AAAP in the Media
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Digital Climate Adaptation Solutions Training – Southern Africa
Harnessing the power of technological innovations and digitalization to improve agricultural productivity and strengthen climate resilience has been recognized as one of the potential game changers to address many of pressing climate concerns and rural transformation challenges facing Africa today.
Digital climate-informed advisory services are tools and platforms that integrate climate information into agricultural decision-making. These services range from digital mobile apps, radio, and online platforms to digitally enabled printed bulletins based on climate models and extension services that utilize climate information platforms. DCAS offers crucial opportunities to build the resilience of small-scale producers in the face of worsening climate change impacts, particularly when bundled with complementary services (such as financing, input supply, market access, insurance).
The objectives of the DCAS trainings are as follows:
- Capacity enhancement for agricultural stakeholders across Southern Africa in DCAS
- Supporting trainees to improve their confidence and capacity to design and implement DCAS projects to reach the last mile and farmers for improved food security and climate resilience
- Facilitating knowledge/experience sharing of participants on contextual issues and approaches to scale up DCAS
- Increase the knowledge of stakeholders from across Southern Africa on opportunities and new approaches for the design, mainstreaming and use of digital tools and data-enabled agriculture to combat the effects of climate change
- enhancing capacity to use digital agriculture advisory services and solutions to ensure uptake by of DCAS among stakeholders in Southern Africa
- Over 50 Participants trained in digital agriculture and digital climate adaptation solutions
- A new cohort or platform of African public officials, researchers, farmers organizations leaders and agricultural NGO focal points with improved expertise in DCAS (for subsequent experience capitalization follow up and training)
- Training evaluation assessment report
- Improved understanding / knowledge of target stakeholders in Southern Africa through training and information sharing including lessons learned on the challenges, opportunities and new approaches to the design, mainstreaming and use of DCAS and data-enabled agriculture
- Enhanced capacity of selected agricultural stakeholders in public institutions and farmers groups across Southern Africa to use digital agriculture advisory solutions, implement digital climate smart advisory solutions, and train their members/colleagues to use DCAS tools
€100,000
Eswatini - Mkondvo-Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Program (MNWAP)
Agriculture development is one of the macro strategic areas for Eswatini’s Vision 2022. To achieve this vision, the Government of Eswatini established the Eswatini Water and Agriculture Development Enterprise Limited (ESWADE) with an aim to assist farmers on communal land to convert from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture through the provision of water, skills and other necessary support systems and technology.
The Mkhondvo – Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Program (MNWAP) is, thus, a strategic development aimed at the attainment of the country’s economic development goals by empowering subsistence farmers to convert into commercial irrigated agriculture through the provision of water infrastructure and capacity building
The overall goal of the project is to contribute to food security, poverty reduction and resilience to climate change, through supporting water and irrigation infrastructure development in Eswatini.
- Determining the impact of climate change on the various phases of the vegetable production systems in eSwatini
- Influencing project design to ensure that solutions to mitigate climate risk in the vegetable value chain are integrated in project design
- Resources mobilized for the construction of Mahamba Gorge Dam and Mpakeni Dam as well as water conveyance systems
- Feasibility studies for the construction of dams at Mahamba Gorge and Ethembaon the Mkhondvo Riverto enable the transfer of water to the Ngwavuma River
- Dam construction at Mpakeni on the Ngwavuma River to enable the conveyance of water to downstream areas for irrigation
- Preparation of detailed designs and bidding documents for the new dams to be constructed at Mahamba Gorge, Ethemba and Mpakeni as well as the conveyance system to irrigation areas downstream
- Reduced unemployment and poverty incidence
- Increased productivity, diversification, supply of value added agro-based products for the local and external markets
- Increased entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for women and youth
AfDB investment of USD 1.584 Million of total of USD 2.68 Million
Youth Entrepreneurship and SME Development Lusophone Compact Facility Phase I
Guinea-Bissau has the highest proportion of natural wealth per capita in West Africa. In addition, the country also has a youth population that accounts to more than 50 percent, an undeniable potential to drive economic growth. The country’s economic revival requires the inclusion of women and youth in business activities. The promotion of entrepreneurship among the youth can be a promising path for providing professional opportunities for this large - and growing - population group.
