IFAD social reporting blog: ASAP

Showing posts with label ASAP. Show all posts

The Amhara Regional State irrigation scheme inauguration

Posted by Ricci Symons Monday, October 30, 2017 0 comments

By Samir Rayess Calvo

H.E. Dr Kaba Urgessa (State Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources) and Ato Aytenew Endeishaw (Deputy Head of Bureau of Agriculture in Amhara Region), inaugurated the irrigation scheme at Amhara Regional State.

The second phase of the Participatory Small-scale Irrigation Development Programme (PASIDP II) became effective on 13th February 2017. Building on the lessons from the previous phase, PASIDP II aims to develop 18,400 ha of small-scale irrigation schemes and 60,000 ha of adjacent watersheds, directly benefitting 108,750 households in Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and SNNPR regions. By improving their prosperity, food security and nutrition, farmers enhance their resilience against external shocks, including those induced by adverse weather and climate change. PASIDP II places great effort on enhancing smallholders’ access to markets by ensuring schemes’ financial viability and developing agribusiness linkages through training in agribusiness skills for all the participating farmers. Furthermore, the programme has increased efforts in making the irrigation schemes climate resilient through a landscape approach to watershed management, ensuring that irrigation command areas and downstream private and public facilities are protected. In this regard, the programme benefits from a USD 11 million grant sourced from IFAD’s Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP) Trust Fund.

On the 13th October 2017, a mission comprising PASIDP II staff, Steering Committee members of PASDIP II and IFAD visited the project area in the Amhara Regional State. On this occasion, the irrigation scheme in the Special Zone of Oromia in Amhara region (Jille Timuga Woreda) was inaugurated by H.E. Dr Kaba Urgessa (State Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources) and Ato Aytenew Endeishaw (Deputy Head of Bureau of Agriculture). The scheme, was the first scheme to be finalized in the second phase of the programme. A total of 240 watershed committee members and 97 Irrigation Users Association members are the backbone of the scheme’s operation and sustainability, ensuring adequate conservation of the adjacent watershed and operation and maintenance of the scheme’s physical infrastructure. Obtaining water resources from Sewer river diversion, the scheme will irrigate 97 HA of land, benefiting 115 households (from which 23 are female-headed).

Thanks to the financial support from ASAP, the Regional Project Coordination Management Unit specialists have provided training on watershed management to 11 community watershed members, 8 Kebele (local administration) watershed committee members and 6 woreda (district) technical committee members.

H.E. Dr Kaba Urgessa (State Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources) and Ato Aytenew Endeishaw (Deputy Head of Bureau of Agriculture) inaugurating the irrigation scheme

H.E. Dr Kaba Urgessa acknowledged the commitment of the regional government and particularly the villagers who hosted the field visit, and encouraged the stakeholders to develop irrigation in the area and work towards prosperity. The Deputy Head of Bureau Agriculture promised to provide all the necessary support needed and appreciated the commitment from all actors in the area.

The inauguration was followed by an interactive session in which the zonal head and PASDIP II irrigation engineer gave a brief presentation about the scheme, acknowledging the active involvement of all actors throughout the development of the scheme. Key stakeholders and irrigation users engaged in a fruitful discussion, appreciated the presence of the State Minister in the field visit and committed to strengthen their efforts to develop sustainable irrigation schemes. The Programme National Coordinator provided guidance for the key actors in the woreda and farmers to work towards the innovative features of the second phase of the programme, highlighting the importance of considering farming as business and rehabilitate the surrounding watershed in the area to sustain the irrigation schemes.

Field visit and interaction with farmers

At the end of the field visit, the Zonal Head offered the traditional costume of the area as a present to the key stakeholders, including IFAD, in recognition of their support to the farmers in the area.

H.E. Dr Kaba Urgessa and Aytenew wearing the present given form the Zonal Head

GEF-funded programme on resilient food security targets smallholder farmers in 12 African countries

Posted by Ricci Symons Wednesday, July 12, 2017 0 comments

By Susan Onyango

Originally posted here.

Africa’s population is expected to double from 1.26 billion today to over two and half billion by 2050, little more than 30 years from now. At the same time, land degradation, loss of biodiversity and the effects of climate change pose increasing challenges to the continent’s agriculture sector, particularly smallholder farmers. If left unchecked, these challenges will threaten the food security of millions of people, particularly in the drylands. Affected countries will require national policies and farmer practices that safeguard food production, as well as frameworks for mutual cooperation across the agricultural and environmental sectors, if they are to ensure the sustainability and resilience required to feed their people.

In an effort to address these multiple challenges, more than 80 government and development sector experts met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 5 July 2017, to launch the Integrated Approach Programme on Fostering Sustainability and Resilience for Food Security in sub-Saharan Africa. Financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the 5-year, USD 116 million programme is designed to promote sustainability and resilience among small holder farmers through the sustainable management of natural resources – land, water, soils and genetic resources – that are crucial for food and nutrition security. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is the lead agency with the Programme Coordination Unit hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) at their headquarters in Nairobi. Bioversity International, UN Environment, UNDP, FAO, World Bank, UNIDO, AGRA and Conservation International are all involved.

Smallholder farmers, who are responsible for most of the region’s food production, will benefit from practices and policies that will ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of their production systems. Efforts to ensure post-programme sustainability include a particular focus on gender issues at every level of the programme to address policy and culturally-related barriers to gender equity and women’s empowerment in most of the participating countries. The Programme targets almost three million households in 12 countries and will improve the management of 10 million hectares of land.

“With an explicit focus on smallholder agriculture in the drylands, we have collectively established a framework to underpin the long-term sustainability and resilience of production systems,” said Dr. Mohamed Bakarr, Lead Environment Specialist at the GEF. “The program framework, which is defined by three main components – platforms for multi-stakeholder engagement, acting to scale-up innovations, and systems monitoring and assessment – is informed by sound science and policy, including a theory of change.”

