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Through the Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and its partners are helping to scale up successful approaches to climate change friendly practices with multiple benefits for smallholder agriculture, which improve productivity and reduce climate-related risks.

A recent workshop led by IFAD aimed to create a framework for exchange between project managers so that they share their experiences and learn from each other. Participants also shared examples of success stories in priorities and investments for scaling up climate-smart agriculture (CSA).

The participants of the workshop were as follows: the Market Gardening Development Support Project in Benin (PADMAR-Benin), the Family Farming Development Program in Niger (ProDAF), the Rural Socioeconomic Opportunities Promotion Program in Cape Verde (POSER), the Vulnerability Reduction Support Program in  Coastal Fishing Areas (PRAREV) in Djibouti, the Melaky and Menabe Development Support Project in Madagascar (AD2M-II), the Inclusive Sectors Development Project in Mauritania (PRODEFI), the Agricultural Productivity Improvement Project in Mali (PAPAM/ASAP), and the Agricultural Systems Resilience Improvement Project in Chad (PARSAT).

The projects of the eight countries mainly carry out activities related to the reclamation of degraded lands (Niger), the production of biogas from a biodigester (Mali), and market gardening (Benin). In Djibouti, PRAREV is involved in the preservation of the mangrove forest, while in Madagascar AD2M-II focuses on the rational management of water.

CCAFS West Africa, for its part, shared its experiences in climate-smart agriculture. In this regard, it demonstrated the importance of scaling up climate-smart agriculture options.

During the workshop, CCAFS's contribution enriched the experiences of the other participants with examples of success stories on its intervention sites. The research program also shared its experience in defining priorities and investments for scaling up CSA.

Another important aspect mentioned during the discussions was gender. CCAFS presented its Gender and Social Inclusion Strategy; the CCAFS team explained how this strategy identifies opportunities for women, youths and marginalized groups to have equitable access to resources, information, and power in the agri-food system.

Need to extend CCAFS-IFAD collaboration to projects for greater upscaling of climate-smart agriculture

By working on projects to improve the resilience of smallholder farmers to the effects of climate change, the workshop participants had a unique opportunity to discuss the challenges, as well as climate adaptation strategies and practices adopted by their projects. In this regard, the CCAFS program, through presentations on CSA, its approaches and implementation tools, gave concrete examples of success stories in scaling up CSA options on the ground.

Although the challenges are country-specific depending on the climatic contexts, the participants were pleased to learn about practical solutions and relevant technical approaches that CCAFS is pioneering in climate-smart agriculture. Like the ASAP program, the CCAFS program wants that, as regards climate change and variability, agriculture, especially in vulnerable areas in Africa, should become more resilient and adapted to climate risks with reduced carbon emissions so as to sustainably respond to growing food demand.

In view of their common interests and objectives, the development of concrete and common collaborative actions between ASAP projects and CCAFS would be an unparalleled contribution towards scaling up improved CSA.

Watch the photos from the workshop:

Some stakeholders gave their opinions on the need for field collaboration between the ASAP project and the CCAFS program. As Mr. Diallo Daouda, Coordinator ASAP/PAPAM Mali, said:

The similarity between CCAFS and PAPAM/ASAP actions is clear and visible. The first component of ASAP is to make the smallholder farmer and rural household resilient by providing alternative energy for firewood. We have biodigesters that enable rural households to cook without smoke or wood. Digestate is a good fertilizer for farms. We understood that CCAFS intervenes directly in farms as well.

The similarity between CCAFS and PAPAM is more palpable in the second component, which is the preparation of specific documents that mainstream agricultural adaptation to climate change. As regards market gardening, we work with specific planning tools through collaboration with weather services.

The difference is that at CCAFS we note the intervention of scientific research, which indicates greater progress in this direction. For example, in Cinzana CSV, market gardening takes place in winter whereas we are not yet at this level. Our beneficiaries grow groundnuts and beans at this time in their market gardening areas, while CCAFS continues to grow vegetables using specific techniques.

This implies that interventions are more in-depth and more technical. Hence the need to collaborate with CCAFS in order to strengthen PAPAM actions here in Mali. With complementarity, everything is possible. It will be a good way for us to achieve our goal of making our beneficiaries more resilient."

Mr. Rakotondratsima Andrianianasoa, Coordinator of AD2M Project in Madagascar, said:

As regards the integrated rural development project being implemented in two West Madagascar regions, our main focus is promotion of agricultural development centers and affiliated organizations. Its ultimate goal is to sustainably increase farmers' incomes and food security. More specific to the project, I will talk about developing more efficient production systems that are resilient to climate change.

We consider the AD2M project activities as climate-smart activities. Our ambition is to disseminate agricultural practices that are resilient to climate change on a large scale. We are going further by supporting the population for better access to water.

We are currently looking for a partnership for flexible water management. This is not an area directly covered by CCAFS, but it is possible to mobilize experts through CCAFS to work on this activity. We have skills for developing large-scale irrigation and medium-scale flooding, but we need support for better management on a smaller scale with methods implemented and practiced in West Africa."

According to Mr. Abdourahamane Mahamadou, Official in charge of Family Farming, PRODAF, Niger:

PRODAF is being implemented in Zinder, Maradi and Taoua regions. It is a project under the supervisory authority of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. Its overall goal is to ensure food and nutrition security for 290,000 households. It also aims to make communities more resilient to external shocks such as climate change.

Through presentations by CCAFS during the exchange workshop, I noted various climate-smart farming techniques and technologies for better agricultural production. The current techniques in the SenegalCSV impressed me a lot. The positive results of Senegal are impressive.

With respect to collaboration with PRODAF, I would consider three main areas: capacity building for our beneficiary farmers to increase their output and mitigate the effects of climate change. There is also an opportunity to test some CSA success stories at our sites, such as reclamation of farmland for best value. We would also be interested in watershed treatment. We will not only deal with pastoral sites but also agricultural sites. It would be nice for CCAFS to share with us the approaches it has developed in these areas."

Read more:

• Read more about the flagship dedicated to Climate-Smart Technologies and Practices 
• Read and download the ASAP program brochure
• For more information on Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) visit our CSA Guide