Mise en place de la plateforme d’innovation des chaînes de valeur agricoles climato-intelligentes dans la région de Kaffrine au Sénégal

Depuis 2011, le programme de recherche du CGIAR sur le Changement Climatique, l’Agriculture et la Sécurité alimentaire (CCAFS) soutient la mise en œuvre d’une agriculture intelligente face au climat (AIC) au Sénégal à travers le développement et la mise à l’échelle de technologies et pratiques AIC avec l’Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA). Dans ce cadre, le CCAFS a mis en œuvre de 2019 à 2021, un projet de « développement de chaînes de valeur et paysage climato-intelligents pour accroitre la résilience des moyens de subsistance en Afrique de l’Ouest ». Le projet s’est articulé autour de plusieurs activités dont (i) l'analyse des chaînes de valeur (CV) afin d'identifier les risques climatiques et autres contraintes auxquelles font face les CV et qui pourraient être résolues par des options AIC et, (ii) l'intégration d'options AIC fondées sur des évidences dans les CV sélectionnées par le biais des plateformes d'innovation multi-acteurs. Au Sénégal, le projet a travaillé dans la région de Kaffrine. C’est une région à vocation agro-sylvo-pastorale située au cœur du Bassin Arachidier et qui subit de plein fouet les conséquences des perturbations climatiques. Cette situation a orienté, depuis 2011, le choix de cette région pour expérimenter des innovations visant à renforcer la résilience des communautés à l’image du Groupe de Travail Pluridisciplinaire (GTP). Pour renforcer la résilience des communautés et favoriser la durabilité des activités agricoles, il est impératif de disposer d’un cadre de concertation qui permette à l’ensemble des acteurs d’échanger. C’est ainsi que le concept de plateforme multi-acteur a été mis en avant pour une meilleure prise en compte des principes et fondements qui sous-tendent la durabilité des actions à entreprendre. Ainsi, plusieurs échanges ont permis de poser les jalons d’une rencontre avec les différentes parties prenantes. Dans le cadre de la mise en œuvre du projet, une réunion des différentes parties prenantes a été organisée pour la mise en place d’une plateforme multi-acteur pour la région de Kaffrine au Sénégal afin de supporter l’intégration des options d’AIC dans les chaines de valeur agricoles prioritaires. Lors de l’atelier de développement du profil de risque climatique de Kaffrine en novembre 2020, cinq Chaînes de valeur ont été retenues par les participants pour le développement de CV agricoles climato-intelligentes (Ouédraogo et al., 2020). L’objectif de l’atelier était de mettre en place une plateforme d’innovation des chaînes de valeurs agricoles climato-intelligentes dans la région de Kaffrine pour promouvoir l’AIC au Sénégal. De façon spécifique, l’atelier a visé à : - déterminer l’ancrage institutionnel, le point d’entrée, l’échelle de la PI ; - déterminer les rôles, les responsabilités et les activités à entreprendre dans la PI ; - identifier les besoins spécifiques en renforcement des capacités des membres de la PI ; - élaborer les actes et le contenu la PI ; - adopter les actes et mettre en place de la PI ; - initier les membres sur le changement climatique et l’AIC. 3 L’atelier a regroupé les services techniques régionaux et les acteurs (transformateurs, fournisseurs d’intrants, commerçants etc.) des quatre chaines de valeur agricoles retenues lors de l’atelier de priorisation en Novembre 2020 à Kaffrine. Une série de présentations a été réalisée pour avoir un aperçu global sur les différentes thématiques d’importance pour la mise en place de PI. Dans une approche participative, des travaux de groupes ont été organisés autour des différents objectifs. La diversité de profils des participants (producteurs, chercheurs, conseillers agricoles, transformateurs, fournisseurs d’intrants, commerçants etc.) contribuera à l’optimisation et à la capitalisation des bénéfices que chaque acteur tire de la PI. Des restitutions en plénière ont été l’occasion pour prendre en considération les différentes propositions des groupes d’acteurs. L’esprit qui a sous-tendu cet atelier de mise en place de PI a été celui de la participation effective et de la responsabilité de chaque acteur dans l’initiative. Le rapport présente les points saillants de la mise en place de la PI à Kaffrine

Senegal - Land, climate, energy, agriculture and development: A study in the Sudano-Sahel Initiative for Regional Development, Jobs, and Food Security