The Programme includes the increased involvement of the private sector in developing viable value chains for food crops. At the same time, a regional hub that will support, synthesize and promote learning across the network of countries will improve access to knowledge from scientific institutions and help inform policy options and investment opportunities for managing ecosystem services in smallholder agriculture.

Margarita Astralaga, Director of IFAD’s Environment and Climate Division reiterated the importance of linking food production with ecosystems to protect the environment and to ensure that smallholder farmers reach markets.

“A key ingredient to the Food Security Integrated Approach Programme is the learning across the twelve country projects as well as its three components on institutional frameworks and policy, scaling-up integrated approaches, and on measuring collective impacts,” she noted.

To ensure effective implementation of the project, participants called for system-wide stakeholder engagement – from the field to the government – and the mapping of existing and previous projects to enable south-south learning. They also emphasized the need for technical support on improving stakeholder engagement, capacity development, strengthening institutions, monitoring systems, combining research and technology, scaling technologies, and communicating among stakeholders in participating countries and globally.

“The process has been very engaging, giving us insight for those who haven’t started on implementation (and) alignment with regional programmes, especially indicators and information on national and regional goals,” said Shamiso Nandi Najira of Malawi’s Ministry of Environment. “We look forward to working with the implementation agencies. Learning from others on what they are doing in their countries has been a good eye opener.”

“Taking resilient food security to scale means supporting innovation among millions of farmers over millions of hectares,” said Fergus Sinclair of the World Agroforestry Centre. “We have to go beyond simply promoting best bets, to supporting farmers as they experiment with new options in their own contexts, and then foster the sharing of that learning about what works where and for whom.”

The Food Security Integrated Approach Programme is aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals and the three Rio Conventions on biological diversity (CBD), to combat desertification (UNCCD) and on climate change (UNFCCC). It will be implemented in 12 countries including Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Swaziland, Tanzania and Uganda.

Other Integrated Approach Programmes of the GEF are on Green Commodities Supply Chains and Sustainable Cities.

Also see:
GEF Integrated Approach Pilot: Fostering Sustainability and Resilience for Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa

IFAD Director presenting the Integrated Approach Pilot (IAP)

South-South Cooperation and Capacity Building Sub-Regional M&E and Knowledge Management Workshop Manzini, 2017

Posted by Ricci Symons Wednesday, June 7, 2017 0 comments

By Tiffany Minjauw

©Tiffany Minjauw

The International Fund for Agricultural Development's (IFAD) East and Southern Africa Division (ESA) , the IFAD funded Smallholder Market-led Project (SMLP), and the Microfinance Unit (MFU) in Swaziland jointly organised and facilitated a sub-regional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) workshop for ongoing IFAD funded projects in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, and Swaziland.

The workshop brought together staff (mainly M&E officers and Knowledge Management officers) from the Project Implementation Units. The objective of this workshop was to strengthen the planning, monitoring, evaluation and knowledge management functions of IFAD operations in the five countries by strengthening the technical understanding of the key concepts and by sharing experiences (good practices and challenges).

Held in Manzini from the 17-19 May 2017, the workshop provided theoretical and conceptual guidance, emphasizing real country level good practices. Clarifications were provided on the different monitoring and assessment mechanisms in place for different sources of funding, namely the Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

©Tiffany Minjauw

The interactive nature of the workshop generated rich discussions and insights into methods to overcome challenges and achieve effective monitoring and evaluation.

By the end of the workshop, the 30 participants had a better understanding of the use of the Log Frame, of the measurement of outputs and impacts, and of the principles of the Results and Impact Management System (RIMS) and how to link it to the project M&E system.

"This is the first time that we have had specific training on M&E and K&M. Consultants provide support during implementation missions but it is never as in-depth as what we experienced here" - Rural Livelihoods and Economic Enhancement Programme (RLEEP) in Malawi.

"We like that IFAD, unlike many international organisations, is paying great attention to M&E. We hope that more workshops like this one will be organised periodically in the future" - Smallholder Agriculture Development Project (SADP) in Lesotho.

(EN)JEUX CLIMATIQUES A MADAGASCAR

Posted by Christopher Neglia Tuesday, April 25, 2017 0 comments

Par Marie-Clarisse Chanoine Dusingize

Le lancement des activités financées par le Programme d’adaptation de l’agriculture paysanne (ASAP en anglais) a eu lieu le 14 et 15 mars 2017 à Morondava, à Madagascar. Ce don s'insère dans la phase II du Projet d’Appui au Développement de Menabe et Melaky (AD2M II). L'atelier organisé fut une opportunité pour l'équipe de projet et ses collaborateurs clés (les ONG de terrain et les partenaires nationaux et régionaux) d’apprendre les uns des autres et d’échanger sur le thème de l’adaptation aux changements climatiques dans le secteur agricole.

L'atelier a débuté par l'organisation d'un jeu de rôle. Cette animation ludique a été menée par l'équipe FIDA pour sensibiliser les participants à l’ampleur des impacts du changement climatique sur la sécurité alimentaire et sur le développement agricole et rural à Madagascar. Les participants ont donc pu incarner les rôles de responsables institutionnels et d'acteurs locaux en charge de la planification rurale sur une période de 5 ans. Grâce à cette simulation, ils ont ainsi dû décider d’investir soit dans les opérations courantes soit dans l’adoption de mesures innovantes afin de se prémunir contre les effets dévastateurs liés aux changements climatiques tels que les sècheresses et les inondations. Les participants ont pu expérimenter la prise de risque inhérente au statu quo – risque de famine en cas de sécheresse - et les coûts liés à l’adoption de mesures d’adaptation et d’atténuation aux changements climatiques - adoption de techniques et technologies innovantes et plus coûteux. Ce divertissement a suscité des discussions riches sur les enjeux inhérents au développement agricole et rural et les mesures d’adaptation locales.

