West Africa: launch of 11 new climate-smart agriculture pilot projects
Dominated by family farming (the main source of income and subsistence for 70% of the population), West African agriculture is struggling to access resources to invest in sustainable production capacities and in the scaling up of proven technical solutions to address climate change. Already facing structural challenges (progressive saturation of spaces, degradation of soil fertility, etc.), regional agriculture is confronted with the dual phenomenon of climate variability and climate change that affect agricultural performances, supply stability, increasing of occurrence of climate risks and consequently income as well as food and nutritional security.
Supporting local innovative solutions with high potential for replication
The objective of the selected pilot projects is to finance the implementation and capitalization of local innovative solutions with high potential for replication and/or scaling up for the West African region focusing on adapting to the impacts of climate change (seed selection, climate services, agroecological practices, early warning systems) and mitigating of GHG emissions (carbon storage, dewatering by solar pumping, renewable energy in processing units, etc.).
A first call for proposals launched in 2019 resulted in the selection of four projects to be implemented over a 24-month period in Benin, Niger, Mauritania and Chad.
The 11 new projects selected in December 2020 under the second call for proposals cover Cabo Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
Led by local associations, international NGOs, farmers' organizations and research institutes, these 11 projects will be implemented from the beginning of 2021 for a duration of 20 months. By targeting important value chains for the region (rice, shea, palm oil, cassava) and by strengthening the productivity of family farmers (agroforestry, agroecology, access to climate information), these local projects will then be able to benefit all farmers in the region.
List of selected projectsCabo Verde • Innovation in the food value chain in Cabo Verde for an ecological and solidarity economy on the island of Fogo - 295,774 euros (including 230,000 euros from GCCA+ WA project). Main project owner: Cooperazione per lo sviuppo dei paesi emergenti. • Agroforestry systems: a smart alternative to fight climate change on the island of Santo Antão - 287,495 euros (including 229,996 euros from GCCA+ WA project). Main project owner: Associacao de defesa do patrimonio de mertola. Gambia • Development of intelligent agricultural tools to improve irrigation efficiency in the West Coast region of the Gambia - 287,059 euros (including 229,647 euros from GCCA+ WA project). Main project owner: Fundacion Sustalde. Ghana • Agroforestry technical innovations to fight climate change and improve the productivity of subsistence farmers in the northern region of Ghana - 266,718 euros (including 225,000 euros from GCCA+ WA project). Main project owner: Friends of the Earth Ghana • Ensuring climate change resilience and mitigation by training self-reliant smallholder farmers in the Lake Bosumtwe landscape - €214,991 (including €190,000 from the GCCA+ WA project). Main project owner: A Rocha Ghana. Guinea • Project for the Introduction of Sustainable Agriculture Practices on Family Farms in Upper Guinea (PIPADEF-HG) - 287,483 euros (including 229,983 euros from GCCA+ WA project). Main project owner: TRIAS. Guinea Bissau • Project to support the sustainable palm oil sector in the Cacheu region - 250,528 euros (including 200,422 euros from the GCCA+ WA project). Main project owner: Research and Implementation Group for Rural Development. • "Tiban ankaterô": integration of cultural, agro-ecological, territorial and climatic aspects for climate resilient family farming in the Urok Islands. Guinea-Bissau - 267,356 euros (including 230,000 euros from GCCA+ WA project). Main project owner: NGO Tiniguena. Nigeria • Developing a model for the agroforestry exploitation of resilient shea trees in Oyo and Niger States - 245,580 euros (including 220,580 euros from GCCA+ WA project). Main project owner: Global Shea Alliance. Sierra Leone • Fair Rice Sierra Leone: a model for a well-organized, climate-smart and inclusive rice value chain in 5 districts (Kambia, Karene, Koinadugu, Bombali, Port Loko) - 351,122 euros (including 230,000 euros from GCCA+ WA project). Main project owner: Woord en daad foundation. • Sustainable land management for climate change adaptation and mitigation in Moyamba District, Sierra Leone - 230,000 euros (including 184,000 euros from GCCA+ WA project). Main project owner: Action Against Hunger. |
More about GCCA+ West Africa
Funded by the European Union with EUR 12.1m, the GCCA+ West Africa (WA) regional project is implemented by Expertise France, under the leadership of the ECOWAS Commission and in partnership with the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS). This project is part of the regional cooperation efforts. It aims to support the concrete implementation of the climate commitments made in Paris by ECOWAS Member States.
Discover the project page