AICCRA Global Theme FP4
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Item Training of Trainers (ToT) on Climate-Smart Agriculture Basics Course Module(Report, 2024-07) Ekepu, David; Majaliwa, Jackson Gilbert Mwanjalolo; Nakayiwa, Florence MayegaAs part of the AICCRA, the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) are tasked to develop curricula and training materials to accelerate the mainstreaming of Climate Information Services (CIS) and Climate- Smart Agriculture (CSA) into University’s curricula in Africa. This report documents the training of trainers’ (ToT) workshop on Climate-Smart Agriculture Basics course module. The overall objective of the training of trainers’ workshop was to increase awareness and scale adoption/integration of the module on Climate-Smart Agriculture Basics across the RUFORUM Network and other non-AICCRA countries. 304 (Male=221; Female=82, Prefer not to say=1) participants from universities in 23 countries attended the training. The module is aimed at contributing towards promotion of the CSA approach among researchers, academia and practitioners. It introduces the concept of Climate-Smart Agriculture, the various CSA practices in Africa, the approach and tools for implementation and scaling of CSA practices, and discusses the barriers and enablers of adoption and scaling of CSA. The training increased awareness among academic staff in RUFORUM member universities. Participants indicated strong interest in incorporating the training material into their university curricula and cited several approaches including workshops, seminars, short courses and field demonstrations of the practical aspects of the module.Item Training of Trainers (ToT) on Climate Basics Course Module(Report, 2024-10) Ekepu, David; Nakayiwa, Florence Mayega; Majaliwa, Jackson Gilbert Mwanjalolo; Dinku, Tufa; Grossi, AmandaAs part of the AICCRA, the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) are tasked to develop curricula and training materials to accelerate the mainstreaming of Climate Information Services (CIS) and Climate- Smart Agriculture (CSA) into University’s curricula in Africa. This report documents the training of trainers’ (ToT) workshop on Climate Basics course module. The overall objective of the training of trainers’ workshop was to increase awareness and scale adoption/integration of the module on Climate Basics across the RUFORUM Network and other non-AICCRA countries. 498 (Male=353; Female=145) participants from universities in 31 countries attended the training. This training introduces various ways that climate is described and quantified, describes the components of climate, and discusses the differences between climate and weather. It introduces climate classifications and zones and discusses where these exist across the globe. The training increased awareness among academic staff in RUFORUM member universities. Participants indicated strong interest in incorporating the training material into their university curricula and cited several approaches including workshops, seminars, short courses and field demonstrations of the practical aspects of the module.Item Advanced Climate Data Tool (CDT) Training and Automatic Weather Station Data Tool (ADT) Part II for Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD)(Report, 2022-10) Dinh, DannieIn October 2022, the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) conducted an advanced training on Climate Data Tool (CDT) and Automatic Weather Station Data Tool (ADT) for Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) staff in Nairobi, Kenya. The training involved software installation and hands-on instructional sessions at the KMD head office. The installation and training was requested by the KMD to support and improve the access and processing—including quality control and visualization—of automatic weather station (AWS) data collected by different systems and networks, on different servers, and in different formats.Item Elaboration of Additional Modules on Climate Smart Agriculture and Climate Information System for Staff, Students, and other Stakeholders in Universities in Africa(Report, 2022-07) Otto, Francisco; Amponsah, William; Gilbert, Majaliwa M; Nakayiwa, Florence MThe Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa project (AICCRA) working through CCAFS, intends to make CGIAR-led cutting-edge science practices/technologies/tools available throughout Africa; especially in Sub-regions extremely vulnerable to climate change. The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), a network of 150 universities in 38 countries spanning the whole African continent is a partner in the AICCRA project. RUFORUM’s contribution in the AICCRA project is focused on mobilising African universities, create awareness and enhance the use of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) and Climate information services (CIS) knowledge and products developed by the CGIAR Centres and other research institutions engaged in CSA and CIS. Enhancing the use of CSA and CIS involves capacity, knowledge and technology audits at national and institutional level, mobilise CGIAR and other research centres to provide CSA and CIS knowledge, technology and skills and training of faculty to deploy the CSA and CIS products in training, research and outreach. Knowledge transfer and capacity building activities therefore form the central part of RUFORUM’s participation in the AICCRA project.Item Training Needs assessment Report on Challenges of Climate-Smart Agriculture in Ethiopia(Report, 2022-06) Bekeko, ZelalemHaramaya University