L’atelier s’est poursuivi par des présentations courtes sur l’état environnemental et les changements climatiques à Madagascar, et plus particulièrement dans les régions du projet, Menabe et Melaky. Les intervenants ont mis en exergue les déterminants et les contraintes qui exacerbent la vulnérabilité des populations rurales causée par la dégradation environnementale et les changements climatiques. Ils ont ensuite émis des suggestions quant à la bonne mise en œuvre du projet. Pour garantir le succès du projet les participants ont recommandé, sur base de leurs expériences de terrain,, d’accentuer la mise en pratique des approches participatives, le partage et la mutualisation de la prise de risque inhérente à l’adoption d’innovation (partage des coûts), la vulgarisation et la diversification des semences améliorées, la promotion de la production intégrée (végétale, animale et la pêche) et le renforcement des capacités locales et des réseaux d’échanges des savoirs et des expériences.

Tchad: Les femmes actrices incontournables face au changement climatique

Posted by Christopher Neglia Wednesday, March 8, 2017 0 comments

©IFAD/WCA Échanges avec les femmes de Saraf sur les effets du changement climatique et les techniques locales d’adaptation.

Par Alice Brie

Malgré le potentiel du secteur agricole tchadien, l’insécurité alimentaire touche la plupart des régions du pays. Ce problème est particulièrement lié à la vulnérabilité des systèmes agricoles face aux aléas et au changement climatiques. Une autre cause est l’inégalité entre les femmes et les hommes, qui demeure un obstacle important pour le développement rural puisque ce sont les femmes qui assurent en grande majorité la production alimentaire du pays. Avec un accès limité aux ressources, aux marchés et à la formation, les femmes sont aussi les premières impactées par le changement climatique, qui à la fois affecte leurs travaux agricoles et touche directement les ménages. Confrontées quotidiennement aux effets de ce changement, les agricultrices tchadiennes sont aussi porteuses de solutions pour s’adapter. Le PARSAT[1] accompagne les ménages vulnérables tout en soutenant l’autonomisation des femmes pour ainsi renforcer la résilience des systèmes de production et des populations face au changement climatique. La première mission de supervision du projet a été l’occasion de rencontrer des femmes membres de cette initiative.

« Pour les femmes, responsables à la fois des tâches domestiques et agricoles, la raréfaction des ressources naturelles et les changements climatiques augmentent directement leurs charges de travail »

Près du lac Fitri, la journée de Kadidja Abouna, débute à 5 heures du matin. Après s’être occupée de ses neuf enfants, elle part travailler de 7h à 18h sur sa parcelle, où elle cultive des haricots, de l’hibiscus et du sorgho. Sans aucune hésitation, elle affirme que ses rendements ont « diminué ces dernières années et que cela est dû aux changements des pluies qui finissent de plus en plus tôt ». Dans les autres localités d’intervention du projet, les constats sont du même ordre. Dans le village de Yao, le président du comité départemental d’action des agriculteurs, note la disparition des périodes de froid propices aux pépinières, la présence de plus en plus marquée d’insectes ravageurs, l’augmentation du nombre de pluies destructrices et des vents violents. A Mébra, ce sont les conflits hommes/nature qui deviennent plus fréquents. Ses habitants notent aussi une forte augmentation des températures et déplorent la baisse du niveau de la nappe ainsi que la disparition d’arbres fruitiers.

©IFAD/Sarah Morgan femme allant remplir ses seaux d’eau au puits.

Pour les femmes, responsables à la fois des tâches domestiques et agricoles, la raréfaction des ressources naturelles et ces changements climatiques augmentent directement leurs charges de travail. Pour les habitantes de Mébra par exemple, la perte du couvert forestier les contraint à commencer leur journée à 3 heures du matin pour la corvée de bois et la collecte d’eau. L’ensablement de la route à Saraf rend lui l’acheminement des marchandises au marché de plus en plus difficile pour les désignées vendeuses.

Au Tchad comme dans la plupart des pays d’Afrique, les femmes n’ont par ailleurs que très peu accès aux ressources économiques et productives qui leur permettraient de rebondir et diversifier leurs activités face aux aléas climatiques. Dans les régions du Centre Ouest, seuls les hommes bénéficient de la propriété des terres. Le droit coutumier empêche les femmes d'hériter de la terre ou du bétail parce qu'elles quittent le clan de leur père pour se marier. En conséquence, les droits sur les ressources productives sont concentrés essentiellement entre les mains des ménages dirigés par des hommes, tandis que les ménages dirigés par des femmes tirent beaucoup moins de revenus des activités agricoles. Ces ménages sont beaucoup plus exposés aux facteurs de risques notamment climatiques qui à la longue entrainent la faim.

Des actrices incontournables pour la protection de l’environnement et la lutte contre la dégradation des terres

Les effets produits par le changement climatique entrainent la mise en place de stratégies innovantes, développées par les femmes, afin de mieux s’adapter et indirectement de protéger leurs environnements. Établissant des liens entre la désertification des sols, l’augmentation du temps de travail nécessaire à la corvée de bois et la disparition du couvert forestiers, les habitantes de Moito et de Mébra ont mis en œuvre des techniques efficaces, qui permettent de restaurer la fertilité des sols et d’économiser la quantité de bois nécessaire au ménage.

