19 research outputs found
Multi-Actors' Co-Implementation of Climate-Smart Village Approach in West Africa: Achievements and Lessons Learnt
Climate change and variability are significant challenges for the environment and
food security worldwide. Development strategies focusing simultaneously on adaptive
farming, productivity, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions-known as
climate-smart agriculture (CSA) strategies-are key to responding to these challenges.
For almost a decade, within the framework of Climate Change, Agriculture and Food
Security (CCAFS), World Agroforestry (ICRAF), and its partners have been using
Participatory Action Research (PAR) to fully engage key stakeholders in co-creating
such CSA development strategies. This includes the testing of Agricultural Research for
Development (AR4D) CSA scalability options. The multidisciplinary teams include the
National Research and Extension Systems (NARES), national meteorological services
(NMS), non-profit organizations (NGOs), and local radio programs, among others. The
CCAFS-West Africa Program,World Agroforestry-West and Central Africa (ICRAF-WCA),
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), University of Reading, and
Centre Régional de Formation et d’Application en Agro-météorologie et Hydrologie
Opérationnelle (AGRHYMET) provide technical backstopping to the national teams.
Climate information (CI) was used as an entry point to inform the development of CSA
technologies and practices within Climate-Smart Villages (CSV). This groundwork has led
to a greater understanding of three critical factors for successful CSV implementation:
(1) Building strong partnerships to co-design and develop agricultural systems that
improve ecosystemand population resilience, (2) Key stakeholders (researchers, farmers,
development agents, and students) capacity strengthening through vocational and
academic training, and (3) Using CI for livelihood planning at all scales. These three
factors support more effective identification and testing of agricultural technologies and
practices addressing climate variability and change at plot, community, and landscape levels. This paper discusses the PAR-CSA methodology and parameters for evaluation,
including biophysical and social change. Keys to success, including communication,
knowledge sharing tools, and scalability are also discussed. Finally, future opportunities
for improvement are presented, including knowledge product development, CSA policy
and investment planning, capacity building, further engagement of the private sector, and
additional research on existing practices and tools
NIFTI: An evolutionary approach for finding number of clusters in microarray data
10.1186/1471-2105-10-40BMC Bioinformatics10-BBMI