Located in West Africa, Senegal is classified as a least-developed country that has historically had political stability and slow economic growth compared to the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, from 2012 onward, a new government has adopted new policies (infrastructure investments, liberalization of the groundnut sector and opening of the energy sector) to enhance economic growth and governance. Senegal thus experienced significant improvements in the period from 2012 to 2015. Future economic growth in Senegal can be significantly shaped by the energy sector regarding the recent oil and gas discoveries if the common resource curse can be avoided. The country is characterized by a poverty rate of 38 percent and fairly stable food security, with only 7.2 percent of the population being food insecure. However, some localized pockets of acute food needs remain. This is in part linked to agricultural production (the main source of income and labor), which depends highly on climatic hazards. Moreover, production resources such as land are highly vulnerable to climatic and anthropogenic factors. The country has a good access rate to electricity and safe water. However, access to electricity is unequal, with rural lagging behind urban areas. The country thus faces many challenges that threaten its economic growth: climate change and ensuring the accessibility and affordability of energy and land, which are key inputs to the main sectors of the economy such as agriculture. This report aims at investigating these interlinked challenges through a critical literature review. Results show that concerning land, its use and cover have hardly evolved over the past, except for agricultural land, which has significantly evolved from 1975 to 2013. However, the land has degraded a lot in the past several decades with up to 63-67 percent of the arable land being subject to land degradation due to climate hazards and its uses (e.g. population growth, Agro-sylvo-pastoral practices, wind and water erosion, salinization, bush fires...). Land degradation has multiple consequences, as it impacts livelihoods by limiting the availability of vital ecosystem services, increases the risk of poverty and translates into economic losses. Land degradation is estimated to cost 9 percent of the GDP annually (996 million USD). Concerning climate change, Senegal’s climate is of the Sudano-Sahelian type, marked by the alternation of a rainy season and a dry season, whose duration varies according to the region. Rainfall and its characteristics (onset and duration) and air temperature are two factors that have changed significantly since the early 1950s and 1970s. Decreased rainfall, delayed onset of rains, reduced duration of wintering and higher temperatures have adversely affected agricultural production systems and have put some risks on food security, health and livelihoods. Projections in 2035 and 2050 will accentuate the negative impacts already observed. In the face of such challenges, several strategies have been undertaken at different levels (household, community, policy, research, etc.) to reduce the negative effects of climate shocks and land degradations. At the household level, strategies have mostly consisted of diversifying revenue sources through remittances and non-agricultural activities. At the community level, organizational dynamics have been strengthened and enabled to reduce the vulnerability of women and children, to increase access to climate information, and so on. Finally, policy responses have mainly consisted of Senegal’s efforts to develop climate change adaptation and mitigation plans and strategies to protect the vulnerable key sectors from climate change and to contribute to emission reduction at the global level. The evaluation of key policies, the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution for climate governance, the PRACAS (for agriculture and food security) and land-use policies highlights the main factors for success and failure and identifies key challenges that the government of Senegal needs to pay close attention to in order to ensure greater policy design and implementation success in the future. The main challenges are related to governance, funding and monitoring and evaluation. In terms of governance, it is important to ensure the participatory design and implementation of the policies to foster stakeholders' ownership and thus facilitate their implication. As for funding, the key is to avoid building policy objectives based on unsecured funding by making realistic plans based on already secured funding (if possible, from the national budget). Finally, in terms of monitoring and evaluation, it is key to ensure the sustained availability of good-quality statistical data to allow better targeting of areas in which to intervene, better allocation of financial resources and better assessment of gaps, progress, and impact

Land, Climate, Energy, Agriculture and Development in the Sahel: Synthesis paper of case studies under the Sudano-Sahelian Initiative for Regional Development, Jobs, and Food Security

This paper synthesizes a set of national case studies conducted in the Sahelian countries during 2019-2020 as a collaboration between national universities and research institutes, and the Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, with contributions from the Agrhymet Regional Centre, Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS). These case studies provide up-to-date knowledge and critical insights on the nexus of land degradation, climate change and energy in the Sahel. The current synthesis paper highlights their major findings and provides crosscutting and cross-regional analytical conclusions. First, the synthesis paper explores current trends in the Sahel region on land use and land degradation, energy use and supply, climate change projections and impacts, as well as their interactions and links to agricultural growth, food security, poverty reduction, and peace in the region. Second, technological, socio-economic and policy solutions at the nexus of land, water, energy and climate challenges that enable environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive rural development in the Sahel are discussed, including their interactions and implications for peace and stability in the region. The findings show that such socio-economic solutions as improving access to markets, strengthening social safety nets, increasing investments to transport and energy infrastructures, promoting land tenure security, expanding off-farm employment opportunities can greatly contribute to rural development in the Sahel, particularly by aiding climate change resilience and sustainable land management. Key technological innovations highlighted across the case studies include expanding irrigation and adopting water use efficient irrigation techniques, crop diversification, expanding agricultural mechanization, investing into restoring and rehabilitating degraded lands through reforestation, afforestation and agroforestry practices. The key lessons learnt from ongoing national policy initiatives for sustainable development highlight the importance of active stakeholder consultation and participation in policy formulation, institution of effective policy monitoring and assessment mechanisms, and avoiding of excessive reliance on external sources of funding for the successful implementation of sustainable development policies and programs. Based on these findings, the synthesis paper proposes an agenda for applied research to provide guidance to and accompany promising development strategies in and for the region