<p>Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) has emerged as a promising strategy for sustainably addressing the impacts of climate change by enhancing productivity and adaptability, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and ensuring food security. While research has examined the benefits, effects, and barriers to the widespread adoption of CSA practices, knowledge of the temporal perspective influencing adoption decisions in Africa remains limited. This study aims to identify the most widely adopted CSA practices, understand how farmers’ temporal perspectives shape decision-making, and examine the influence of financial, institutional, market, and policy mechanisms on CSA adoption. The study examined 55 core articles on CSA in Africa, using the PRISMA framework to search for and select the documents. Data were obtained from the Web of Science and Scopus databases. The findings revealed a diverse range of CSA practices implemented in different countries across Africa. These include conservation agriculture (63%), agroforestry (49%), improved crop varieties (41%), Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) (23%), and mixed cropping (14%). Farmers’ temporal perspectives, including long-, medium-, and short-term decision-making, economic considerations, risk perception, perceived behaviour, and historical experience, significantly influence the adoption of CSA practices. The review also presents evidence from studies showing how financial, institutional, policy, and market mechanisms can promote wider adoption of CSA practices. These include market prices, subsidies, rural finance, and training and information. Policymakers and stakeholders should consider temporal perspectives, as well as financial and other incentive mechanisms, when promoting the use of CSA practices to ensure a more sustainable and resilient agricultural system in Africa.</p>