Experts Launch Action Plan to Help African Agriculture Adapt to Climate Change

Leading scientists and policymakers at the COP22 climate talks in Marrakech have launched an action plan to determine priorities that will help African agriculture to build resilience to climate change and feed the chronically food insecure continent.

“Six of the 10 countries most affected by climate change are in Africa yet Africa is responsible for only four per cent of greenhouse gas emissions,” said Bruce Campbell of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change,  Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), which co-hosted the event. “Moreover, African countries only receive five per cent of climate funding. This event was a crucial step towards a mutual goal: finding ways to adapt to climate change and finding the funds to make it happen.”

98 percent of African countries have pledged to include agriculture adaptation in their climate change strategies, yet progress at a global level on agriculture has stalled at COP22. Discussions on how to include agriculture as part of the climate negotiations has been delayed until May 2017, making action at a regional level all the more urgent.

With COP22 deemed the “COP of Action” following the entry into force of the Paris Agreement, the event focussed on how to implement an ambitious new AAA initiative launched by the Moroccan government, that seeks to mobilise $30 billion for Africa to transform and adapt its agriculture to a changing climate.

Mohamed Ait Kadi, president of the General Council of Agricultural Development, Morocco, said, “We have billed this COP as a COP for Africa, providing a unique opportunity to showcase action for Africa, in Africa. The Paris Agreement explicitly refers to safeguarding food security. In my view, the willingness to address agriculture and food security finally appears to be having some impact. We call this initiative ‘Triple A’ mainly to include the fact that investment in the Adaptation of African Agriculture is a triple A rated investment.”

The AAA initiative sets out three key areas for investment:

• Sustainable and resilient soil management
• Improved agricultural water management
• Climate risk management.

During a session dedicated to sustainable soil management, experts showcased the Charlotte Hebebrand, Director General of the International Fertilizer Association (IFA) said: “Africa has the potential to get the best of both worlds by ‘leapfrogging’ into more integrated soil fertility management.”

She added, “By optimising its fertilizer use, no less and no more, the continent can significantly increase average crop yields while keeping greenhouse gas emissions to a minimum.”

By also improving agricultural water management, African countries can tackle the increasingly frequent droughts and water shortages that are hitting the continent. Two thirds of Africa have experienced a rainfall deficit, which has put harvests at risk.

“The AAA initiative touches our heart, because of the opportunity it gives for South-South cooperation – there is so much to learn,” said Eduardo Mansur, Director of the Land and Water Division at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. “Take wastewater, for example. 25% of water in Jordan is reclaimed water. This experience can serve countries that don’t have this capacity – we need to let this knowledge flow from one country to another.”

By adopting climate-sensitive practices, production in Africa could actually increase from US$280bn to US$880bn by 2030.

“The world of climate risk management offers a range of innovations that can be used together to transform agriculture,” said Jon Hellin, a Senior Scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).  “For example, index insurance can help farmers bounce back from droughts and floods but can also be used to encourage adoption of other climate adaptation practices. It can be bundled with seed, providing an incentive to try new varieties, for example drought or heat-tolerant maize.”

Related:

• African States Challenged to Commit USD 400 Bn for Financing Agriculture
• Increasing Local Production Through Improved Quality Seeds

 Adaptation costs are estimated between US$20 to 30 billion per year until 2030, according to the African Development Bank, yet Africa is the continent least able to afford to fund such measures.

“We know that we need to adapt to climate change to make farming a less risky business,” said Sonja Vermeulen, lead author of recent report on the “Economic Advantage” of smallholder adaptation, produced in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The report showed that returns to farmers would more than double from investing in adaptation. “And we have also now shown that there is an economic incentive to invest in African agriculture.”

“Mobilising climate funds to help smallholders cope with global warming will be in their best interests and keep food on the world’s table.”