West Africa Farmer's Regional Days
As one of the major regional farmers’organizations, the Network of Farmers’ and Agricultural Producers’ Organisations of West Africa (ROPPA), a CCAFS partner in West Africa, seeks to reinforce farmers’ organizations knowledge on climate variability and climate change. And, by so doing, to allow members organizations to be well-informed about climate change impact on agriculture and food security and about climate-proofed strategies in order to start drawing scenarios that will better address these serious issues.
As one of the major regional farmers’organizations, the Network of Farmers’ and Agricultural Producers’ Organisations of West Africa (ROPPA), a CCAFS partner in West Africa, seeks to reinforce farmers’ organizations knowledge on climate variability and climate change. And, by so doing, to allow members organizations to be well-informed about climate change impact on agriculture and food security and about climate-proofed strategies in order to start drawing scenarios that will better address these serious issues.
In partnership with CCAFS program and Regional Integration Organizations and, the Government of Niger, ROPPA organizes the Farmer’s Regional Days Foru, in Niamey, Niger. This year forum theme is Agricultural policies and food security in the face of climate change: farmer’s organizations voices.
Climate change represents one of the most serious threats against the sustainable development of the Western Africa region. Extreme events are being more and more frequent with adverse drawbacks on the means of production and the livelihoods. Climate change could thus contribute to reduce agricultural productivity and stability in many regions that are already facing high levels of food insecurity.
In the prospect of ensuring food security and sovereignty in the region, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) have developed regional agricultural policies aiming to ensure food security and to improve the livelihoods of the populations.
With the additional threat of climate variability and change, new challenges are being faced, in particular integrating and taking into account effectively this phenomenon in the regional agricultural policies.
As one of the major regional farmers’organizations, the Network of Farmers’ and Agricultural Producers’ Organisations of West Africa (ROPPA), a CCAFS partner in West Africa, seeks to reinforce farmers’ organizations knowledge on climate variability and climate change. And, by so doing, to allow members of the organization to be well-informed about climate change impact on agriculture and food security and about climate-proofed strategies in order to start drawing scenarios that will better address these serious issues.
In partnership with CCAFS program and Regional Integration Organizations including ECOWAS and WAEMU, and the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF/WECARD), Hub Rural and Comité permanent Inter-Etats de Lutte contre la Sécheresse dans le Sahel (CILSS), and the Government of Niger, ROPPA organizes the Farmer’s Regional Days Forum, in Niamey, Niger.
This year forum theme is Agricultural policies and food security in the face of climate change: farmer’s organizations voices.
OBJECTIVES
- Provide information and sensitization of the farmers’ organizations on climate change issues and challenges and its impacts on the small farmers;
- Enable farmers knowledge and experiences sharing and exchanges over their anticipation capacities as far as adaptation to climate change is concerned ;
- Allow space for dialogue on scientific and political considerations requirements for adequate regional climatic risk management mechanisms;
- Disseminate scientific and technical updates to producers to promote a climate smart agriculture by the efficient use of seasonal climatic forecasts ;
- Sensitize regional decision makers and the scientists on the ins and outs of the issue for an efficient communication and use of the products of the seasonal climatic forecasts and the consideration of climate change in the West African regional policies.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
- The OPs (Farmers’ Organizations) have a better understanding of the food security issues and challenges in the context of climate change and climate variability
- ROPPA and its regional partners commit themselves in a regional agreement to achieve food sovereignty in West Africa
- Recommendations are made to each group of actors on the approaches and tools for a better dissemination of the information on the climate services and the good practices on climatic risk management.
For further information, please contact:
Dr Robert Zougmoré, CCAFS West Africa Regional Program Leader, r [dot] zougmore [at] cgiar [dot] org (r.zougmore(at)cgiar.org) or Dr Kalilou Sylla, ROPPA Executive Secretary, kalilou [dot] sylla [at] yahoo [dot] fr (kalilou.sylla(at)yahoo.fr)