Approach
Using innovative ICT tools and working through key partnerships, this project aims to provide small-scale farmers at risk from climate change with greater access to information and strengthened capacity in order to effectively adopt CSA solutions.
Building on previous work carried out in Southern Africa and in other ACP regions, CTA and its partners have identified four key CSA solutions to help farmers to address the challenges posed by climate change. The identified solutions are:
Unfortunately, few farmers know about or have reliable and affordable access to these technologies. To help address this situation, CTA is facilitating the building of strong and inclusive partnerships among various stakeholders, including farmers’ organisations and the private sector (weather providers and telecom companies), to promote increased awareness and use of these proven CSA technologies.
Activities
The project, which will run from 2017 to 2019, consists of three key components:
Situation analysis to synthesise lessons on dissemination approaches (including value chain mapping, establishing the current state of extensions and documenting experiences and business case for engaging the private sector) and to develop a scaling-up strategy for the four CSA solutions.
The Capacity building of partners and stakeholders to make informed decisions on the adoption of the selected CSA solutions. Activities include farmer registration for easier access to ICT and mobile-enabled weather information services as well as multiplication and distribution of certified drought-tolerant maize seed by small and medium seed companies and training of public and private partners, including agro-dealers, on improved maize varieties.
Facilitated access of farmers to CSA:
Communication elements of the project include providing information to key decision-makers who influence decisions on adoption of CSA solutions. This includes advocating for infrastructure support to ICT-enabled extension and collective action by stakeholders to engage in policy processes to support the scaling up of CSA solutions.
Project interventions are focused on two key strategic commodities – maize and livestock. Field activities are concentrated in three countries – Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe – from which appropriate regional lessons will be drawn.
Impact
This project aims to contribute to the scaling up of four proven CSA solutions to increase food security, nutrition and income for 140,000 smallholder farm households who are affected by changing climatic conditions.
As a result of the initiative, smallholder farmers will have access to information and strengthened capacity to adopt existing CSA solutions. Specifically, the project will increase the uptake of weather-based insurance by smallholder farmers; improve farmer’s access to weather information through the use of ICTs; improve access to technical interventions that increase crop productivity and reduce risks under a changing climate, such as the multiplication of drought-tolerant seed; and, help to inform policies and incentives to facilitate access and use of CSA solutions.