Agricultural stakeholders in sub-Saharan Africa are undergoing training on how best to utilize Africa Agricultural Adaptation (AAA) Atlas tool to analyze and develop evidence-based climate adaptation interventions.
The stakeholders from at least 15 member countries under the umbrella of the Association for Strengthening Agriculture Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) will also be trained on AI-powered platform for Political Economy and Policy Analysis (PEPA.AI)
The Nairobi meeting is expected to offer the stakeholders with an insight to focus on the available data with a view to shape food systems decision-making
Kenya Agriculture Livestock and Research Organisation (KALRO) Deputy Director of Crops, Dr. Alice Murage, told the opening session of the training that climate variability continues to threaten food production across the region, especially for smallholder farmers, for women, and for youth, who are the backbone of the food system.
She noted that this has made it a unique time in history where advances in foresight, artificial intelligence, and digital support tools give evidence to address the threats in the sector.
“These tools represent a real shift in how governments plan, prioritize, and invest in climate adaptation. What we will be trained on today gives us evidence in bringing data and anticipation into the hands of policymakers, researchers, extension officers and the private sector, thus helping us design solutions that are scientifically sound, socially inclusive and locally relevant”, Dr. Murage said
The impact and essence of the tools, the DDG said, will bring about very critical benefits: more accurate climate advisories that guide farmers when and what they can plant and identification of most suitable crops and technologies for their specific conditions.
The tools, she added, will also see better targeted investments by government and partners, ensuring support leads to those who need it the most and, ultimately, more resilient harvests, higher incomes, and improved livelihoods.
“The value of this training will be measured by how effectively you apply these tools in your institutions, how they shape the policies, strategies, and programs in your countries, and most importantly, whether their use leads to tangible improvement for the farmers on the ground,” Dr. Murage said, and urged all to treat the training not just as a technical exercise, but also as an opportunity to shape the future of food systems.
Dr. Murage noted that KALRO is committed to ensuring that research and data are not just stored in reports but translated into better yields, stronger resilience to climate shocks, improved livelihoods, and opportunities for women and youth across agricultural varieties.
ASARECA Executive Director Dr. Sylvester Baguma said that by integrating tools from the PEPA.AI and the AAA Atlas, member countries can be able to access quite a lot of data to support climate adaptation and food systems transformation in Africa.
He acknowledged that the region faces increasing climate variability and agricultural vulnerability, and it was therefore imperative that stakeholders be equipped with advanced tools and competencies to respond effectively.
“Triple AI and PEPA.AI platforms represent a very significant advancement in our ability to be able to generate foresight, interpret data climate, and inform policy decisions,” he said.
Dr. Baguma explained that although the tools offer robust evidence-based insights tailored to local context, some of the tools are not yet widely adopted, and the training is a good opportunity to tap into the tools and see how they can be utilized in terms of using data in developing rich proposals and accessing the Global Climate Fund.
Nagnouma Kone, manager of partnerships and strategy for Africa at Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), said that their mission is to promote sustainable, inclusive economic and climate resilience in Africa and that they are focused in helping governments and institutions to transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies
“If governments and institutions can be effective and efficient, it is definitely going to ripple down to the communities, and that is the reason why there is a need to have enabling infrastructures and institutions that can be able to catalyze this change through such trainings.
GGGI, Kone said, has been working closely with ASARECA for the last three years to strengthen the institutional capacity of agricultural systems to respond to the dire crisis, climate change.
“We have been focussing on consolidating climate data, improving knowledge learning, particularly in climate-smart agriculture, and helping institutions to develop robust evidence-based climate rationales that lead to bankable proposals and attract much-needed investment and data should be key,” she added
Kone noted that when countries and regions have robust data systems, skilled institutions, and practical tools, they will be able to better access international adaptation finance not only to project and to shape the lives of the communities, but also to strengthen institutional reforms and governance systems.
Organised by ASARECA in collaboration with GGGI, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, the Agricultural Policy Research Centre (APRC), and the African Group of Negotiators Expert Support (AGNES), the training in the use of the AAA Atlas tool and PEPA. Increased use of climate foresight data by AI decision makers is expected to enhance climate adaptation and build resilience of African agriculture.
By Wangari Ndirangu
