AICCRA Briefs
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/113193
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Item Global Goal on Adaptation(Brief, 2025-06-01) Njuguna, Lucy WanjikuThis learning note provides an overview of the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), highlighting its establishment in 2015 as a collective commitment to enhance adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience, and reduce vulnerability to climate change in line with the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. It outlines the current progress in operationalising and measuring the GGA, describing key milestones such as the Glasgow–Sharm el-Sheikh (GlaSS) work programme and the ongoing United Arab Emirates (UAE)-Belem work programme on indicators. The note reviews the status of work on defining targets and indicators, and the persistent gaps and unresolved questions that hinder comprehensive assessment. Key takeaways include: the GGA will be critical in assessing adaptation progress under the Global Stocktake (GST) and despite the slow but steady advancement, the recent agreement on global targets marks a critical step forward. With less than six months remaining in the UAE-Belem process, broadening engagement and integrating diverse perspectives are now essential to shaping robust, inclusive indicators that can effectively inform the GST and support transformative adaptation action.Item African Union Great Green Wall Initiative Strategy and Ten-Year Implementation Framework (2024-2034): Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Adaptation(Brief, 2025-05-13) African, UnionThis brief presents the proposed Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Adaptation (MELA) approach for the revised African Union Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) Strategy and Ten-Year Implementation Framework (2024–2034). The MELA framework is central to ensuring adaptive design, implementation, and continuous improvement of GGWI actions across scales. It emphasizes the need for dedicated planning, adequate resourcing, and robust learning processes to support large-scale landscape restoration and livelihood resilience. The brief highlights the key components of the MELA approach - the development of a multi-scale, comparable scorecard to track progress and a biennial reporting process. It further describes how progress will be monitored through changes in ecosystems, institutions, policies, and community well-being. Learning and reflection are positioned as integral to adaptive management, with mechanisms for local, subnational, national, and continental learning loops.Item African Union Great Green Wall Initiative Strategy and Ten-Year Implementation Framework (2024-2034): Summaries of the Four Strategic Intervention Axes(Brief, 2025-05-13) African, UnionThese briefs present the four Strategic Intervention Axes of the revised African Union Great Green Wall (GGW) Initiative Strategy and Ten-Year Implementation Framework (2024–2034). The Axes are designed to drive progress toward the GGW’s vision and objectives by providing a coherent structure for coordinated action. They include: 1. Enhancing leadership, governance, and political commitment; 2. Co-designing and delivering pathways toward transformative restoration, resilience and development; 3. Enhancing the means of implementation for resilient landscape restoration; and 4. Leveraging and aligning with existing initiatives. Each Axis outlines key intervention areas and priority actions that together form a strategic roadmap to guide implementation at all levels. Full details of these areas and actions are provided in the accompanying briefs.Item African Union Great Green Wall Initiative Strategy and Ten-Year Implementation Framework (2024–2034): Strategic Intervention Axes 2 and 3(Poster, 2025-05-13) African, UnionThese posters present Strategic Intervention Axes 2 and 3 of the revised African Union Great Green Wall (GGW) Initiative Strategy and Ten-Year Implementation Framework (2024–2034). The Axes include: 2) Co-designing and delivering pathways toward transformative restoration, resilience and development, and 3) Enhancing the means of implementation for resilient landscape restoration. The Axes are designed to support the achievement of the GGW vision and objectives. Each Axis comprises several intervention areas with specific priority actions, the details of which are included in these posters.Item African Union Great Green Wall Initiative Strategy and Ten-Year Implementation Framework: Ecosystem Restoration and Livelihoods Resilience (2024-2034)(Brief, 2025-05-13) African, UnionThis brief outlines the proposed coordination and implementation approach of the new African Union Great Green Wall Initiative (GGWI) Strategy and Ten-Year Implementation Framework (2024–2034). It presents the structure and roles of GGWI bodies and supporting institutions across all levels, from international to community scale, and emphasizes the importance of private sector engagement throughout. The brief details the proposed coordination arrangements, including indicative relationships among key institutions and stakeholders. It