Climate change, Sahel Savanna, gum arabic and biotechnology

The Sahel Savannah has witnessed increased aridity and expansion to the Sudan Savannah. This has affected livelihood including loss of water bodies. The natural tendency is to migrate or develop survival strategy. In both cases, there are severe environmental and social consequences. The gum arabic tree is well adapted to arid climate and the Sahel Savannah in particular. Biotechnology facilitates production of planting materials and genetic improvement, as gum arabic is amenable to application of biotechnology. This will facilitate response of gum arabic agroforestry to several aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. The objective of this paper was to highlight the application of biotechnology to enhance the potential of gum arabic to address the degradation of the Sahel savannah.