<p>Climate change poses a significant threat to global food security, impacting both consumers and smallholder farmers. To address the challenges posed by climate change, smallholder farmers need to adopt climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices. This paper employed the Sustainability Livelihood Framework to assess the challenges hindering the implementation of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices in Southern Africa, with the aim of providing recommendations that support smallholder farmers. The paper followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines. The findings showed awareness of CSA practices among smallholder farmers; however, the adoption of CSA practices is moderate. Challenges identified include inadequate infrastructure, high implementation costs, land tenure insecurity, a lack of gender parity, insufficient financial resources, the absence of national Climate-Smart Agriculture Investment Plans (CSAIPs), and poor education on CSA. Countries such as South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe exhibit moderate adoption of CSA. Financial constraints are significant, especially in regions like Zambia and Malawi, where limited access to credit and extension services hinders the implementation of these initiatives. Moreover, gender disparities affected female-led farms, particularly in South Africa, limiting their access to resources and decision-making power. The paper emphasised the importance of providing financial support for CSA through low-interest loans and subsidies. It suggests that national policies should recognise female-led farms. and suggests developing user-friendly digital tools to improve communication between CSA-related government ministries, CSA stakeholders and smallholder farmers.</p>