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Funding of 18 million euros from the European Union (EU) is enabling CORAF and its partners to take action to alleviate the stress of climate change and the hunger of millions of small-scale farmers in the Sahel, West and Central Africa.

Four hundred and thirty million people live in West and Central Africa, around 65% of whom depend on agriculture.

Producers of millet, maize, sorghum, fonio, groundnuts, cowpeas and cassava are already experiencing declining yields due to the severe effects of climate change. With temperatures in the region set to rise by 2050, experts fear that food systems could be severely affected, jeopardizing food security in the Sahel as well as in West and Central Africa.

The three interconnected EU grants to CORAF will equip national research systems in target countries to develop and share climate-resistant varieties, combat cassava diseases and support the use of science, technology and innovation.

"You may recall that in 2018, CORAF committed itself under the new strategic plan to tackling new food-related challenges such as climate change and invasive pests," said Dr Abdou Tenkouano, Executive Director of CORAF.

"This is what you see with EU funding. The overarching objective of these interventions is to contribute to strengthening the resilience and adaptive capacity of communities in the Sahel and in West and Central Africa."

"We can only thank the EU for providing this support. This is a huge opportunity for CORAF and its partners to strengthen the dry cereal breeding system in the Sahel and support the cassava production that the people of our region need."

The EU funding is spread over three projects whose primary objective is to contribute to the Agenda 2030 and the African Union's Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). They all end in 2024.

Climate-sensitive dry cereal varieties

Under the first agreement, breeders will be empowered to generate and disseminate climate-resistant dry cereal varieties for farmers and producers in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Senegal. CORAF will coordinate with the national research systems in Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal in this respect, while ICRISAT will work with Mali's Institut d'Economie Rurale.

Thanks to ABEE(Empowering West African Breeding and Extension Networks), small-scale farmers will have access to climate-resistant varieties that are adaptable to local and commercial realities. CORAF's Regional Center of Excellence for Dry Cereals will facilitate the exchange of germplasm and data between breeding programs. The project will also prepare a new generation of breeders and scientists to support the modernization of breeding in the region.

As part of the West African Agricultural Productivity Program, a Dry Cereals Research Center has been set up and hosted by Senegal. Researchers working at this center have developed climate-smart groundnut and cowpea varieties that help farmers adapt to the effects of climate change.

"As part of this project, some of these varieties will be further disseminated to the poorest," said Dr Abdulai Jalloh, CORAF's Director of Research and Innovation.

Based on projections, ABEE should benefit around 40,000 small farmers by the end of 2024.

Read also:

• In West Africa, research into dry cereals is increasing
• CORAF takes part in a global research program on legumes and dry cereals

Controlling cassava diseases

Within the framework of the WAPP, substantial progress has been made in creating and disseminating new cassava varieties across West Africa. The Regional Center of Excellence for Root and Tuber Crops hosted by Ghana has led regional efforts in this respect.

But with mosaic disease and cassava brown streak looming, production is under threat.

The second EU grant will enable CORAF and its partners to set up early detection systems and take proactive measures against biological risks to cassava.

While around 56% of the world's total cassava production comes from Africa, average yields are much lower than in any other region of the globe.

The consortium implementing : Anticipating and managing biological risks to strengthen farmers' resilience to climate change in West Africa involves CORAF, the Biological Risk Management Facility (BIMAF), the West African Viral Epidemiology Program (WAVE) and the national research systems of ten countries.

Many rural and urban households and inhabitants of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo depend on cassava for their livelihoods.

"So you can understand why this project is mainly concentrated in these countries," explained CORAF's Director of Research and Innovation.

Anticipation and management of biological risks may be the main objective, but this intervention will also address the growing challenge of army worms for West African crops; fruit flies are decimating West African mangoes as well as other maize-related diseases.

Read also:

• Regional cooperation boosts Senegal's cassava sector
• New cassava varieties change women's lives in Côte d'Ivoire

Accelerate the updating of science, technology and innovations

The latest EU project is designed to enable CORAF to play its role as a regional instrument for coordinating research.

CAADP EX-PILLAR 4 is based on the assumption that without the sustainable use of science, technology and innovation, it will be extremely difficult to achieve the ambitious food productivity targets set out in the Agenda 2030 and the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

Through the Science-led Climate-Relevant Agricultural Transformation in West and Central Africa, CORAF will contribute to the transformation of the agricultural industry through the relentless use of science, technology and innovation.

In addition to CORAF in Africa, there is a consortium of players mobilized to implement this program across the continent. These include the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS), the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) and the Coordination Centre for Agricultural Research and Development in Eastern and Southern Africa (CCARDESA).

IFAD will manage the grant on behalf of the EU.

Read also:

• A new program with a strong climate focus is about to get underway

The three projects are all part of the Intelligent Development for Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA). This is a European Union initiative designed to deploy science and innovation to achieve an inclusive, sustainable and climate-smart transformation of agriculture and related food systems in partner countries around the world.