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From May 09 to 20, 2022, Heads of State and Government, Ministers and other political decision-makers, private sector and civil society players and other stakeholders from around the world gathered in Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) for the ^15th session of the Conference of the Parties(COP15) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification(UNCCD).

On May 18, 2022, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) co-hosted a high-level panel with the Sahel Alliance on the theme of "Inclusive and climate-resilient development in the Sahel through low-carbon transition and agroforestry".

On this occasion, CORAF was invited to share its experience of interventions to combat the effects of climate change and desertification in West and Central Africa (WCA).

"The effects of climate change and desertification on agricultural and food systems in West and Central Africa are devastating," said Dr. Ousmane NDOYE, Project Coordinator at CORAF.

To achieve food and nutritional security, the countries of West and Central Africa need to turn to more sustainable agriculture by adopting the concept of climate-smart agriculture",

said Dr Ousmane NDOYE, Project Coordinator at CORAF.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is an approach that enables farming systems to respond effectively to climate change. 

According to Dr NDOYE, it is now proving to be the best option for WCA farmers, given the virulent effects of climate change and desertification.

"AIC aims to transform food systems and community-adapted practices to deliver a triple win that would increase opportunities to raise agricultural productivity and incomes, improve resilience to climate change, and contribute to the long-term reduction of dangerous greenhouse gas emissions," explains Dr NDOYE.

AIC Alliances

CORAF is implementing several flagship initiatives in West and Central Africa to promote AIC.

It has already created an AIC Alliance in West Africa, and is in the process of setting up anAIC Alliance in Central Africa. 

These steps have been taken within the framework of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program ex-Pillar 4 (CAADP-XP4), which is funded by the European Union through the "Development of Intelligent Innovation through Research in Agriculture -DeSIRA" initiative.

"The AIC Alliances serve as coordination platforms that enable stakeholders to pool their efforts and better harmonize and coordinate their interventions to combat the effects of climate change," explains Dr NDOYE. 

Decision-makers, researchers, farmers' groups, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and the private sector are the constituents of AIC Alliances.

"Through these Alliances, CORAF intends to raise the profile of AIC, with the aim of helping farmers and all stakeholders to better cope with the urgency of this scourge that threatens Sustainable Development Goal No. 2: Zaim zero".

COP15 was held in Abidjan "against a backdrop of climate urgency", according to the President of Côte d'Ivoire, in his opening address to the conference. 

Through its theme -Earth. Life. Legacy: from scarcity to prosperity, it brought together all stakeholders and called on them to act, to advance sustainable earth management, to save the planet.

"Land degradation is not inevitable. Reparation is possible", stressed Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the UNCCD, in his welcoming statement to the conference.

Read also:

• Climate-smart agriculture: spearheading agricultural development in Africa
• Relaunch of the Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture in West Africa
• Towards the creation of an Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture in Central Africa
• A new instrument to strengthen the resilience of agricultural systems to climate change in West and Central Africa