| Summary: | Soil is considered both the source and sink of carbon, depending on management. Conservation agriculture (CA) has been largely implemented to stabilize crop yield but provides the co-benefit of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. Nevertheless, there are controversies surrounding its potential in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using spatially disaggregated approach, we showed that CA can offer a SOC sequestration potential of 26.7 Tg SOC yr⁻¹ across maize and wheat-based systems, with estimated rates ranging from –1.37 to 3.98 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ across SSA. This potential is highly variable depending on the intensity of CA practices, soil texture, and climatic zones. For instance, no-till for maize system alone may sequester about 30.5 Tg yr⁻¹ on medium-textured soils in humid environments, while CA- diversification can lead to negative SOC balances depending on the context. These findings highlight the spatially heterogeneous nature of CA outcomes, underscoring the need for targeted, context-specific strategies to maximize climate mitigation benefits.
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