©IFAD/WCA, Agricultrice arrosant ses plants de salade grâce un puits maraicher financé par le PARSAT

Les femmes plantent par exemple des arbres à proximité des cultures pour faire face à la désertification. Avec l’appui du PARSAT, elles intègrent plus particulièrement le rôle éco-systémique des arbres pour les sols grâce aux apports en matière organique et la régulation hydrologique qu’ils produisent. Des fagots de bois consommés, elles réutilisent le charbon afin de chauffer d’autres aliments, ce qui a pour effet de limiter l’usage de nouveaux fagots et indirectement de réduire leur impact sur les forêts avoisinantes. Elles établissent de même une planification détaillée de la répartition en eau par activité (cuisine, hygiène, de boisson) et les quantités nécessaires pour chacun des membres du ménage. Cela leur permet ainsi de réduire la quantité journalière d’eau prélevée, et surtout de limiter le nombre d’allers et retour jusqu’au forage. Dans certaines localités, les femmes observant une meilleure rétention des eaux de pluies dans les bas fonds, privilégient les travaux agricoles dans ces zones. Elles utilisent de même des semences à cycles courts ou précoces afin de s’adapter au démarrage tardif des pluies et obtenir de meilleurs rendements.

Soutenir l’autonomisation des agricultrices pour renforcer la résilience des ménages

Kadidja, elle, a pris sa décision juste après que son mari soit parti en exil. En novembre, elle a rejoint un groupement d’agriculteurs soutenu par le PARSAT. Kadidja voit dans cette organisation paysanne composée de 27 membres dont dix femmes, « un objectif commun » : une meilleure gestion des bénéfices à travers un système d’épargne communautaire, qui lui permettra de mieux investir dans sa parcelle, d’augmenter sa production et le revenu de son ménage. Au sein du groupement deux femmes possèdent un rôle clé : Safi Issa est la comptable et Kadidja elle même s’occupe de la vente de la production. Le projet formera ces femmes en particulier au leadership et à la prise de parole afin qu’elles intègrent le comité de gestion agricole du groupement et qu’il prenne mieux en compte les besoins de son groupement et celui des autres femmes.

Kadidja voit aussi dans le PARSAT l’opportunité d’obtenir des formations techniques et un accès à des technologies agricoles pour qu’elle puisse s’adapter au mieux aux nouvelles contraintes climatiques auxquelles son milieu agricole doit faire face. Le FEM (Fonds pour l’Environnement Mondial), le FIDA avec l’ASAP (Programme d’adaptation de l’agriculture paysanne) appuieront à travers ce projet les ménages ruraux les plus vulnérables et en particulier les femmes afin d’accroître leur production agricole sur le long terme, de gérer les ressources naturelles et les écosystèmes agricoles de manière durable, mais aussi d’améliorer la conservation, la transformation et la commercialisation des produits animaux et agricoles, leur proposant ainsi des ressources complémentaires. L’approche est double puisque le projet inclut des mesures d’atténuation pour réduire les risques climatiques (notamment à travers la diffusion de données météorologiques), et des mesures d’adaptation afin de minimiser les effets du changement climatique. La combinaison de ces deux aspects permettra aux femmes d’améliorer leurs conditions d’existence et la sécurité alimentaire des ménages tout en leur donnant les moyens d’amortir l’impact de futurs chocs.

[1] Projet d’amélioration de la résilience des systèmes agricoles au Tchad.

Adapting to climate change in Morocco

Posted by Beate Stalsett Tuesday, November 15, 2016 0 comments

Written by Nerina Muzurovic

©IFAD/N. Muzurovic

A changing climate and unpredictable weather have an enormous impact on food production. When people can’t grow food due to changing weather patterns, they migrate, threatening food security of entire countries.

The changes in the Al Haouz province of Morocco provide a good example of how local farmers’ resilience to climate change can be improved thanks to innovative technologies. Better irrigation has led to higher crop yields, increased available drinking water, and improved job opportunities for young people living in the area.

An irrigation system changes the land—and lives

A decade ago, this stretch of land in a small village of Sidi Badhaj, located in Morocco’s mountainous Al Haouz region was completely barren: fallow ground, empty and dry.

In 2009, an IFAD-financed project provided technical support to introduce drip irrigation technology, here. The new system allowed farmers to irrigate both the olive trees that are their main source of income, and the vegetables - fava beans, melons, green peas - that feed their families.

Just a year after the irrigation system was installed, farmers were already seeing results. Thanks to the irrigation, they no longer have to depend on the rain, and are now able to water their fields year round, including during the dry summer. Incomes stabilized, and migration decreased. The new vegetation also created a new micro-climate: The earth became softer and less dry, thanks to the plants, which also produce more oxygen.

Now, local farmers would like to further improve the irrigation system by installing solar water pumps.

Climate resilience brings jobs back to rural areas in Morocco

According to 30 year-old Mr Abdelatif El Badaoui, Treasurer of the Amghrass cooperative,
“Young people used to migrate to the city for work,” he said. “Now, they can
help provide support to farmers.”
©IFAD/N. Muzurovic

The Agricultural Value Chain Development Project in the Mountain Zones of Al-Haouz Province also introduced a specially-designed model that trained young people to become agricultural service providers. The approach was effective: farmers are now paying for agricultural support themselves. As a result, young service people are able to earn 228,000 Moroccan dirham (equivalent to 22,000 euro) for four months of work. Today, some 17 youth are employed by the Sidi Badhaj cooperative as agricultural service providers: seven women and ten men. There are seven service provider groups (équipes metiers) in total in the nearby rural communes.

Agricultural support providers are organized through an agricultural cooperative. This has had an important impact on young people, who used to have to migrate to the city in order to find work.

Now, young people are trained by the provincial directorate of agriculture. In addition to vocational training, they also receive technical equipment and machinery. This allows them, in return, to provide support to farmers. They help with everything from equipment to work that directly involves the olive trees: from treatment (to protect the trees from getting sick) to pruning.