College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences have undertaken review of the status of CSA and CIS in Ethiopia. In this review, we tried to assess and evaluate trends, challenges and some CSA practices and technologies that improve climate-smart agriculture and the training gaps existing in the country and propose future directions. Due to climate variability and change, Ethiopian agricultural sector that is the backbone of Ethiopia’s economy and livelihoods has been affected. Depending on different researchers, Ethiopian CSA pillars process has to be documented at all levels of implementation so as to undertake evidence-based promotion and upscaling of the technologies. Even if the problem is existed, combination of the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices such as conservation agriculture, Integrated soil fertility management, small scale irrigation, Agroforestry, crop diversification and Improved livestock feed and feeding practices increased are used for specific purposes in GHG emission mitigation and climate change adaptation have been underway. However, adoption of climate-smart agriculture technology is ineffective mainly due to the fact that, low skills, knowledge and poor technical use of the technology. The importance of conservation agriculture as a key climate-smart practice for Ethiopia has to be recognized among high-level policy-makers and decision-makers as well as government and civil society organizations in the country. In this line concerted efforts to continuously generate CSA technology would contribute to the desired positive outcome. A solid awareness-creation program of conservation agriculture technology should be provided to all stakeholders at federal and regional level. The Policies and implementation Strategies should be emphasized on an integrated, evidence-based and climate smart approach to addressing food security at all levels, from the National to local levels, from research to policies and investments, and across private, public and civil society sectors to achieve the scale and rate of change required.Item Scoping study on existing CIS/CSA relevant units/engagements in Democratic Republic of Congo(Report, 2022-07) Karume, Katcho; Ayagirwe, Rodrigue; Ibanda, Angele; Lina, Alexis Alek; Mubalama, Mondo; Chuma, Géant; Bagula, EspoirRUFORUM conducted a scoping study to identify areas of CSA/CIS convergence for member universities from 20th November to March 2022. Consultations were made with the Deans of the Faculties of Agriculture and related disciplines of Congolese member universities in eastern DRC, through zoom and then individual questionnaires to identify the focal persons who are involved in Climate Smart Agriculture teaching and research. Selected staff of the considered universities [Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA), Université de Kisangani (UNIKIS) and Université Officielle de Bukavu (UOB)] were convened to a three day workshop in Benin, as a side event during the RUFORUM Triennial Conference and Annual General Meeting from 11th to 13th December 2021. A total of Twenty-one (21) CSA and CIS experts representing 9 countries were invited in the meeting. Participants included representatives from Kenya, Zambia, Ethiopia, Democratic republic of Congo, Benin, Burundi, Uganda, Ghana and Zimbabwe. They analysed the causes of low adoption and utilization of CSA practices & CIS tools and identified the different interventions needed to enhance this shortcoming. Seven prioritoes were identified and it was agreed that the proposed priority CSA will be subjected to national wide consultations in the respective countries. Subsequent to the workshop, the experts were tasked to i) review and compile information about CSA and conduct an inventory of existing programmes and courses related to CSA and potential resource persons in the universities in their respective countries; and ii) conduct country specific consultations and consensus building on the priority CSA. At the university/ academic level, various courses and course units with aspects of CSA and CIS are taught in the considered universities. These courses cover a wide range of the proposed clustered priority areas. These are course units offered in both undergraduate and post graduate programmes.Item AICCRA Awareness Raising at Regional Climate Forum for East Africa(Report, 2022-08) Dinku, TufaRegional Climate Outlook Forums (RCOFs), initiated in 1996 in southern Africa, helped mainstream the routine use of seasonal forecasts across the developing world. They provide an important mechanism for communicating climate information as well as supporting knowledge sharing and collaboration with relevant stakeholders. The RCOFs present a unique opportunity to raise awareness and receive feedback about AICCRA in the climate community with next users – both the regional and national meteorological agencies who are creating the seasonal forecasts, but also the user communities – such as from agriculture and national disaster agencies – who also use these forecasts. In East Africa, the regional COF, which is known as the the Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forums (GHACOF), is convened by the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC).Item Training of Trainers (ToT) on the Climate Risk Management in Agriculture (CRMA) University Short Course Curriculum(Report, 2022-12) Grossi, Amanda; Dinku, Tufa; Hansen, James; Belay, Berhanu; Demissie, Teferi Dejene; Solomon, DawitFrom December 6-16, a ten-day training of trainers (ToT) targeting agricultural universities in Ethiopia was implemented in