Climate agro-advisory services and their potential impacts in Africa

Abstract Climate agro-advisory services (CAS) have emerged as critical tools for climate adaptation and risk management within Africa’s rapidly evolving agri-food systems. Yet, empirical evidence on CAS impacts remains limited. This study conducts a systematic review of 54 peer-reviewed articles, 12 of which explicitly consider gender dimensions, to examine CAS types, utilization, and their impacts on agricultural decision-making and resilience. This article categorizes key CAS modalities and evaluates their effectiveness across varied agroecological and institutional contexts. Findings reveal that while forecasts are widely disseminated, access to early warning systems, agrometeorological services, digital climate advisories, and localized climate information remains uneven. Gender disparities persist in access patterns, preferred dissemination channels, usage behaviors, and livelihood impacts. Digital advisories disproportionately favor men, whereas radio and community-based dissemination remain the most inclusive platforms for women and marginalized groups. CAS have shown positive effects on farmers’ decision making, adoption of climate-smart technologies, productivity, and adaptive capacity. However, their full potential is constrained by fragmented delivery mechanisms, weak coordination between climate and agricultural institutions, persistent inequalities, and limited contextualization of climate data. Advancing equity requires addressing structural gender barriers and tailoring CAS to farmers’ diverse roles, priorities, and resource constraints. Strengthening institutional coordination, promoting multi-channel communication through digital innovation, and embedding CAS within national climate and agricultural resilience frameworks are essential steps toward building inclusive, adaptive, and sustainable agricultural systems across Africa.