also sets out proposed membership criteria for countries, international and national organizations, subnational bodies, networks, and private sector actors. Finally, it describes the proposed criteria for endorsement and the inclusion of new initiatives contributing to the GGWI’s objectives.Item Advancing Africa's Soil Health Monitoring to Support the Nairobi Declaration and CAADP Kampala Agenda(Brief, 2025-03-01) African Union Development Agency, NEPADThis brief addresses the urgent need to improve soil health as a foundation for tackling Africa’s interconnected challenges of land degradation, climate change, food insecurity, and biodiversity loss. It aims to deepen technical understanding of key elements of soil health by promoting common definitions, robust monitoring systems, and relevant indicators. The brief supports African Union (AU) Member States in meeting their commitments under the Nairobi Declaration and the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Agenda, while contributing to the objectives of the African Fertilizer and Soil Health (AFSH) Action Plan and the new Ten-Year CAADP Strategy and Action Plan (2026-2035). It explores how soil health indicators can be effectively aligned with the current CAADP Biennial Review monitoring system and integrated into the CAADP Kampala framework by 2025. Through an examination of policy frameworks, indicator integration, and system design, the brief offers practical insights for advancing a coordinated and effective soil health monitoring agenda across the continent.Item Statement from the 70th Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum (GHACOF 70)(Press Item, 2025-05) IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications CentreItem Statement from the 69th Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum (GHACOF69)(Press Item, 2025-01) IGAD Climate Prediction and Application CentreItem The Imperative for Strengthening Soil Information Systems in Africa: Reflections and Key Insights from Practice(Brief, 2025-03-01) African Union Development Agency, NEPADThis brief highlights the urgent need to enhance soil information systems (SISs) to address Africa’s interconnected challenges of land degradation, climate change, food insecurity, and biodiversity loss. Drawing on insights from Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, and regional efforts, the brief explores how well-designed SISs can support data-driven decision-making at sub-national, national, and regional levels. It examines the current landscape of soil data systems, showcases practical examples such as the Makueni County Resource Hub and the West Africa Regional Soil Hub, and emphasizes the importance of integrating and aligning soil health indicators in continental policy frameworks including the Nairobi and Kampala Declarations, the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health (AFSH) Action Plan (2023–2033), and the Ten-Year Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2035). The brief calls for co-designed, inclusive, and context-responsive SISs that combine traditional knowledge with scientific data to inform actionable recommendations. It advocates for leveraging existing initiatives, strengthening multi-stakeholder collaboration, and building capacity to increase the utility and accessibility of soil information. By fostering open and integrated soil data ecosystems, Africa can reduce redundancy, improve coordination, and enable more effective responses to its pressing environmental and agricultural challenges—ultimately enhancing ecosystem services, farmer livelihoods, and climate resilience across the continent.Item The Imperative for Strengthening Soil Information Systems (SISs) in Africa: Reflections and Key Insights from Practice(Brief, 2025-03-01) African Union Development Agency- NEPADThis policy brief presents the case for scaling and integrating soil information systems (SISs) as a foundational step toward addressing Africa’s urgent challenges of land degradation, food and nutrition insecurity, biodiversity loss, and climate change. With over 65% of productive land degraded and millions of smallholder farmers struggling to grow food in nutrient-depleted soils, the need for healthy, resilient soils has never been more critical. This policy brief emphasizes that healthy soil underpins sustainable agricultural systems and delivers essential ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, drought resilience, and erosion control. It calls on African Union Member States to develop cohesive, evidence-based monitoring frameworks that enable targeted, locally relevant soil restoration and investment decisions. The brief offers practical policy recommendations to align soil health indicators with continental commitments such as the Nairobi and Kampala Declarations, the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health (AFSH) Action Plan (2023–2033), and the new Ten-Year Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) Strategy and Action Plan (2026-2035). It advocates for leveraging existing initiatives, supporting the co-design of SISs with stakeholders, and raising awareness of soil health's pivotal