improvement for climate resilience include drought and heat tolerance, high stay green with low less leaf rolling, stemborer and fall armyworm tolerance, water-use efficiency and high grain yield. Effort have been done by CIMMYT in collaboration with National Agricultural Research Institutes have developed climate resilient crop varieties, however, with pace of climate change there is more effort to diversify varieties for sustainable climate resilience that will strengthen food security in sub-Saharan Africa which is the most vulnerable to climate change. There is a need to integrate approaches to cope with climate change such as use of next-generation genomic technologies, digital agriculture and data-driven approaches, strengthening seed systems, integration of farmer preferences and socioeconomic factors into the breeding process, and adaptive breeding programs based on climate scenarios. These will shorten breeding cycles and come up with new technologies that cope with variation of climate at certain intervals.
The rising rate and severity of extreme events such as irregular climatic patterns are a great threat to the world agricultural productivity and food security. The review examines key agronomic measures that can be used to improve the resilience of the agricultural crop systems to these problems. Such resilience is necessary to the extent that there is a stable food supply to a rising world population. This discussion summarizes the existing studies to outline successful strategies to cope with drought, floods, heatwave and cold waves. Some of the agronomic strategies that have been referred to are the adoption of water efficient irrigation methods, the choice and breeding of varieties of crops that are stress tolerant, adoption of soil health management practices, diversification of cropping systems through inter-cropping and agroforestry, adoption of precision agricultural technologies and data analytics. A combination of these strategies depending on the regional and climatic conditions is required to create sound and sustainable agricultural systems that will be able to overcome the rising challenges of extreme weather. The next round of research needs to be on how the combined effects of the extreme events are compounded and the socio-economic factors that affect the adoption of these resilience practices.
Chebrolu Sravani, M. Keerthi, B. Somraj et al.· Agricultural Science Digest...· 0 citations
Climate change is increasingly reshaping agricultural systems across Central Europe through rising temperatures, altered precipitation regimes, droughts, heatwaves, and expanding biological risks. These pressures threaten the stability of conventional cropping systems while simultaneously affecting food safety, storage systems, processing infrastructure, and regional food security. This review explores the role of adaptive crop diversification as a key strategy for enhancing agricultural resilience in the face of future climate uncertainty. Drawing on IPCC AR6 scenarios, CMIP6 simulations, and EURO-CORDEX projections, we analyze major climatic stressors affecting Central European agriculture, including heat stress, hydrological instability, soil degradation, invasive pests, fungal pathogens, and mycotoxin contamination. Particular attention is given to shifts in crop suitability and the growing relevance of climate-resilient crops such as sorghum, millet, quinoa, chickpea, lentil, soybean, camelina, hemp, and miscanthus. Beyond field-level adaptation, the review highlights the critical role of post-harvest systems, storage infrastructure, processing adaptability, and food safety within climate-resilient food systems. We additionally evaluate socioeconomic barriers, policy frameworks, and emerging technological approaches, including digital agriculture and artificial intelligence. A central contribution of this review is the integration of crop diversification, food safety, post-harvest adaptation, and governance challenges within a unified climate-resilience framework for Central European agriculture. We conclude that long-term agricultural resilience in the region will require a systemic transformation that integrates ecological, technological, economic, institutional, and social dimensions of adaptation.
Dávid Tőzsér, Daniela Isabel Gutiérrez Pérez, R. Karmakar et al.· Agriculture· 0 citations
Drought has become one of the most severe environmental constraints affecting global agricultural productivity due to climate change, increasing temperatures, irregular rainfall patterns, and declining freshwater availability. Water scarcity significantly limits crop growth, reduces nutrient uptake, disrupts physiological processes, and ultimately decreases crop yield and food security. The development of drought-tolerant crop varieties has therefore become a critical strategy for achieving climate-resilient agriculture and ensuring sustainable food production. Advances in plant breeding, biotechnology, molecular genetics, genomic selection, and precision agriculture have accelerated the development of crop varieties capable of maintaining productivity under water-limited conditions. These varieties exhibit improved root architecture, efficient water-use mechanisms, enhanced osmotic regulation, greater photosynthetic efficiency, and increased tolerance to heat and drought stress. This study examines the development and evaluation of drought-tolerant crop varieties for climate-resilient agriculture. It explores the physiological and genetic mechanisms underlying drought tolerance, evaluates breeding approaches and biotechnological innovations, analyzes the role of digital technologies and precision agriculture in drought management, and discusses future policy interventions for promoting climate-resilient farming systems. The study concludes that integrating advanced breeding technologies, artificial intelligence, remote sensing, genomic tools, and sustainable agricultural practices can significantly improve crop resilience under changing climatic conditions. Strengthening research, farmer participation, institutional support, and international collaboration will be essential for developing drought-resilient agricultural systems capable of ensuring food security, conserving water resources, and promoting sustainable agricultural development in the face of increasing climate variability.
