Climate-driven droughts pose major threats to rainfed farming worldwide. To address these impacts, smart agricultural approaches focusing on conservation practices (CPs) have been widely recommended by institutions such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), among others. This systematic review synthesizes evidence on CPs for climate-driven drought adaptation and the barriers to their adoption in southern Mozambique, where drought is predominant. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines, a comprehensive search across four academic databases retrieved 595 records (2000–April 2025), of which 23 were peer-reviewed studies. Data was extracted and analyzed using Microsoft Excel 365 and NVivo 15. As a result, five major CPs were identified: (i) Minimum tillage; (ii) Mulching and residue retention; (iii) Maize–legume (cowpea, groundnuts, pigeon pea, and soybeans) intercropping and crop rotation; (iv) Drought-tolerant maize varieties; and (v) indigenous practices. The systematic review has shown that minimum tillage was associated with 89–90% increase in maize and legume yields; Mulching expands maize yields by 24–59%; intercropping increases maize and legume yields by more than 30%; drought tolerant maize varieties expand yields by 26–46%; and local practices support farming continuity and contribute to resilience, although quantitative yield effects were not reported, with adoption ranging from 75–100%. These findings suggest that minimum tillage and intercropping/crop rotation are the most effective CPs in enhancing yield and resilience. Despite their potential, the adoption is generally low (average around 40%, with some as low as 7–16% for minimum tillage). Reasons for limited uptake include economic, cultural, institutional, biophysical, and technological barriers. These findings highlight the need for integrated policy approaches that combine climate-smart agriculture with indigenous knowledge in southern Mozambique.

Climate-driven droughts pose major threats to rainfed farming worldwide. To address these impacts, smart agricultural approaches focusing on conservation practices (CPs) have been widely recommended by institutions such as FAO, WFP, and IFAD, among others. This systematic review synthesizes evidence on CPs for climate-driven drought adaptation and the barriers to their adoption in southern Mozambique, where drought is predominant. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, a comprehensive search across four academic databases retrieved 595 records (2000–April 2025), of which 23 were peer-reviewed studies. Data was extracted and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and NVivo 15. As a result, five major CPs were identified: (i) Minimum tillage; (ii) Mulching and residue retention; (iii) Maize–legume (cowpea, groundnuts, pigeon pea and soybeans) intercropping and crop rotation; (iv) Drought-tolerant maize varieties; and (v) indigenous practices. The systematic review has shown that minimum tillage was associated with 89–90% increase of maize and legume yields; Mulching expands maize yields by 24–59%; intercropping increases maize and legume yields by more than 30%; drought tolerant maize varieties expand yields by 26–46%; and local practices sustain yields while strengthening resilience, with adoption ranging from 75–100%. These findings suggest that minimum tillage and intercropping/crop rotation are the most effective CPs in enhancing yield and resilience. Despite their potential, the adoption is generally low (average around 40%, with some as low as 7–16% for minimum tillage). Reasons for limited uptake includes economic, cultural, institutional, biophysical and technological barriers.

Many climate studies in Mozambique have clearly identified signals of climate change, especially changes in the extreme temperatures. In this study, we have investigated the existence of long term correlations and trend in time series of precipitation. Two databases were used for this purpose: in situ observations along the period of 1960 – 2020 and the Climate Hazards group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations dataset, which is a high resolution (0.05o) remote sensing data assimilated with in situ stations, along the period from 1981 to 2021. We have applied the rescaled-range analysis and the detrended fluctuation analysis for long memory investigation, and the linear regression and Mann-Kendall methods for trend analysis. Results have shown the existence of long memory in the time series of precipitation in most parts of Mozambique, being stronger in the southern and central regions, and weakening toward the north of the country. Precipitation has generally exhibited persistency in the southern and central regions, indicating that the observed climate behaviour during the evaluated period is likely to continue for a long period in future. On the other hand, some significant trend signals of precipitation were detected in some isolated areas of Mozambique, presenting an increase in some regions such as the southern part of Manica and eastern of Inhambane provinces, and a decrease in other regions such as the coastal areas of Zambezia and Nampula.