Decide

The Adaptation of African Agriculture Initiative (AAA) was launched by the government of Morocco at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 22nd Conference of Parties (CoP22) in Marakesh. One of the first actions of the initiative has been to develop Climate-Smart Agriculture Investment Plans for countries in West and Central Africa. The ERA database has been used to support yield and financial analysis of technologies and ex- ante assessment of the investment plans in four countries. These investment plans align with national policies and strategies and lay the groundwork for stakeholder-driven investments in agriculture under climate change.

Figure below: Probability density functions showing the potential economic performance measured as net present value (NPV) for seven projects given climate and social risks to project implementation. ERA provided input data on the financial benefits of management practices and technologies underlying this economic analysis. Partners: governments of Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Cameroon; World Bank.

In addition to work with the AAA Initiative, ERA is being used to support the development of Green Climate Fund proposals by providing financial analysis of technologies and the performance of technologies under different environmental conditions.

Each county in Kenya is developing plans to adapt agriculture to the threat of climate change. Local government authorities and multi-stakeholder platforms use data in ERA—and specifically its information on yield and resilience of management practices in different agroecosystems—to support science-based development of county-level adaptation plans. These adaptation plans set out robust road maps for the future of agricultural development in the counties.

Document below. The data-book partners used during deliberations and drafting of agricultural adaptation plans. The data-books were created according to each of the major agroecological zones in Kenya. Partners: Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Irrigation, Climate Change Unit; governments of Nyeri, Taita-Taveta and Kajiado counties; FAO–Kenya; United States Department of Agriculture–Foreign Agricultural Service; CIAT. 

Rural advisory services provided by extension agents, civil society and other actors provide critical guidance on management practices and technologies for large numbers of farmers (often ratios are more than 1,000 farmers to each extension agent). With the large increase in information available, data literacy among front-line advisors is critical. ERA and the analysis it offers have been co-developed into training materials to increase understanding of technologies and how to evaluate them when multiple objectives are possible.

Photo below. Extension agents in Zimbabwe interrogating the data in ERA during a training on the use of data in decision making. Partners: Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA); GIZ.