Background

Led by Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and supported by a grant from the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA), the AICCRA project works to increase access to and use of climate information services and smart agricultural technologies for millions of smallholder farmers in Africa. 

AICCRA activities are concentrated in six anchor countries namely: Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal and Zambia through the implementation of four components (i) Generation and sharing of knowledge and services, (ii) Strengthening partnerships for the implementation of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and climate information services (CIS), (iii) Adoption of CSA and CIS, and (iv) Project management.

In view of the satisfactory results obtained during the initial phase (2021 – 2023), additional financing from the World Bank was received for the continued implementation of the project. This additional phase focuses on access *and use of* proven climate-smart technologies and innovations adapted to the local context.

About this workshop

In the rice value chain, several climate-smart innovations have been validated and promoted in Mali through the AICCRA project, with extension efforts in other satellite countries. These include RiceAdvice, Smart-Valleys, GEM Parboiler, sustainable production platforms, etc.

In view of the convincing results obtained from this pilot phase and great interest in improving resilience to climate change and productivity as well as opportunities for reducing greenhouse gases in rice systems, increasing knowledge and appropriate use of these technologies as well as sustainable scaling mechanisms are required to accelerate their adoption in West Africa. 

The FSRP, with its ambition to strengthen food security in a context of climate change, considers itself an ideal channel for the large-scale dissemination of intelligent climate technologies with great impact potential promoted by the AICCRA project.

The Regional Workshop on climate-smart technologies in rice value chains aims to introduce stakeholders involved in the FSRP program to innovative climate-smart technologies for rice value chains. The workshop will also focus on identifying actionable steps to enhance the adoption and use of these technologies in FSRP countries.

Objective

The main objective of this workshop is to facilitate the scaling of climate-smart technologies in the rice value chain in FSRP and AICCRA countries.

Specifically, this will involve:

• Presenting 'best bet' climate-smart technologies for the rice value chain, those adapted to local contexts and with great impact potential;
• Discussing the mechanisms for the sustainable dissemination of these technologies;
• Identifying actions to accelerate the use and adoption of these technologies, particularly by FSRP countries;
• Validating directions for the successful scaling of these technologies.

Process and expected outcomes

The in-person workshop will take place as a mini-training event. Sessions will include: plenary presentations on the technologies and results obtained as well as lessons learned will be presented, and group work focusing on proposing actions to be implemented to facilitate the effective use of these technologies. 

At the end of this consultation the following outcomes are expected:

• Climate-smart technologies in the rice value chain presented and discussed;
• Techniques and tips for using these technologies grasped by participants;
• Proposed actions to facilitate the scaling of these technologies collected, analyzed and validated.

Participants 

Note, the workshop is by invitation only with participation expected from:

• Representatives of the organizations responsible for implementing AICCRA's work in West Africa: CORAF (West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development), Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, AfricaRice
• FSRP country teams
   

Contact

For enquiries or questions about the regional workshop, please contact Belmira Moustapha, AICCRA West Africa Comms Lead at b.moustapha@cgiar.org