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A Principal Investigator with the CGIAR's Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) program and a member of CORAF's Scientific and Technical Committee (STC), Dr Robert Zougmoré has been awarded the prestigious Derek Tribe Award. Dr Zougmoré will receive his medal at an event in the Australian city of Queensland on Thursday, September 5, 2019.

Created in 2001, the Derek Tribe Award promotes international agricultural research. It is awarded every two years to a citizen of a developing country in recognition of outstanding contributions to the application of agricultural or natural resource management research in one or more developing countries.

"Robert Zougmoré has been at the forefront of scientific and political engagement on the complex challenges facing agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa," reads a statement announcing the event, at which Dr. Zougmoré will also speak about the challenges and opportunities of building climate-resilient climate-resilient agricultural and food systems in sub-Saharan Africa.

"In particular, he has led inter-CGIAR teams, worked closely with national partners, established scientific and policy forums and links with the private sector in several countries, built capacity and forged links with key African institutions.

As a member of the CORAF STC, Mr. Zougmoré brings decades of experience to bear in advancing quality work in the field of climate change.

"Robert was a key member of the tripartite CORAF-IFPRI-CCAFS collaboration that led to the publication West African Agriculture and Climate Change, which continues to illuminate key policies that shape the agricultural ecosystem in West Africa and contribute to the resilience of people and agricultural systems in this region. CORAF and all its members could not be prouder of this outstanding recognition. Our congratulations to Dr Zougmoré," said Dr Abdulai Jalloh, Director of Research and Innovation at CORAF.

"Climate change poses a major challenge to food systems in West and Central Africa. Through science, innovation and technology, we can meet some of these challenges. With this award, we have no doubt that it will inspire Dr. Zougmoré and other researchers to go further in finding sustainable scientific and technological solutions to this challenge for the benefit of our farmers," added Dr. Jalloh, who coordinates JTS activities at CORAF.

Building climate-resilient food systems in sub-Saharan Africa

Zougmoré will also give a talk on building climate-resilient food systems in Africa, focusing on the challenges and possible solutions.

Here is an extract from the presentation:

Climate change is a current and growing threat to food security and nutrition worldwide, and a particularly serious one in Africa. Indeed, with 70-80% of African smallholders depending on agriculture and renewable natural resources (including forest products and services) for their livelihoods, income, employment, food and well-being, Africa's agri-food sector is already the most affected by climate change.

It is estimated that the agricultural sector (including crops, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture and forestry) absorbs over 26% of the total damage and losses caused by extreme weather events (this figure rises to 80% for drought). It is therefore crucial to step up action and investment in climate change adaptation and mitigation at local, sub-national, national, regional and cross-sectoral levels, particularly for agricultural and food systems in Africa. Furthermore, as part of the follow-up to the Paris Agreement, the agriculture and land-use sectors are given priority in over 85% of African countries' NDCs.

By integrating multiple objectives and managing trade-offs in the context of climate change, climate-smart agriculture (CSA) addresses food and nutrition security issues at all levels. The technologies, practices, tools and concrete approaches resulting from the CCAFS program's research in sub-Saharan Africa over the past ten years have played a key role in the adoption of CSA in Africa.