Research Author· European Journal of Aerospac...· 0 citations
Background: As global warming accelerates, developing climate-resilient crops is critical for agricultural sustainability. Amid increasing climatic disruptions, fodder cowpea, a drought-adapted legume, remains an essential nutritional security crop for livestock feed. Quantifying its phenotypic stability across heterogeneous environments would be fundamental for any breeding program capable of withstanding such intensifying climatic stresses. Methods: This study evaluated twenty-three fodder cowpea germplasm lines and three popular varieties across three environments differing in temperature, moisture and soil fertility. The focus was on three major traits namely, green fodder yield per plant (GFY), crude fiber content (CFB) and crude protein content (CPR). We analyzed Genotype-by-environment interaction (GEI) using two models, Additive Main Effects and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) for individual trait evaluation and Multi-Trait Stability Index (MTSI) for simultaneous evaluation of all the three traits. Result: Significant GEI observation highlighted the need for environment-specific genotypes. Combined AMMI 1 and AMMI 2 biplot analyses found genotypes such as FD 1067 (G10), K-13-CP42 (G14) and CO (FC) 8 (G24) to be broadly stable performers for GFY, CPR and CFB across environments, while genotypes like GETC 40 (G21), GETC 41 (G22) and GETC 49 (G23) showed specific adaptation. The environments (E1-E3) exhibited distinct discriminative capacities depending on the trait, highlighting the value of multi-environment trials for reliable genotype selection.
M. Thakur, Ezhilarasi Thailappan, Pushpam Ramamoorthy et al.· Legume Research An Internati...· 0 citations
Drought constitutes one of the most pervasive abiotic constraints limiting global crop productivity, with its frequency and intensity projected to increase substantially under ongoing climate change. This narrative review synthesises contemporary evidence on the genetic, physiological, and agronomic dimensions of drought resilience in major food crops, drawing on peer-reviewed literature published primarily between 2000 and 2026. Physiologically, drought impairs stomatal conductance, suppresses photosynthetic carbon assimilation, disturbs osmotic equilibrium, and restricts root-mediated water acquisition, with reproductive stages being disproportionately vulnerable. At the genetic level, the deployment of quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, transcription-factor engineering, CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, and the overexpression of stress-responsive functional genes has opened novel avenues for enhancing tolerance without compromising yield potential. Breeding programmes have increasingly integrated marker-assisted selection (MAS) and genomic selection to accelerate genetic gain, whilst high-throughput phenotyping platforms now enable rapid assessment of drought-adaptive traits at a population scale. Agronomic strategies, including deficit irrigation, conservation tillage, intercropping, and application of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), provide complementary levers for sustaining productivity under water-limited conditions. Emerging integrative approaches that combine multi-omics, digital precision agriculture, and policy-enabled climate-smart frameworks are highlighted as critical pathways for translating laboratory and field insights into scalable solutions. The review identifies persistent knowledge gaps—including the limited translation of genomic advances to smallholder contexts and the underexplored potential of microbiome engineering—and calls for a convergence of disciplinary expertise, equitable technology transfer, and coherent policy support to achieve drought-resilient food systems globally.
B. Santhosh, V. Sanjivkumar, H. B. Gowda et al.· Journal of Advances in Biolo...· 0 citations
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Water availability is the most limiting factor for global agricultural productivity. Rain-fed smallholder farming common to sub-Saharan Africa is particularly sensitive to unpredictable precipitation patterns and periods of drought - issues that are projected to be exacerbated by ongoing climate change. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is widely cultivated in East Africa and represents an important source of protein, carbohydrates, micronutrients and income for smallholder agriculture. Bean water-use traits and productivity responses to water limitation are thus of great importance. In this study we sought to investigate the genetic variation of water-use traits and responses to terminal drought among Rwandan landraces and improved cultivars of common bean.
METHODS
Eighteen landraces and twelve improved cultivars were cultivated under realistic field conditions and evaluated for physiological traits related to water use, phenological properties, and effects of terminal drought treatment.
KEY RESULTS
Considerable genetic variation was detected across landraces and improved cultivars for all investigated traits. There was a strong negative correlation between yield and intrinsic water-use efficiency. High yielding cultivars demonstrated low water-use efficiency. There was, however, also notable variation in this relationship, with some cultivars combining water-conserving properties and high productivity. Phenological data indicated a positive relationship between productivity and time to maturity. The lack of a consistent association between water-use traits and drought responses demonstrates that traits for drought avoidance and tolerance are genetically distinct and regulated separately.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results demonstrate a large degree of genetic variation and highlight the possibility of combining traits for water economy and drought tolerance while maintaining yield in common bean. The contrasting genotypes reported in this study could be used for genetic mapping of genomic regions and cultivars combining high grain yield with moderate water use and moderate tolerance to drought are suggested for future breeding efforts.
Diana Laura Labastida Jaimes, Jules Maurice Shema, J. Muhire et al.· Annals of Botany· 0 citations
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