Creating climate-smart multi-functional landscapes through integrated soil, land and water management at different scales in East Africa
Project description
This project seeks to build the resilience of smallholder farmers to deal with climate-related risks through large-scale adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies and practices, with a focus on Ethiopia. The project builds on ongoing activities of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) in East Africa—identifying, testing and evaluating a portfolio of CSA practices at the farm and landscape levels. Project activities are geared towards scaling CSA within the Climate-Smart Villages (CSVs) established by CCAFS and partners in southern and northern Ethiopia.
We apply various approaches including an assessment of climate risks and vulnerabilities, past present and future climate scenarios, and trends, including rainfall and temperature variability and extreme events. We conduct assessments of farmers’ perceptions of climate risks and vulnerability, including CSA technologies and practices in the CSVs. We scale tools and platforms to tailor climate information and facilitate access to agricultural users in partnership with leading stakeholders. We evaluate appropriate CSA technologies and practices in an ongoing manner, including assessment of adoption rates and factors that influence the choice of CSA interventions by smallholder farmers.
Activities
Identification of CSA options for the rehabilitation of degraded landscapes and ecosystems, and the enhancement of farmer resilience:
- Geospatial-science and modeling-based climate risk assessment and regional level risk profiles
- Climate-smart geospatial decision support tools for fertilizer recommendations
- Review of the business cases for CSA options
Assessment of CSA options in CSVs:
- Testing of diverse options (soil and water management interventions, on-farm integration of high-value agroforestry trees, animal feed/fodder, reforestation at larger landscape scale, nutrient management, solar-based irrigation)
- Development of linkages to key actors that will be instrumental in the scaling up of technologies, and assessment of scaling up bottlenecks and options
- Development of institutional options needed to support scaling up (e.g. capacity development, links to policy processes)
Expected outcomes
To derive new knowledge on scalable CSA technologies and institutional options with demonstrable benefits to women and men farmers, youth employment, climate resilience and low emissions development, by developing five technological or institutional CSA options that can be scaled up with smallholder farmers identified in Ethiopia.
Participatory and inclusive evaluation and identification of technological or institutional CSA options are expected to enhance equitable decision-making and improve women’s assets and empowerment in the region, as well as the number of organizations adopting plans to increase women’s access and control. The selected CSA options have improved equitable decision-making opportunities with the potential to improve women’s assets and knowledge acquisition.
Partners
- Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
- Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR)
More information
For more information, please contact project leader Dawit Solomon, CCAFS (d.solomon@cgiar.org)
Funding for this project is provided by:
