**2.4 Availability of water and its usage**

Climate change will amplify existing stress on water availability in agricultural systems of semi-arid environments [13]. Rising temperatures may increase irrigation water requirements of major crops [14] and drive-up water demand by livestock [9, 15]. For example, the increased reliance on groundwater in the future in Botswana for the cattle sector could lead to problems associated with the sustainability of water resources in the country [16]. Global warming and accompanying hydrological changes are also likely to affect soils in complex ways, including soil fertility and propensity for erosion [14]. Additionally, much prime agricultural land located in the coastal plains of Southern Africa might be lost to rising sea-levels [17]. Most of staple foods consumed in sub-Saharan Africa are grown under rain fed conditions largely by small scale farmers who have limited capacities to effect supplementary irrigation in cases of drought. Southern Africa and West Africa have a one rainfall season in a year and suffer drought episodes.
