CIRAWA · Agro-ecological strategies for resilient farming in West Africa

Agriculture is one of the key focus areas of the partnership between the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU), with the EU’s focus being on facilitating a green transition according to its Green Deal (GD) objectives. The GD is a set of long-term policy initiatives that define the EU’s climate strategy to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and its implications for Africa are multifaceted, such as the implementation of new agricultural standards, deployment of the EU-Africa biodiversity strategy or creating a circular economy.Climate change is projected to compromise agricultural production, especially in smallholder systems with little adaptive capacity, as currently prevalent in many parts of Africa. In particular, West Africa (WA) is known to be particularly vulnerable to climate change due to high climate variability or high reliance on rain-fed agriculture and especially due to urgent drive to meeting food, healthy diet, and economic needs.To support a transition to sustainable food systems, Agro-ecological farming is emerging as a compelling response to the challenges West Africa faces, aiming to reduce the environmental impacts of agriculture while meeting the growing demand for food, contributing to landscape quality and biodiversity, and enhancing resilience.. CIRAWA will unlock the potential of the agro-ecology in West Africa by building on existing indigenous and scientific knowledge to improve food and nutrition security, livelihoods and planetary health while tackling the climate change and environmental impact of agricultural practices. CIRAWA will work on innovative agro-ecological approaches by the following strategies: (i) valorisation of agro-wastes and bio-based fertiliser production; (ii) production of high quality seeds; (iii) saline soil reclamation through phytoremediation; (iv) soil fertility, water and crop management practices. These will be deployed in 4 countries in West Africa (Cape Verde, Ghana, Senegal and The Gambia).