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This paper contributes to the discussion on climate change impacts, livelihood diversification, and deagrarianization in arid and semi-arid regions. Using the semi-arid region of Guinea as a case study, this paper is the first to discuss the primary factors driving smallholder farmers into artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in arid and semi-arid regions. Drawing on in-depth interviews and root-cause analysis, we find that increasing climate change impacts ‘force’ smallholder farmers to switch into artisanal gold mining. Smallholder farming in semi-arid Guinea is largely rainfed and erratic rainfall and increasing temperatures have affected crop production and farmers' income, driving many smallholder farmers into artisanal gold mining to have a more sustainable income. While artisanal gold mining has improved smallholder farmers' socioeconomic conditions, the agriculture exodus has significantly affected crop …