Mapping the climate and agronomic digital advisory services landscape in West and Central Africa: A step towards making food systems productive and climate resilient

PLOS One | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0338010 December 3, 2025 4 / 20 lives in rural areas, which explains their limited access to electricity, sanitation, and good quality drinking water. Large countries like the DRC—with only 15% of its land area suitable for agriculture [9], and where only 10% of this is currently being used [10]—face enormous challenges to reach out to their rural population to alleviate malnutrition and poverty. According to the Global Hunger Index [11], the state of hunger was moderate in Ghana, serious in Ivory coast, Nigeria and Rwanda, and alarming in Burundi and DRC (Table 1). Agriculture remains economically important for these countries, contributing between 18 and 28% to these country’s GDP (Table 1). In the past decade, however, with the increasing contribution of industrial and service sectors, agriculture’s contribution to the total GDP has fallen sharply. The contribution of agriculture to GDP was highest in Burundi, where cash crops such as coffee, cotton, tea, and palm oil account for about 90% of the country’s export. The area under cultivation has increased in most of these countries. However, extensive deforestation resulted in a sharp decline in the total forest area. Deforestation was relatively higher in Ivory coast and Ghana. 2.3. Climate Climate variables show great heterogeneity at both spatial and temporal scales. At the national level, the temporal distri- bution of rainy season is unimodal in Ghana, Nigeria, and Ivory coast (Fig 2). Rainfall seasonality is bimodal in Burundi,

Rwanda, and the DRC. In West-African countries, the rainy season extends from April to November. In contrast, Burundi, Rwanda, and the DRC have four seasons: long rainy season (March−May); short rainy season (Sept−Nov); long dry season (June−Aug); and short dry season (Dec − Feb). Mean monthly surface air temperatures show little fluctuation in Table 1. Status of socio-economic variables in different countries. Country Rwanda Ivory coast Burundi Nigeria DRC Ghana Socio-economic variables Income level low Low – middle low Low-middle Low Low-middle BPL population 52% 39.5% 72.90% 31% (72% farmers) 72% 23.40% Population (million) 13.2 27 12.5 213.4 95.9 31.7 Access to drinking water 60% 76.6 83% in urban areas (60% rural) 68 52 ~96 (74) % in urban (rural) areas Contribution (%) of agriculture in GDP 27 20 27.57 24.4% 19.40 18.78 Contribution to employment (%) 56% (66.6% rural pop) 48% NA 39% (55% rural pop) 60% 42% Rural population 83.00 47.80 86.00 48.00 54.36 42.00 Arable land 51.4 11 49.5 40.5 6 20.7 Agricultural land 81.3 73.9 81.9 75.4 15 55.4 Forest area (% of total land area 11.2 8.6 10.9 23.6 55.2 35.1 Food-security situation over the last decade Status of country Importer Importer NA Importer Importer Importer Malnutrition rate (% of children under 5 years) 35% NA 52% 5 to 30%** 40% 19% (33% in northern region) Rank of countries *** 96 86 NA 109 122 62 Level of hunger based on GHI Serious Serious Alarming Serious Alarming Moderate * Compiled by the authors from different sources.

** 53% of the population in Nigeria are moderately food insecure and 26% are severely food insecure. *** Rank among 125 countries, according to the Global Hunger Index (GHI). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0338010.t001