Abstract Climate Smart Agriculture promises to increase the resilience and productivity of vulnerable agricultural systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the narrow focus on technological adoption rather than on the systematic and uneven distribution of CSA benefits often results in implementation falling short of expectations. This editorial synthesizes the special issue on CSA interventions in five African countries, going beyond conventional narrative accounts of impact to explore critical and unexplored dimensions. Overall, the findings suggest that adoption is a dynamic process, driven by climate shocks and opportunity costs, and not a linear decision-making process. Although CSA may generate macroeconomic benefits, the benefits are often reaped by wealthier, urban actors, which exacerbates rural inequality. Importantly, the performance of technologies is highly contextual and success depends on complementary investment and institutional support. Studies also show that joint decision-making between spouses within the household leads to better results and that pastoral systems require integrated, socially embedded interventions. We argue that an effective CSA cannot be a one-size-fits-all technical solution. Instead, it must be re-framed as a transformative process centered on equity, collaborative institutions, and pluralistic methodologies that co-produce knowledge with farmers.
Sarr et al. (Wed,) studied this question.