As a result of their services, the productivity of olives has improved. For example, some 1,200 hectares of olive trees have been planted since 2010. Before, farmers in the area produced 20 kg per tree; today, production has increased to 120 kg per tree. The quality of oil has also improved. Some 90 per cent of the producers are adopting new approaches to pruning, collecting olives and storing them. Electrical machinery to collect olives, as well as scissors, are among the equipment provided by the project.

Now that the farmers’ awareness of the benefits of the services of the young service providers has increased, many have entered into yearly contracts with the young people. The lives of the young service providers have improved, and they are not thinking of migrating.

Do women and men do the same type of work? “Before women used to work at home, and now they are participating increasingly in these activities as a family activity," explained one of the farmers. The work that women do include: collection, pruning, plant protection treatment, fertilizer application, and other tasks.

Producers, we learned, are interested in renewable energies. They have provided a business plan for installation of solar water pumps to replace the motor pumps they are now using.

What about climate change? “Everything used to be dry,” said Mr Abdelatif El Badaoui. “Now, thanks to micro-climactic change due to vegetation and green cover, the rain has come back.” Still, locals are noticing decreasing and infrequent precipitation, drought and floods.

Adaptation to climate change and soil conservation

The ravines, at this site, are a perfect example of soil erosion—a good point of contrast to the visible
improvement of the plant cover nearby.
©IFAD/N. Muzurovic

A visit to Amghrass highlighted project impact on climate change and soil conservation. Originally, this area was used as grazing land. However, it became eroded, and farmers no longer earned income from pastoral activities and livestock here.

Before the project, this site was an eroded, marginal zone. However, with the IFAD-funded project, terracing was introduced, which allowed for water retention and cultivation of olive trees.

The ravines, at this site, are a perfect example of soil erosion—a good point of contrast to the visible improvement of the plant cover nearby.

The overall land coverage of the project is 200,000 hectares, benefiting 700 rural people on 4 to 6 hectares of land.

How has life changed for people in Al Haouz?

Ms Tahra Ait Benazou, cooperative Tiwizi (first one on the right),
“The young people are here, now. I have three sons. They are here
with me, and they work in the field and in the cooperative.”
©IFAD/A. Valentini

The project owes much of its success to the participatory approach it adopted for implementation, in which local communities were first asked to identify their needs. These needs were then supported by the IFAD project, whose irrigation system helped locals improve their lives, helped reduce poverty and helped preserve the environment.

There is no arguing, that climate change has made itself felt, here: “There is one good year in every five years,” said one farmer. “Last year was a dry year.”

“All our projects are designed by and for beneficiaries. Thus, they are naturally adapted to local and cultural contexts. What we have found is that the people supported by our projects need to see with their own eyes that there will be a benefit to the type of services they would receive. They need to be convinced that there will be results before they decide to join in the activities. Once they are convinced, they are in the driving seat,” said Ms Khalida Bouzar, Director of the Near East, North Africa and Europe Division.

Ms Najia Ghouat (third from the left): “When my daughter needs to buy a book, she no longer
asks her father for money. She comes to me. The work at the cooperative gave me
a greater sense of responsibility.”
©IFAD/N. Muzurovic

On 13 November 2016, IFAD organized a press trip on the margins of the COP22 to three selected project sites in the Al Haouz province, about 50 km south of Marrakech. Reporters from international and national media outlets joined the trip, including Thomson Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, ORF, and VTM, as well as local TV and print media.

Fisheries and aquaculture in a changing climate

Posted by Ricci Symons Friday, November 11, 2016 0 comments

Fisheries and aquaculture are important contributors to food security and livelihoods. Fish provide essential nutrition for 3 billion people and 50 per cent of protein and essential minerals for 400 million people, mainly in poor countries (FAO, 2014). Many poor rural people rely on fisheries and aquaculture as their primary source of income and food security. Fisheries also contribute to household resilience and a reduced vulnerability to natural hazards and economic uncertainty.

What is the issue?

Climate change is having a devastating effect on the sea.

“90 per cent of the heat being produced as a result of climate change is stored in the oceans, with 60 per cent in the upper 600m of surface waters,” said Manuel Barange, Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture at FAO.

The surface waters are where all the resources live. Climate change is bleaching corals, raising sea level, increasing the temperature and changing the pH of the oceans. None of this is good news for the myriad of life which calls the ocean home, or the people who rely on it.

But it is not always negative; climate change can also affect areas in positive ways. In colder regions temperature rises actually lead to an increase in production, but in the tropics, it can lead to death, migration, lower yields and changes in species. Species migration will lead to the greatest reductions in catches from inshore coastal waters where small-scale fishers operate.

“Species have temperature tolerance windows, when the temperature changes, they have only two options, move with the window or stay. Staying can have devastating effects, skewered distributions, changes in reproduction seasons, and death. Changes in reproduction seasons means that our current management tools, such as closure of fishing grounds in reproduction season, will no longer be effective,” Added Barange.

When it comes to the species on coral reefs – the reef cannot move – so when the temperature changes the negatively affected habitat disappears.

IFAD knows that we don’t know everything, but we know enough to act.

What can we do?

Fish is crucial for food security. More fish is eaten than pork, than chicken. With twelve per cent of the world depending on fisheries, how do we support communities and families through these changes?

We need to promote adaptation techniques, disseminate knowledge and put into practice other climate smart solutions. These can vary massively depending on the location. Fisheries can change the species they catch, to more abundant or local species. New innovative equipment can be made available, which limits the fisheries impact on the oceans. Alternatively, fisheries can reduce theirs yields, but opt for a higher quality of fish which would enable their incomes to be least affected.

