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From July 26 to 28, 2023, a regional workshop was held in Abidjan, organized by CORAF and the Alliance Bioversity International and CIAT through the AICCRA project, in collaboration with the FSRP (Food System Resilience Program/Programme de Résilience des Systèmes Alimentaires). The aim of the workshop was to build the capacity of stakeholders from National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) and Climate Intelligent Agriculture (CIA) Alliances in the development of CIA projects and the use of tools to assess the climate-intelligent characteristics of CIA practices and technologies.

Promote capacity building for AIC actors

The workshop was a unique opportunity to bring together key players involved in agricultural research in West Africa and Chad. Members of the AIC West Africa Alliance, researchers and technicians representing the NARS, the heads of the West Africa Food System Resilience Program (FSRP) at national level, the Alliance Bioversity International and CIAT team all took an active part in the event.

" Our governments are promoting climate-smart agriculture. In this context, it was timely to build the capacities of the various players implementing these government policies on what makes agriculture climate-smart, a technology, a practice. The aim of this workshop is to build the capacities of a certain number of agricultural players so that they can successfully accomplish their mission of transforming agriculture ", explained Dr. Lamien Niéyidouba, program manager at CORAF and coordinator of FSRP component 2.

"At the end of this workshop, these different players will know how to develop good projects that will be able to respond to the climate-smart agriculture approach, but also know how to identify the technologies and practices that respond to this approach," he insisted.

Dr Diomandé Kedro, representative of the Director General of the Centre National de Recherche Agronomique de Côte d'Ivoire, spoke of the threat posed by climate change to our food system. For the CNRA, as for other stakeholders, West Africa must respond to the challenge of climate change through climate-smart agriculture.

" The damage caused by the climatic events of recent years in the countries of the sub-region is enormous. The urgent need to take action no longer needs to be demonstrated. Climate change affects the various components of the ecosystem, but also people, crop yields, water availability, soils, etc. " explained Dr Alcade Segnon, researcher at Alliance Bioversity International and CIAT, and scientific manager of the AICCRA project's West Africa cluster.

Meeting the challenges of climate-smart agriculture

During three days of exchanges and experience sharing, four training modules were covered in depth. The first module recalled the fundamental concepts of climate change and Climate Intelligent Agriculture, emphasizing the challenges and need for adaptation. The second module focused on understanding AIC for more resilient agricultural systems.

Participants were able to capitalize on and share their experiences of project development in their respective countries. Vulnerability studies were also discussed, providing stakeholders with tools to assess risks and develop appropriate strategies. The third module dealt with methods and tools for assessing the climate-smart characteristics of agricultural practices and technologies.

The trainers shed light on conventional methods for evaluating practices, while presenting an innovative methodological approach for assessing the climate-smart characteristics of an agricultural practice or technology. Finally, the fourth module was devoted to techniques for designing and writing pro-CIA projects, as well as to specific considerations in the implementation of these projects.

A fruitful exchange of experiences helped to identify ideas for valorizing the knowledge acquired, and the importance of conceptualizing bankable AIC projects was highlighted.

Promoting AIC in West Africa

The national and regional players trained were urged to apply the knowledge acquired to improve their future projects, and to be able to integrate AIC dimensions into ongoing projects. Their role is crucial to the climate-smart transformation of agriculture and food systems in Africa.

CORAF, alongside Alliance Bioversity International and CIAT, through the AICCRA project, continues to build the capacity of agricultural actors to build a resilient future in the face of climate challenges. The West African region can now count on trained professionals armed with the knowledge needed to promote intelligent, sustainable agriculture adapted to climate change.