A Review of the Socio-Economic, Institutional, and Biophysical Factors Influencing Smallholder Farmers’ Adoption of Climate Smart Agricultural Practices in Sub-Saharan Africa

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. The main problem is that no weight can be given to the factors influencing adoption to CC
2. There is no explanation why these factors were chosen
3. Section 3 could be put before section 2
4. To what extent is table 2 the theory about adaptation and the research is testing their relevance?
5. Then in a discussion section you could relate your findings to the theory
6. Rain water harvesting is not the only way to adopt to CC in the case of drought: all kinds of water supply, reduction of water use and water recycling techniques will be used.
7. The list of factors is somewhat arbitrary , for example condition of the soil does not figure in the list, while available technologies is also badly missed.
8. The seriousness of CC in certain areas will also play a role
9. Adaptation may be less urgent if a society is successful in preventing (slowing down) the effects of CC.
10. There is no discussion of what makes these reactions specific for Africa

Author Response

Please check the attached document.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article needs a major revision with the following comments:
In the first paragraph of the paper, it is recommended that the long sentence be split by replacing “Climate change and variability characterized by...” with two short sentences, the first describing the characteristics of climate change and the second identifying the impact on smallholder farmers. The first sentence describes the characteristics of climate change, and the second sentence specifies the impacts on smallholder farmers, so as to avoid the complexity of the subject matter, which makes it difficult to understand.
There is a problem of repetition in the keywords section. It is suggested that the terms “climate change” and “sub-Saharan Africa”, which are repetitive with the title, be deleted, and that terms such as “barriers to technology adoption” and “policy interventions” be added to better reflect the characteristics of the study.
The introduction is too abrupt after discussing the importance of agriculture, and it is recommended to add the words “Agriculture is the pillar...” and “Despite the importance of agriculture” in the introduction. It is suggested to add a transition sentence between “Agriculture is the pillar...” and “Despite this significant role...”. It is suggested that a transition sentence be added between “Agriculture is the pillar...” and “Despite this significant role...” to briefly explain the threat of climate change to agriculture and make the logic more coherent.
The description of the column “Effect” in Table 1 is too long. It is suggested to use point-by-point enumeration instead, such as splitting the effect of cover crops into phrases such as “Improve soil structure” and “Reduce erosion”, so as to enhance the readability of the information in the table.
The policy recommendations in the conclusion section are rather vague, and it is suggested to add concrete examples of implementation, such as citing the successful experience of a country in promoting the technology through farmers' cooperatives, so as to make the recommendations more informative.
Some of the references are old, and it is recommended to add important research results published in recent years, especially empirical studies in Africa, to reflect the latest progress in the field.
The text description in Figure 1 is too small. It is recommended to enlarge the font size and bold the titles of the key categories, and to use arrows and other symbols to show the interactions of the three types of factors more clearly, so as to improve the readability of the chart.
The terminology used throughout the text needs to be standardized, and it is suggested that after the first appearance of “climate-smart agriculture (CSA)”, the abbreviation “CSA” should be used uniformly in the following text, so as to avoid confusion caused by the mixing of the full name and the abbreviation.

Author Response

Please see the attached document.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper systematically reviews the factors influencing the adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices by smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, covering three categories of factors: socio-economic, institutional, and biophysical. With a clear structure and rich literature, the study is significant for understanding the bottlenecks and pathways of agricultural adaptation to climate change in the region. The research logic is rigorous, and the conclusions have reference value for policy formulation and practical promotion. Below are some areas for improvement: 

1. In Table 1, it is recommended to standardize the content in the "Effect" column in the order of "ecological benefits→economic benefits→social/adaptive benefits."
2. In Figure 1, add bidirectional arrows among the three categories of factors, namely socio-economic, institutional, and biophysical, to reflect the cross-dimensional correlations (refer to the content of "Interrelationship between the influencing factors" in Section 3 of the original text).
3. In the subsection "2.3.1 Government interventions," supplement the implementation effects of 1-2 specific national policy cases to strengthen the empirical support for policy analysis.
4. When discussing factors with conflicting effects, such as "gender" and "off-farm income", add a brief explanation of the reasons for the conflicts.
5. The policy recommendations put forward in the conclusion part are rather general, lacking specific implementation paths and operational details. It is necessary to further refine the policy recommendations based on the research conclusions in the previous text and clarify the responsible entities, implementation steps, and expected effects so as to improve the operability of the policy recommendations.
6. A relatively high proportion of early literature (such as before 2010) may not fully cover the latest research in the past five years. In addition, the insufficient citation of literature from African local research institutions may affect the representativeness of the perspective.

Author Response

Please see attached document.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 4 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The article “A review of the socio-economic, institutional, and biophysical factors influencing smallholder farmers' adoption of climate smart agricultural practices in sub-Saharan Africa” is valuable and well documented, addressing a critical issue for African agriculture. However I recommend to integrate the livestock dimension (as it is closely linked to agriculture) and local traditions would complete the picture and provide a more complex approach. The relevance of livestock and farming traditions is poorly presented, although livestock plays a crucial role in African farming systems. A sub-chapter on climate-smart livestock, separate from crops, would be useful. The role of traditional knowledge in climate adaptation is also only tangentially mentioned: climate-adapted indigenous varieties; Sustainable grazing practices and alternative feeds; the role of manure in fertilization and agro-zootechnical cycles; use of indigenous knowledge and traditional adaptation solutions.

I recommend including a more detailed discussion by agro-ecological regions in Africa.

The article is well supported by the literature, with numerous and varied references. The explanation of the  CSA concept is sound, but remains somewhat critical.

The article has a logical, easy-to-follow structure. The sections are clearly delineated and the inclusion of Table 1 provides a good application framework, but some sentences are too long and dense. I recommend to simplify the sentences with more than 3 sentences linked by commas. Avoid repeating the same terms in successive sentences.

The abstract is a clear, standard academic structure.

The table of CSA practices is very valuable.

Introduce live examples, perhaps even case studies.

Author Response

Please check the attached document.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The author made revisions and I agreed to publish the manuscript.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

It can be published.