In Djibouti, IFAD has tackled the problem as part of its US$ 55 million portfolio there, making fisheries a key element of its natural resource management program. Results are already positive: IFAD’s management and protection of over 50 per cent of local coastal habitats as well as some 70 per cent of local coral reefs has improved abundance of species, and generated better reliability in capture rate.

Further, IFAD has designed geospatial mapping systems to monitor key ecosystems, such as mangrove forests and coral reefs, geared towards supporting healthy fisheries’ value chains. These geospatial tools have already provided a more precise picture of the country’s mangroves, which protect coastal communities from climate hazards.

“Right now, the Government in Djibouti is using this information to take the next steps: Rehabilitating mangroves and fish breeding grounds, while providing fishing communities with credit to buy boats and equipment,” said IFAD's Jacopo Monzini.

Whilst the answer is not one hundred per cent clear Barange is sure that, “any solution will need to include the migration of people, and we need to facilitate that migration. At certain times, people will need to travel to where the fish are.“

Economic benefits of investing in adaptation and agriculture

Posted by Ricci Symons 0 comments

Farmers' Day at COP22 Marrakech saw IFAD and CGIAR's research programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) host a side event on the “Economic advantage of agriculture in Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)” to complement the release of a new IFAD funded publication “The Economic Advantage”.

Laurie Goering from the Thomson-Reuters Foundation asked how do you show donors, who have a lot of people knocking on their doors for funding, that what you are doing is actually going to work and is it worthwhile?

We are seeing lots of new research which says putting money into agriculture is worth it and IFAD commissioned The Economic Advantage report to prove just that. It found that farmers could earn a return of between US$1.40 and $2.60 for each dollar invested over a 20-year period by applying climate change adaptation practices.

Sonja Vermeulen from CCAFS explained that agriculture has taken ages to get on the negotiating table.

"Almost every country now includes agriculture in their NDCs,” Vermeulen said. “This gives us a whole new platform for action.”

"So far the information is patchy and this report is not the definitive answer," according to Vermeulen. "But it does contain a lot of guiding information which will help development agencies and governments if they implement it into their own work."

Linking agriculture and climate change to a monetary value is extremely difficult. For example, El Niño hit the wine industry in South America, but in New Zealand it actually benefitted it.

“Agriculture is the life of the Ugandan people, hence its prioritisation,” said Chebet Maikut, Commissioner of the Climate Change Department of the Ugandan ministry of Water and Environment. He explained that in Uganda in the next five years US$476 million will be spent on climate smart agriculture.

From a climate change perspective, agriculture has a number of co-benefits in contributing to emission reductions. The Ugandan government found that the cost of not addressing climate change impacts would be in the region of US$406 million by 2025, and if still no action was taken that number would rise exponentially into the billions over the coming years.

“As such 30 per cent of our budget in the next 15 years will be mobilised to fight this,” concluded Maikut.

Alongside farm-level actions are a further set of non-technical mitigation and adaptation interventions, which are just as important but more difficult to quantify and value, says the report. These include capacity building, institutional strengthening, access to value chains and research. These climate resilient practices also have a demonstrated effect on food security both locally and globally.

IFAD's Ilaria Firmian discussed IFAD’s Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP) which currently has over 40 projects. She talked about how IFAD embeds indicators into the project monitoring and evaluation system. Depending on the type of interve

ntion, they can track certain outcomes more specifically. For instance, they may monitor outcomes of farm income.

“We can identify real opportunities with real payback, which a few years ago couldn’t have happened!” continued Firmian.

“It is very tricky to put a value on certain adaptation techniques, such as investing in a women’s groups or cooperatives. However, this study shows that these investments are still very important though," added Firmian.

IFAD is committed to working with farmer’s organisations - when cooperatives become successful, a whole country can be transformed.

At the farm level, positive economic returns can be demonstrated for several practices that build adaptive capacity and reduce emissions intensity such as innovative rice cropping in Vietnam, or switching from growing coffee to cocoa in Nicaragua.

Laurie Goring closed the session saying, “I think we have to keep in mind when discussing this, the cost of not investing. The numbers are so much higher; it has to contribute to the case for making this happen.”

Building Women’s Resilience to Climate Change: Lessons from smallholder farmers

Posted by Ricci Symons Wednesday, November 9, 2016 0 comments

By Alessia Valentini

How to “get real” about investments in gender equality in agriculture was the theme of today’s side event at COP22 on Building Women’s Resilience to Climate Change.

The event brought speakers from CARE International, the CGIAR's Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security Programme (CCAFS) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), shared their experiences and lessons learned on promoting gender equality, looked at what is being done in practice and proposed ways to strengthen gender equality and women’s empowerment in agriculture adaptation programmes.

The main message conveyed by the panellists was that the impacts of climate change and climate variability are differentiated by gender. In fact, investments in smallholder agriculture, which are designed to improve resilience to climate change, are often significantly gender biased in terms of specific activities undertaken. This has implications on income sources and opportunities, livelihood diversification, access to and control over resources and benefits, and on the quality of life for men and women.

Emma Bowa shared experiences on CARE’s gender-responsive actions and said that climate change comes with opportunities which we should make accessible to women.

“What is important is to ensure that men and women sit down and make decisions together to improve their relationships and obtain better results,” said Bowa.

Ilaria Firmian presented IFAD’s gender policy and shared lessons learnt from the Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP).

“IFAD’s gender policy is based on promoting economic empowerment, enabling women and men to have an equal voice and influence in rural institutions and organisations, and achieve a more equitable balance in workload,” said Firmian. “The design of IFAD’s ASAP-supported projects is gender-sensitive and follows the agency’s gender policy objectives. However, the imperative for IFAD now is to build a clear understanding of how gender considerations in design translate into practice.”

