West Africa/11 projects for resilient agriculture in 7 West African countries for € 2.4 million

Eleven pilot projects with a total budget of €2.4 million were selected in December 2020 in favour of a more climate resilient agriculture in Ecowas following the second call for project proposals launched in June 2020 by Expertise France. This project is under the aegis of Ecowas and in collaboration with the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (Cilss), as part of the "GCCA+West Africa" project funded by the European Union (EU).

The GCCA (The Global Climate Change Alliance Plus Initiative) is the English acronym for the "Global Climate Change Alliance" (GCCA) ... which loses its "Plus" in the French version !

The objective of these selected pilot projects "is to finance the implementation and capitalisation of innovative local solutions with high replication and/or scaling potential for the West African region on adaptation to the impacts of climate change (selection of seeds, climate services, agro-ecological practices, early warning systems) and the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions (carbon storage, dewatering by solar pumping, renewable energies in processing units, etc.).)," emphasizes the press release issued by Expertise France at the end of January.

An initial call for project proposals launched in 2019 led to the selection of four projects over a 24-month period in Benin, Niger, Mauritania and Chad.

The 11 projects under a second call for project proposals cover Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone and will be implemented from the beginning of 2021 for a period of 20 months.

In The Gambia, the project (€287,059) is supported by Fundacion Sustalde to develop intelligent agricultural tools to improve irrigation efficiency in the West Coast region of The Gambia.

In Ghana, these are two projects. One focuses on agroforestry technical innovations to combat climate change and improve the productivity of subsistence farmers in the northern region of Ghana. A €266,718 project supported by Friends of the Earth Ghana. The second aims to ensure the resilience to climate change of self-reliant smallholder farmers around Lake Bosumtwe. A €214,991 project by A Rocha Ghana.

In Guinea, the project for the introduction of sustainable agricultural practices on family farms in Upper Guinea (PIPADEF-HG) costs €287,483 under the leadership of Trias.

In Guinea Bissau, there are also two projects. The first, for € 250,528, supports the sustainable palm oil sector in the Cacheu region with the Research and Implementation Group for Rural Development as project leader. The second, "Tiban ankaterô", concerns the integration of cultural, agro-ecological, territorial and climatic aspects in the Urok Islands. A € 267,356 project by the NGO Tiniguena. The other project (€245,580) consists of developing a model of resilient shea agroforestry exploitation in the states of Oyo and Niger, piloted by the Global Shea Alliance.

In Sierra Leone, "Fair Rice Sierra Leone" would be a model for the rice value chain located in 5 districts Kambia, Karene, Koinadugu, Bombali and Port Loko. At a cost of € 351,122, it will be implemented by the Woord Foundation in Daad. A second project focuses on sustainable land management in the Moyamba district, at a cost of € 230,000 with Action Against Hunger to pilot it.

Source: www.commodafrica.com