Climate Change and Agricultural Trade in Sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for Regional Market Integration

While African countries have developed climate change and trade policies based on national interests, the cross-border nature of climate change necessitates regional cooperation and coordinated responses. This requires a thorough understanding of how climate change affects agricultural production and trade, and how these impacts vary across countries. In this study, we shall review Africa’s existing regional trade policies in Africa to understand how they relate to climate change and inclusivity. We shall also use macro-level data to explore the impact of climate change on bilateral trade flows for dairy products for selected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. An extended dynamic gravity trade model, incorporating climate shocks, will be employed to analyze these effects. The results will provide insights into the heterogeneity of climate change impacts across different countries. The research findings from this study will highlight the importance of inclusive, region-wide climate change adaptation strategies for the agricultural sector.