Systematic review of resilience pathways for smallholder farmers in semi-arid Southern Africa

The agricultural landscape in Southern Africa is predominantly semi-arid, where climatic variability and climate change have severe impacts. Despite growing research, critical knowledge gaps remain regarding the effectiveness of resilience pathways, integration of contemporary and indigenous knowledge systems, long-term adaptation projections, and scaling of sustainable practices amid institutional fragmentation. This systematic review synthesises adaptation strategies and livelihood resilience pathways for smallholder farmers in semi-arid regions of Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search across Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and agricultural databases yielded 342 articles, of which 35 high-quality peer-reviewed empirical studies (2018–2024) met the inclusion criteria. Through thematic synthesis, the review identifies common challenges, including intensifying droughts, erratic rainfall, declining yields, and livestock losses. It highlights four key resilience pathways: agricultural innovation and diversification, integrated water resource management, economic diversification, and social capital development, that combine adaptation and livelihood strategies. These pathways show varying adoption rates but are constrained by financial, knowledge, institutional, and socio-cultural barriers. The review documents evidence gaps by offering valuable insights for climate-responsive policies and interventions to strengthen agricultural resilience and food security in vulnerable semi-arid Southern Africa