role in achieving sustainable development across Africa.Item Applying an intersectional lens to scaling(Brief, 2025-05-28) Ewell, Hanna; Huyer, Sophia; Gondwe, ThereseAs climate change disproportionately affects smallholder farmers, especially women and marginalized groups, integrating intersectionality into agricultural research for development (AR4D) is essential for inclusive and equitable scaling. Intersectional analysis reveals how overlapping identities (e.g., gender, age, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic status) create compounded disadvantages often overlooked in innovation processes. The AICCRA project demonstrates how tailoring climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and climate information services (CIS) to diverse social realities, through participatory design, targeted training, and local governance—can advance empowerment and social equity.Item Bundling climate smart agriculture and climate information services: the CSA Bundler Application(Brief, 2025-04-01) Tepa Yotto, Ghislain; Dalaa, Mustapha Alasan; Obeng Adomaa, FaustinaClimate smart agriculture (CSA) implementation can be challenging in instances where promoting single standalone CSA practices or technologies would hardly achieve the expected triple-win climate smartness outcome with maladaptation and stagnation risks in a business as usual scheme. To the best of our knowledge and based on consulted literature, there is little data about climate smart agriculture (CSA) and climate information services (CIS) bundling. The current brief aims at documenting an approach developed under the framework of the Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project for CSA and CIS bundling through stakeholder consultations in Ghana. Erratic rainfall, prolonged drought and dry spells, decline in yields, and pest outbreaks were scored top five (5) primary climate challenges by stakeholders. Other challenges of importance included soil fertility, irrigation and water management, and access to inputs and finance. Five priority value chains were selected including maize, rice, cowpea, yam, and vegetables. To achieve inclusiveness, soybean, groundnut, cocoa, poultry and goat were added as strategic value chains with high value addition potential. Climate smart agriculture (CSA) and climate information services (CIS) bundles around these value chains were prioritized for scaling in ten regions in Ghana: Bono, Bono East, Central, North East, Northern, Oti, Savannah, Upper East, Upper West and Volta. Insights from stakeholder perspectives indicated preference for the following CSA practice and technology types as key to building climate resilience: high-yielding varieties, early-maturing varieties, drought-tolerant varieties, integrated soil fertility management including the use of organic fertilizers, irrigation and water management, integrated pest and disease management, improved breeds, improved postharvest techniques, and climate information services and advisories. Gender and social inclusiveness (GSI) was explored to map relevant CSA practices and technologies for male, female, youth (male and female), and commercial farmers. Generic customizable bundles of CSA-CIS were explored using basic ecosystem and climate risk metrics. A stepwise CSA-CIS investment bundling was designed considering a full CSA investment principle that consists of triple-win productivity-adaptation-mitigation benefits of CSA. The current brief describes a basic CSA-CIS bundling approach using simple metrics. It provides new insights for developing an appealing tool called “CSA Bundler”. The CSA Bundler has potential for further advancement into web- or phone-based applications and with robust algorithms or AI component integration for accurate and high-resolution site-specific recommendationItem Beyond “reach” – advancing responsible pathways to impact at scale(Brief, 2025-03) Ewell, HannaScaling agricultural innovations is often measured by how many farmers adopt a technology or how quickly an innovation spreads. But this approach overlooks crucial questions: for whom are we scaling, and how can we ensure equitable benefit? What are the unintended impacts of scaling, and how might these be minimized? Without inclusivity, scaling risks reinforcing existing inequalities rather than driving meaningful, sustainable change. Without strategic anticipation, scaling can unintentionally cause harm to the environment. Thus, responsible scaling ensures that marginalized groups, especially women, are not only recipients of innovation but also active decision-makers in shaping their agricultural future. Scaling processes are carefully planned and monitored and can be adaptively adjusted to fit new and changing contexts.Item Concept note for capacity building to agrifood businesses in the cashew nut value chain in Senegal(Brief, 2024-12-28) Derenoncourt, Ena; Siagbe, Golli; Ouedraogo, Mathieu; Ouedraogo, IssaItem Scaling resilience through use of co-designed radio programs in Baringo County, Kenya(Brief, 2024-12-01) Bullock, Renee; Majiwa, Hamilton; Saalu, Faith; Mundia, Julius; Mugi, Reginah; Ojulong, Henry; Mutai, Samuel; Peter, Akeno; Kukat, Lilian; Aturoit, Irene; Mossop, John; Kanyakera, JacobIn