Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) Webinar: Innovation is essential for a climate-smart future, but it is not enough

United Nations

The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, is being called the ‘African COP‘ as the impact of climate change on African countries will be a key topic of discussions.

Agriculture and food systems will also be a critical focus of COP27, with Saturday 12 November dedicated to both themes, in addition to adaptation.

The role of young people also occupies a prominent place on the climate agenda, since November 10 is dedicated to their participation.

Ahead of COP27 and in line with their commitment to this youth agenda, the African Development Bank and the Global Adaptation Center organized a webinar to examine ways to make agriculture attractive to youth.

The webinar entitled Are climate-smart and digital agriculture solutions the silver bullet to attract youth?, highlighted the potential of climate-smart and digital agriculture to attract youth and thus rejuvenate an agricultural sector world aging.

Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice President for Power Energy, Climate and Green Growth at the African Development Bank, pointed out the challenges facing the agricultural sector due to changing climate change.

“Agriculture in most of sub-Saharan Africa remains predominantly rainfed and therefore extremely vulnerable to both short-term fluctuations and long-term changes in climatic conditions.

It is the most exposed sector with estimates indicating that climate change will cause yield declines of 8 to 22 percent for Africa’s rainfed staple crops over the next 20 years,” Kariuki said.

Dr. Beth Dunford, Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development at the African Development Bank, noted that while agriculture has tremendous potential for job creation in Africa, its current traditional form is not attractive to young people for several reasons.

reasons, including negative perceptions.

“Who wants to wear overalls, dig a field with a hoe or drive a tractor when we can do it in a suit and a duster, right?

However, technology makes agriculture cool enough to motivate them to use technology-enabled companies to be part of agricultural value chains,” Dunford said.

Prof. Anthony Nyong, Senior Director for Africa at the Global Adaptation Center, said: “There is a gap in the agricultural sector in Africa, and that is in the use of digital solutions.”

AAAP‘s Climate-Smart Digital Technologies for Agriculture and Food Security Pillar is expanding access to digital technologies and associated data-driven agricultural and financial services for at least 30 million African farmers.

In the African Development Bank Program to Building Resilience for Food and Nutrition Security in the Horn of Africa (BREFONS) (https://bit.ly/3SBjvx8), currently underway in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan South and Sudan, AAAP is facilitating the integration of climate-smart digital technologies for adaptation and resilience.

“The project will increase crop and livestock productivity by 30%, reaching around 1.3 million farmers and herders using climate services such as index insurance.

Around 55,000 additional jobs will be created for youth and women,” said Olúde Ajayi, Africa Program Leader, Food Security and Rural Well-being, Global Adaptation Center.

Panelists said that young people must use their digital skills to accelerate the transformation of the agricultural sector, which forms the backbone of Africa’s economy.

They urged participants to contribute to solutions that improve market linkages to promote agribusiness.

“Africa’s significant youth population faces rising unemployment with myriad negative consequences.

These challenges are further exacerbated by climate shocks, skills gaps and limited preparedness to address the effects of climate change,” said Andre-Marie Taptue, Senior Economist at the African Development Bank’s Youth Jobs Program.

AAAP’s YouthAdapt program (https://bit.ly/3D5JqqT) promotes sustainable job creation through entrepreneurship in climate adaptation and resilience in Africa by unlocking $3 billion in credit for adaptation actions.

Last year, at COP26, the first group of ten young African entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (https://bit.ly/3zcerZb) who offer innovative solutions and business ideas that can boost adaptation and resilience were awarded.

to climate change.

in Glasgow.

This year’s Africa Youth Adaptation Competition (https://bit.ly/3f0JkZP) 20 companies in Africa will each receive up to $100,000 plus mentoring and training to support their climate change adaptation innovation.

Panelists included Claude Migisha from the African Development Bank, Dr. Fleur Wouterse, and Aramide Abe from the Global Center on Adaptation.

They shared their views on how AAAP was shaping and adding value to the Bank Digital Agriculture Flagship program, ways to accelerate investor engagement in agricultural adaptation, and how YouthADAPT was moving the needle on entrepreneurship, unlocking finance and innovation.

employment creation.

Gislaine Matiedje Nkenmayi of Mumita Holdings, a 2021 YouthADAPT Challenge Award Winner, shared her experience of how the $100,000 grant transformed her company.

“With the grant, we were able to reach more than 10 cooperatives with a total of 257 small farmers, to whom we offer free advisory services, low-cost greenhouses and solar-powered irrigation systems.

We have been able to expand production from 100kg to 1000kg of fresh vegetables per week,” Ella Nkenmayi said.

In her closing remarks, Edith Ofwona Adera, Senior Regional Climate Change Officer and AAAP Coordinator at the Bank, highlighted the need to strengthen adaptation and resilience measures and accelerate the mainstreaming of climate adaptation for transformation at scale.

She called for the involvement of the private sector, given the role it can play in adapting to climate change, financing adaptation, and supporting others through products and services for resilience.

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