Welcome to the Red City #COP22

Posted by Ricci Symons Monday, November 7, 2016 0 comments

Nearly one year after the watershed COP21 Climate Summit in Paris, governments have once again convened in Marrakech, Morocco for COP22 to move forward with the Paris Agreement and take stock of their collective efforts to curb dangerous climate change.

IFAD is here at COP22, making the case for investing in smallholder farmers, both to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly reaching zero hunger by 2030 (SDG2) and ensuring that smallholders are adequately supported so they can afford to adapt to changing climate patterns that will continue to impact on global food production.

At a packed-out opening ceremony, there were remarks by COP22 President Salaheddine Mezouar, COP21 President Segolene Royal, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chair, Hoesung Lee and the Mayor of Marrakech, Mohammed Larbi Belcadi, followed by a performance by a group of local drummers to set the beat for climate action over the next 11 days of the conference.

"The rapid entry into force of the Paris Agreement is unprecedented and sends a powerful signal of the world’s commitment to combatting climate change,” said COP21 President Segolene Royal as she opened COP22.

COP22 President Salaheddine welcomed everyone to the Red City, commenting how his country has spared no effort to provide the best possible conditions for this global event to ensure its success.

He said that holding the COP on African soil shows the continents commitment to reinforcing resilient ecosystems. He stressed that this effort would involve everyone and all countries, as, "the sun does not ignore a village just because it is small"" and all are affected by the blight of climate change.

"Let us make no mistake as to what is at stake here,’’ continued Salaheddine,"I call on you to be more ambitious during this conference on our commitments, working together to finalise the support mechanisms and expertise at every level from local to transboundary projects. This must be done through win-win partnerships. At stake now is not only climate change but civilisation and economic development. We must now promote sustainable development models which are innovatory and can transform the world, including the south."

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa said that this is the second COP in the shadow of the mighty Atlas Mountains. The city where the Marrakech accords were founded, and that just days ago, the Paris Agreement came into action here uniting parties and stakeholders.

"We have embarked to change the course of two centuries of carbon emissions,’’ Espinosasaid. , "Marrakech is our moment to take forward climate action at both the international and national levels. Our work is far from done. Together we can deliver the promise of Paris to billions of people on this planet, both today and for tomorrow.’’

Hoesung Lee talked of how COP22 is to be the COP of action.

There was an upbeat atmosphere as the Mayor of Marrakech closed the opening ceremony, again welcoming everyone and calling for ambitious negotiations and for everyone to build on last year’s successful talks. The ceremony closed with a special performance by a local traditional Moroccan drumming group, “Ostina Tono,”, which drew great applause and cheers as the COP22 officially kicked off.

Enhancing adaptation capabilities of small-scale farmers to climate change

Posted by Ricci Symons Wednesday, November 2, 2016 0 comments

At the Forty-third session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS 43), participants met for an event where “Making a Difference in Food Security and Nutrition” was the subject of discussion.

The event was facilitated by Mark Davis, FAO Deputy Director of the Climate and Environment Division. It was a fairly informal panel with representatives from each of the Rome Based Agencies, and a representative from the World Farmers Organisation. The panel included: Alexandre Meybeck, Senior Policy Officer on Agriculture at FAO; Roshan Cooke, Regional Environment and Climate Change specialist at IFAD ; Tania Osejo, Climate Adaptation Specialist at WFP; and Mr Dyborn Chibonga, Chief Executive Officer at the National Smallholder Farmers Association on Malawi. During the side event, panellists focused on experiences from local climate adaptation efforts to combat hunger and malnutrition.

Mark Davis opened by saying ''With a changing climate, agriculture needs to change way it operates too.''

In light of the Paris Agreement, rural communities and farmers have been urged to take the lead as efficient agents of change to enhance adaptation capabilities to the negative impacts of climate change to food security and nutrition.

The event also reviewed elements in various country–led climate adaptation plans, known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Ten INDCs actually name IFAD specifically as contributing towards their national adaptation priorities in the agriculture sector. “We need to move towards diversification for farmers - away from monoculture'', said Roshan Cooke, adding,'' Good results are already coming in from our adaptation work with smallholders."

Alexandre gave the FAO view by saying ''We need a multi stakeholder approach to working with countries on their INDC targets and priorities that leverages each agency’s comparative advantages..''

Tania admitted that reaching the Sustainable Development Goals would put the Rome-based Agencies out of business. Achieving zero hunger would mean WFP had done its job. Unfortunately we are not there yet. So in the meantime, 'we are trying to facilitate adaptation planning processes whilst linking communities to market and social infrastructure.''

More than just a recipe

Posted by Ricci Symons Monday, October 17, 2016 0 comments

I have just returned from Mozambique where I was lucky enough to see the latest in IFAD's cooking and climate series, Recipes for Change, being filmed. The newest recipe, Caldeirada De Cabrito Com Mandioca, is a goat and cassava curry. It was was cooked by a local farmer, Helina Paulo, and famous Mozambican chef, Rogerio Matusse. Rogerio has his own catering company and is a regular presenter on Mozambican TV, also hosting a Mozambican tourism show.

IFAD works in Mozambique through its PROSUL project, fighting the effects of climate change on smallholder farmers. Farmers like Helina are facing problems with drier soils, higher temperatures and increased droughts. Water shortages and lack of irrigation also contribute to the difficulties facing smallholders. All this is combining to reduce yields, increase wastage and ultimately hurt farmers’ incomes.

The PROSUL project has split itself into three separate streams to help tackle these issues- horticulture, red meat and cassava. Each segment has its own set of actions, which complement each other and ultimately ensure traditional dishes like caldeira de cabrito com mandioca will stay on the menu in Mozambique. The red meat stream is ensuring the health of goats by introducing new raised goat shelters, that stop goats catching diseases when it floods. The cassava and horticulture focused parts, are introducing new planting techniques, seed species and irrigation systems to ensure vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers and cassava are protected.

