Background

West African region is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Rainfed agriculture as practiced in this region is facing the increasing variability of rainfall patterns, occurrence of extreme events, such as droughts, floods, and storms, occurrence of animal and plants pests and diseases, temperature increase especially in the Sahel. into contribute to achieving the goal of the Paris Agreement in the region, there are needs for developing and scaling climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies and innovations as well as climate information services (CIS) to transform agriculture and food systems in the West-Africa.

CSA and CIS technologies and innovations are the backbone of adaptation in agriculture and food systems in West-African. Yet, main barriers to adaptation in West Africa are poor access to CIS, poor access to extension services limiting dissemination of and access to improved technologies, poor access to credit, and insecure land tenure. These highlight the need to improve access to CIS and CSA technologies. Several initiatives and institutions in the regions are working to improve access to CSA and CIS, including the Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) and the Food Systems Resilience Program (FSRP) funded by the World Bank.

Through AICCRA and FSRP, the synergetic collaboration between regional institutions such as AGRHYMET, CORAF, RUFORUM/WASCAL has been strengthened. Indeed, a key scaling vision for AICCRA implementation in West Africa is to build multi-actor partnerships of existing scientific and educational networks and centers to achieve outcomes that cannot be achieved easily by engaging with individual partners at country level.

About the event

Organized by CILSS/AGRHYMET, in collaboration with CORAF, RUFORUM/WASCAL and AICCRA, this event aims to showcase regional efforts for adaptation progress assessment and stocktaking with a focus on climate-smart agriculture and climate information services in West Africa. It will showcase effective adaptation initiatives, lessons learned and success stories in the region that require spillover actions and lay the ground for strengthening regional institutional partnerships to foster climate actions in West Africa.

Participants

The side event will gather country representatives, government officials, policymakers, experts and stakeholders who are attending COP28.

Speakers

Opening remarks: Ana Maria Loboguerrero, AICCRA Director

Presentation: Adaptation stocktaking for resilient agriculture and food systems in West and Central Africa, Nieyidouba Lamien, CORAF

Presentation: From seasonal climate forecasts to crop production and water resources outlook, Abdou ALI, AGRHYMET

Presentation: Mainstreaming CSA and CIS into curricula for generation of new expertise in Africa, Florence Nakayiwa (RUFORUM) and Daouda Koné (WASCAL)

Panel discussion:

• Mahalmoudou Hamadoun – Director General, AGRHYMET Regional Climate Center for West Africa and the Sahel
• Konan Raoul Kouame - Programme Officer, Climate Change & Climate Services, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission
• Kwame Oppong Hackman - Senior Scientist, West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL)
• Erica Allis - Senior Programme Manager, World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
• Komlanvi Moglo – Climate Finance Expert, West African Development Bank (BOAD)

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly referred to as COP28, will be the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference, held from November 30 until December 12, 2023, at the Expo City, Dubai.

Media and engagement enquiries:

To connect with AICCRA's team in Dubai for press or engagement opportunities, please contact Rhys Bucknall-Williams at r.bucknall@cgiar.org