the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya, livestock keeping has been a cornerstone of livelihoods for centuries and, while it continues to be relevant, in recent decades landscape changes and climate related shocks and stresses are compounding increasing pressures in most livestock dependent households and communities. As the incidence of droughts and uncertain rain increases, finding pasture and water has become more difficult. Subsequently rates of food insecurity and precarity are rising. Pastoralists and agro-pastoralists are seeking knowledge on climate adaptation and are implementing innovative practices to better cope with changing realities that shape many aspects of their daily life. Diversification into food and crop production is one option that can support increased resilience to climate shocks. While maize is a commonly grown crop across Kenya, farmers in drylands often encounter challenges during production, primarily stemming from poor harvests caused by the crop’s vulnerability to harsh climatic conditions, leading to crop failure. On the other hand, drought tolerant crops (DTCs) perform well under low rainfall conditions and support livelihoods in many arid and semi-arid locations, as experience in lower eastern counties has shown. Widely considered to be “women’s” crops, DTCs such as sorghum and millet often rely disproportionately on women’s labor inputs. Women are typically responsible for most stages of their production including planting, weeding, harvesting and postharvest management, such as threshing, winnowing and storage. However, decision-making about production — including consumption and selling — may not always be in the hands of women. Men assume control over harvests and this decision-making power can increase with commercialization of these crops. Efforts to address these inequitable relations and behaviors include socio-technical bundling that combines technical information about climate smartItem Enhancing gender equality and social inclusion in agricultural extension curricula(Brief, 2024-12-08) Hansen, James; Dinku, Tufa; Grossi, Amanda; Trzaska, Sylwia; Huyer, Sophia; Moore, MayaItem Promoting the access and adoption of climate smart agriculture innovations through capacity building in Makindu Sub-County Kenya.(Brief, 2024-12) Nduah, Alex; Nzuki, Esther; Ogutu, Liz; Waswa, BoazAICCRA's collaboration with Kimatwa Women SACCO in Makueni County has revolutionized farming practices through CSA access and adoption by small-scale women farmers. Key CSA innovations scaled out include drought-tolerant crop varieties, Conservation Agriculture (CA), and bundling of CSA with climate information services (CIS). The "Mother-Baby Demo" farm model facilitated localized peer learning, enabling over 1,100 farmers to improve yields and enhanced resilience to climate change. The partnership activated a revolving seed scheme and co-designed the ‘Rip 1, Get one free’ tractor ripping services. These approaches boosted the adoption of CSA innovations coupled by Trainer of Trainers (ToTs) capacity-building arrangements where trained farmers act as trainers in their local communities. For the first time in seven years, the farmers harvested beans from their farms after adopting the CSA innovations. The project has simultaneously promoted gender inclusion, financial empowerment, and community-led leadership, creating a sustainable framework for scaling smart climate agriculture innovations.Item Building women’s climate resilience through smart groundnut socio-technical innovation bundle in Ghana(Brief, 2024-11) Obeng Adomaa, FaustinaInterventions aimed at building climate resilient communities require a mixture of instruments that speak to the peculiar realities of women, youth, and other vulnerable groups. Building of learnings from 2021-2023, this InfoNote presents a social technical innovation bundle for smart groundnut production that brings together technical solutions and institutional arrangements to address the primary challenges that women groundnut farmers in northern Ghana face. The Info Note also presents pathway for scaling this smart groundnut socio-technical innovation bundle.Item The Development of Sub-national Climate Resilient Investment Projects in Kenya Experience from Siaya County(Other, 2024-12) Jalango, Dorcas Anyango; Nguvi, Caroline; Mundia, Caroline; Ndetu, VeronicaItem Bundling Climate Smart Solutions with and for women smallholder farmers in Ghana(Brief, 2024-11) Obeng Adomaa, FaustinaClimate smart interventions need to address he peculiar needs of men, women and other vulnerable groups in order to build climate resilience of communities. Building of learnings from 2021-2023, this Info Note presents bundled climate solutions developed with and for women farmers to address the challenges of groudnut, cowpea and sweet potato production in Ghana. These bundled solutions brings together technical solutions and institutional arrangements to address the primary challenges that women groundnut, cowpea and sweet potato farmers face. The Info Note also presents pathway for scaling these bundled solutions