Through the project cassava processing plants, like the one in the picture below, are being built. In these plants farmers are diversifying incomes by creating cassava flour, cassava cakes and biscuits and in some areas selling the surplus cassava they’ve grown to breweries who make beer from it.

Where is the cassava surplus coming from?

The project has been introducing new cassava to households. This new cassava survives on far less water than traditional cassava, which is crucial in low rainfall or drought years. Additionally, this new cassava is more resistant to diseases and pests.

Farmers are also being taught the latest adaptation techniques to cope with climate change. One technique is to identify cassava which is infected with pests and diseases and ensure that farmers remove these. Traditionally farmers have not wanted to remove any cassava as this would mean a loss of product. However through farmer field schools, farmers have been taught how early identification and removal of affected crops actually preserves yields. Traditionally a farmer would plant cassava and after a year would harvest. But with the new techniques such as intercropping this has allowed farmers to plant crops with a far shorter growing cycle than cassava on the same plot. This means that they can harvest and sell the other crops while waiting for the cassava to mature, bolstering incomes. Also as the secondary crops such as cowpea grow they provide shade to the cassava and retain soil moisture which both help the cassava to grow large and healthy.

Helina is part of the Wapsala Farmers Association. It is a group of smallholder farmers that regularly meet to share knowledge and lessons learned. They meet at the Association’s headquarters, which is surrounded by their own plots. The headquarters also doubles as the cassava processing plant. Helina said that by using these new techniques all the farmers at the Wapsala Association have seen big increases in their yields. Using the project's market connections they have also found reliable markets to sell their produce.

Digging down to the Roots of Resilience on World Environment Day

Posted by Ricci Symons Thursday, June 23, 2016 0 comments

To celebrate this year’s World Environment Day, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) brought together international experts to look at sustainable land management (SLM).

The discussion on June 5 was part of IFAD’s Environment and Climate Divisions Climate Lecture Series, which highlights environmental issues facing farmers in developing countries and promotes some of the solutions that IFAD is supporting to achieve a food secure future.

Among the panellists was IFAD Vice-President, Michel Mordasini, IFAD’s Environment and Climate Division Director, Margarita Astralaga and the Director of World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT), Hanspeter Liniger.

Representing the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Jeroen Van Dalen presented a global overview of the current state of SLM, and UNCCD’s approaches for scaling up SLM globally. He tied UNCCD work closely to that of IFAD, stressing the importance of food security.

''In the new definition by UNCCD of land degradation, food security is part of it. It shows how important it is,'' Said Van Dalen.

WOCAT Hanspeter Liniger gave an overview of the recent IFAD grant to WOCAT.

This grant is being used to scale-up adoption of SLM in three pilot countries.

''Our ultimate beneficiaries are the land users,” said Liniger “We don’t make the change, they do.”

“There is so much experience available, it is criminal if we don’t use it for the benefit of the people.''

A recording of the lecture can be seen here.

Recipes for Change

On World Environment Day, IFAD also launched its latest episode of Recipes for Change, a web tv series where top chefs raise public awareness by cooking foods that are threatened by climate change and show how IFAD is helping farmers adapt,

The episode featured Italian celebrity chef, Carlo Cracco, who recently visited an IFAD-supported project in Kandal province in southern Cambodia. While there, he met Cambodian farmer Somreth Sophat and cooked a traditional Cambodian recipe, Somlar Kako.

“Climate change is a fact,” said Cracco. “Perhaps we can slow it down, but we cannot stop it. So we must help those people who work the land so that there is a change in the way we fight the battle of climate change.”

Rice, a staple food in Asia, counts for almost 80 per cent of farmland in Kandal province, but frequent droughts and damaging floods mean farmers here have seen harvests halved. See the full video here.

IFAD Director presenting the Integrated Approach Pilot (IAP)

Posted by Ricci Symons Thursday, June 16, 2016 0 comments

By Eric Patrick

On 9 June, Ms Margarita Astralaga, Director of the Environment and Climate Division, delivered a presentation on the Integrated Approach Pilot (IAP) to the Council members of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). IFAD is the Lead Agency for the Food Security IAP in Sub-Saharan Africa. The other two GEF IAPs on Green Commodities Supply Chains and Sustainable Cities are led by the United Nations Development Programme and World Bank respectively. The Food Security IAP comprises 12 country projects and one cross cutting knowledge/capacity building project for a total value of $116m in GEF grants and $700m in co-financing, including IFAD loans with which the grants are tightly blended.

The objective of this IAP is to demonstrate how food production by smallholders can be enhanced while also improving the environmental health of soil, water and agro-biodiversity; the basis of smallholders’ production system, their natural capital and typically principal asset. The outcome of this 5 year program will be the scaling up of these approaches both through the 12 country projects and through influencing the policy discourse on agriculture and food security in the region.

The presentation by IFAD was well received by Council Members, including by representatives of sub-regional constituencies of African countries, who also expressed the desire of non IAP countries to benefit from this program in the future; indicating a high level of support and demand for this approach. In response to Council's query on modalities to address challenges faced by the IAP, Ms. Astralaga clarified that the coordination arrangements of the cross cutting knowledge/capacity building project would instill collaborative efforts with key actors engaged in food security issues to optimize the diverse capabilities and opportunities available.

The GEF is a fund intended to assist Member States meet their obligations and commitments under the Climate Change, Biodiversity and Desertification Conventions and other Multilateral Environmental Agreements. This IAP is innovative because it promotes integration among sectors on food security and directly links to development objectives. IFAD has been a GEF Agency since 2004, with the current GEF cycle worth $3.4b. The IAP modality will be evaluated in 2017 and if found to be promising will become a prominent instrument in subsequent GEF cycles.

IFAD social reporting blog