Scoping study brief – State of climate information services in East Africa

This brief presents the findings of a scoping study on climate information services in East Africa, conducted as a requirement for the Climate Resilient Agribusiness for Tomorrow (CRAFT) Project, under Work Stream 4 on Enabling Environment for Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA). The purpose was to ascertain the status of climate information services under the ambit of CSA in each of the three East African countries

Scoping study brief - Potential for adaptation and mitigation

This brief presents the findings of a scoping study on potential for adaptation and mitigation in East Africa, conducted as a requirement for the Climate Resilient Agribusiness for Tomorrow (CRAFT) Project, under Work Stream 3 on Enabling Environment for Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA). The purpose was to ascertain the potential for adaptation and mitigation under CRAFT

Scoping study brief - State of index-based crop insurance services in East Africa

This brief presents the findings of a scoping study on index-based crop insurance in East Africa, conducted as a requirement for the Climate Resilient Agribusiness for Tomorrow (CRAFT) Project, under Work Stream 3 on Enabling Environment for Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA). The broad objective was to identify potential for index-based crop insurance, and gaps and barriers to roll-out in the current enabling environment for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, in order to inform the development of CRAFT’s policy influencing and advocacy strategy. It was also meant to identify options to support the creation of an enabling policy environment that is more conducive to engagements and investments in index-based crop insurance

Systemic barriers to scaling private sector driven climate-smart agricultural innovations in East Africa’s potato, sesame and common bean value chains

The CRAFT project (2018-2023) promotes a bottom-up market-driven scaling agenda that supports inclusive business models to enhance climate-resilient farming systems through sustainable intensification along selected oilseed, pulse and potato agricultural value chains. The selection criteria for these crops includes sufficient private sector interest and capacity for coinvestment; adequate domestic consumption to drive market development opportunities; and ample evidence of climate change risks projected to face the value chains. Across East Africa, unfavorable climate change patterns involving rising temperatures, increased variability of seasonal rainfall and a higher frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as droughts and floods are aggravating food insecurity and pose further challenges for rural development (Government of Kenya 2018)

Climate Related Risks and Opportunities for Agricultural Adaptation in Semi-Arid Eastern Kenya.

This report contains information on a field assessment of risks associated with climate variability in eastern Kenya. It also includes the compilations of climate related agricultural risks gathered from a Kamba radio dialogue with local communities of Eastern Kenya, aired from January to April 2012. It highlights the significant potential in the region for mitigating climate change through improved management of agricultural land and crop and livestock husbandry practices, as well as on tapping into the wide range of traditional knowledge of the local communities. This will lead to better livelihoods of communities in the semiarid areas

AUDA-NEPAD Gender Climate Change and Agriculture Support Program Training Of Trainers

Agriculture's contribution to the economy and employment is declining at varying rates, posing various socioeconomic issues. Meeting growing agricultural needs with current farming techniques is expected to lead to over-extraction from natural resources, accelerate greenhouse gas emissions, and low yields. In addition, intensive and unsustainable agriculture will lead to environmental degradation such as loss of biodiversity, deforestation, and land degradation, among other things. Smallholder farmers and especially vulnerable groups like marginalized groups and women are affected the most. In the rural setting, women are left to tend to the family and farm as men relocate to the cities to look for jobs. as a result, this has caused a rise in migratory shifts, particularly among households where the man is the household head. Eventually, this is contributing to gender disparity and associating farming with women. Hence climate-smart agriculture is used to create synergies that will enhance crop production and lead to mitigation and adaption to climate change as well as achieve food security and preserve the environment. Against this backdrop, the gender climate change and agriculture program was initiated in 5 African countries. The GCCASP is funded by Norad and went through several phases of vigorous planning and, subsequently, implementation. The implementation stages of GCCASP are divided into four primary priority intervention areas, which effectively represent different but interconnected sub-programmes: (i) closing policy and institutional gaps, (ii) capacity building of women smallholder farmers, (iii) creation and strengthening of women platforms, and (iv) investments in scaling up successful and innovative practices. The gender climate change and agriculture support program (GCCASP) is meant to be used as a CSA training tool and as a component of the process of improving trainers' and smallholder farmers' capacity to merge CSA practices, innovations, and knowledge by designing and implementing customized training courses at both levels. Various initiatives as well as activities on the ground were carried out during the first stage of implementation. The programs focused on increasing women farmers' capacity through several prioritized training and on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) innovations and practices. The outcomes of this implementation were quite effective, despite some hurdles, such as inadequate finance. this resulted in downscaling and focusing on a small number of districts and stakeholders. Nonetheless, participating countries reported significant outcomes that, when combined with significant resources and a large number of target beneficiaries, might significantly contribute to the African Union Agenda 2063

Tanzania Meteorological Authority Stakeholders’ Training on the Sixth National Climate Outlook Forum (NCOF6) for November 2022 – April 2023 Rainfall Season

In the late 1990s the World Meteorological Organisation, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), regional institutions and other international organizations initiated an innovative process known as the Regional Climate Outlook Forums, that led to the National Climate Outlook Forums. These Forums bring together climate experts, on an operational basis, to produce geographical climate outlooks based on input - climate predictions - from all participants. By bringing together the different experts, the Forums ensure consistency in the access to, and interpretation of, climate information. Through interaction with users in the key economic sectors, extension agencies and policymakers, the Forums assess the likely implications of the outlooks on the most pertinent socioeconomic sectors and explore the ways these outlooks could be used by them. The Tanzania Climate Outlook Forum focused on the delivery of consensus-based, userrelevant climate outlook product for the November 2022 – April 2023 (Msimu) rainfall season in real time through national cooperation and partnership with AICCRA (https://aiccra.cgiar.org/) and the International Livestock Research Institute

Preliminary results from climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives in the Nyando climate-smart villages

Preliminary results from climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives in the Nyando climate-smart villages. Key messages include: shift in farming techniques reduces number of households eating one or no meals each day, households adopt three to five crop innovations and above, greatly expanding on-farm choices for resilient varieties, and resilient crossbreeds of small livestock better adapted to changing feed and water conditions in Nyando provide additional income

Empowering a local community to address climate risks and food insecurity in Lower Nyando, Kenya

In erosion- and drought-prone Nyando, self-help groups affiliated to large umbrella bodies are working with extension agents, researchers and development partners to improve local livestock and diversify crops, to improve soil and water management, and to pool financial and labour resources

Scaling Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) through Multi-Stakeholder Platform (MSP) Engagement

Multi Stakeholder Platforms (MSP) are used to effectively coordinate stakeholders via collaborative planning; support the diverse involvement of stakeholders; cross-leverage resources such as knowledge, skill, as well as funding; policy action plan through initiatives; and monitoring and evaluation. CSA MSP has been created to make decision-making easy through the platform. It enables all stakeholders to partner and collaborates to accelerate implementation, plan and monitor CSA. CRAFT through SNV supports capacity development activities to ensure its success and extensive usage. The platform is modelled to enable MSPs to accelerate the process of policy engagement activities and policy dialogues. This is done from local to national and regional levels. The platform aims to engage institutions at the local, national and regional to collaborate or partner in catalyzing the formation and operationalization of MSPs within the three East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, and across the region. Where needed, CRAFT backstops the local, national and regional stakeholders involved in MSP activities