Assessing the adoption and impact of climate-smart agricultural practices on smallholder maize farmers’ livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review

Climate change threatens agricultural sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where rain-fed farming supports millions of livelihoods. While climate-smart agriculture (CSA) offers potential solutions, comprehensive evidence synthesis regarding its adoption patterns and impacts among smallholder maize farmers remains limited. This systematic review analysed 50 peer-reviewed studies (2003–2023) using a three-stage screening process across EBSCOhost, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was employed for quality assessment of the selected studies. Regional variations in CSA adoption rates were observed (Eastern Africa 56.7%, Southern Africa 43.2%, Western Africa 38.9%),…