To promote private sector growth through youth entrepreneurship skills development and support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for job creation in Guinea Bissau, through:
- Fostering an enabling environment for SMEs, investors, and financial institutions
- Strengthening SMEs and SME support partners and facilitating investments to unlock value-chains
- Establishing facilities and financing to provide quality and affordable access to finance for SMEs
- Provide a financial contribution to conduct the assessment of “adaptation jobs” opportunities in the project
- Run the procurement process to contract a sub-grantee to carry out the assessment
- Participate the appraisal missions and review the appraisal report of the project with regards to “adaptation jobs”
- Support project team to provide clarity on climate change adaptation and resilience in the appraisal report and define the target for “adaptation jobs” in the result framework of each project
- Define adaptation measures for testing during the assessment and further be recommended to the project implementation teams
- Enhance youth entrepreneurship skills and Enterprise Support Organizations operational capacities for sustainability
- Establish a facility for the development of SMEs and access to finance
- Promote linkages between SMEs and large size enterprises to ease access to markets
- Develop a digital platform to connect SMEs between themselves, with customers and large enterprises.
- Building the capacity of SMEs in growing their businesses and their readiness for financing, including women and youth-led SMEs
- Strengthened financial sector including the type of innovative financial instruments to help SMEs access quality and affordable financing for SMEs
- Improved linkages between SMEs and large-scale enterprises to enhance ease of access to markets
- Unlocked key value chain efficiency and quality constraints
AfDB investment USD 10.5 Million
Reinforcing Resilience to Food and Nutrition Insecurity in the Sahel (P2-P2RS)
The Sahel, which lies between the Sahara Desert to the north and tropical savannas to the south, is one of the largest semi-arid/arid sub-regions globally. As such, the region is highly vulnerable to climate change and other uncertainties. The impacts of climate change may have critical socio-economic consequences for the Sahel, including poor agricultural yields, increased frequency of natural disasters. Already, the number of people in the Sahel suffering from chronic food and nutrition insecurity, poverty and vulnerability to the effects of climate change is rising steadily.
A lasting solution to food and nutrition insecurity in the Sahel requires building resilience to climate change, long-term agricultural sector financing and developing trade and regional integration. Sustained, longer-term investments in household resilience can significantly reduce the cost of emergency assistance, ultimately breaking the cycle of recurring famine. This is the most cost-effective intervention option which meets the basic needs and preserves the dignity of the populations of the Sahel. This idea is central to the Programme to Build Resilience to Food and Nutrition Insecurity in the Sahel (P2RS)
The overall objective of the P2-P2RS is to contribute to the substantial improvement of the living conditions and the food and nutritional security of the populations of the Sahel region.
Specifically, the program aims to i) strengthen the resilience to climate change of agro-sylvo-pastoral producers, including through promotion of climate-smart agricultural technologies in the Sahel and the development of climate intelligent villages; ii) develop the agro-sylvo-pastoral value chains, including through the development and improvement of hydro, meteorology and climate services; and iii) support regional institutions (CILSS, APGMV, CCRS) to strengthen adaptive capacity in the Sahel.
- Design digital adaptation solutions (Digital Climate Advisory Services, DCAS) for the Sahel context
- Investment readiness and infrastructure, institutional and farmer capacity needs for DCAS
- Feasibility study to integrate DCAS into agricultural extension and agrometeorological advisory to smallholder farmers and pastoralists
- 1 million rural households have access to digital or data-enabled climate-smart technologies
- 500,000 smallholders have adopted adaptation practices
- 5 million smallholders have access to climate services;
- Development and improvement of hydro, meteorology and climate services
- The development of climate-intelligent villages
- Promotion of climate-smart agricultural technologies in the Sahel
- Resilience to food and nutrition security built for the targeted populations
USD 300 million