Adama, Ethiopia by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) of the Columbia Climate School, in close collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM). The workshop, which was organized as part of the World Bank’s Accelerating the Impact of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project, brought together 12 agricultural universities from across Ethiopia, as well as representatives from RUFORUM and the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC), to equip teaching staff with the knowledge and skills they need to implement a new five-chapter short course on the topic of Climate Risk Management in Agriculture (CRMA). This course aims to equip graduate and postgraduate students to access, understand, and incorporate the best-available climate information into their professional activities.Item Data Library Maintenance and Maproom Development Training with Zambia Meteorology Department(Report, 2022-11) Rose, AlisonMaprooms are powerful and freely accessible online visuals of climate data tailored to the agricultural and other sectors, play a large role in making climate information more accessible and usable. By translating past, present, or future conditions into expected impacts and management advisories, they are meeting the needs of different decision-makers for location- and sector-specific information for adaptation in Africa. A staff member from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society travelled to Zambia to train the Zambia Met on how to use the Python Maprooms from October 22 – November 5, 2022.Item Data Library Maintenance and Maproom Development Training with Kenya Meteorology Department(Report, 2022-10) Rose, AlisonMaprooms are powerful and freely accessible online visuals of climate data tailored to the agricultural and other sectors, play a large role in making climate information more accessible and usable. By translating past, present, or future conditions into expected impacts and management advisories, they are meeting the needs of different decision-makers for location- and sector-specific information for adaptation in Africa.Item Data Library Maintenance and Maproom Development Training with Ghana Meteorology Agency(Report, 2022-11-11) Rose, AlisonMaprooms are powerful and freely accessible online visuals of climate data tailored to the agricultural and other sectors, play a large role in making climate information more accessible and usable. By translating past, present, or future conditions into expected impacts and management advisories, they are meeting the needs of different decision-makers for location- and sector-specific information for adaptation in Africa.Item Senegal Climate Risk Management for Agriculture Curriculum Design Workshop(Report, 2022-12-23) List, Geneva; Trzaska, Sylwia; Braun, Melody; Hansen, James; Grossi, AmandaThe Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project aims to benefit millions of smallholder farmers in Senegal and five other target countries through climate information services and climate smart agriculture. Strengthening the capacity of next users, particularly agricultural extension and advisory service (EAS) providers who work to support farmers in Senegal and five other target countries, is crucial to achieving this goal. Therefore, AICCRA gathered the key EAS partners and stakeholders in a 5-day workshop, held in Dakar, 5-9 December 2022, to: • design a curriculum to strengthen the capacity of EAS providers to incorporate climate services in their work with Senegal’s farmers and agropastoralists, and • formulate a roadmap for implementing the curriculum.Item Formation sur l’outil CDT (Climate Data Tool), Mali Meteo(Report, 2022-11-07) Rose, AlisonL’Agence Nationale de la Météorologie du Mali (MALI-METEO) à travers son service climatologique, a pour missions de constituer et d’exploiter les banques de données dont les produits climatologiques, destinées aux usagers de tous les secteurs d’activités socio-économiques du pays afin d’optimiser les investissements sensibles aux conditions climatiques et de contribuer au développement durable. Le service climatologie s’engage à améliorer la qualité et la fourniture de ses données et produits. En effet, les données climatiques proviennent des stations d’observations météorologiques reparties sur l’ensemble du pays. Le constat est que la plupart de ses données présentent des données hétérogènes ou manquantes due soit à la disponibilité de l’observateur ou de l’instrument. Aussi, il devient urgent d’améliorer la qualité de ses données en utilisant l’outil CDT enfin d’avoir des données et produits fiables.Item West Africa Regional Training On the Improved NextGen Seasonal Forecasting Approach (PyCPT 2)(Report, 2022-10) Grossi, Amanda; Robertson, Andrew; Trzaska, Sylwia; Dinku, Tufa; Zougmoré, Robert B.; Minoungou, Bernard; Mohamed, HamatanFrom October 10-19, a nine-day training targeting West Africa (WA) was implemented in Lomé, Togo by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) of the Columbia Climate School, in close collaboration with the AICCRA-West Africa team, the Regional Center for Training and Application in Agrometeorology and Operational Hydrology (AGRHYMET) and Meteo Togo. The workshop, which was organized as part of the World Bank’s Accelerating the Impact of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project, brought together 7 national meteorological services from the WA region, as well as its regional climate center (AGRHYMET) to improve seasonal forecasting capacities using the “NextGen” approach and its concomitant PyCPT version 2 interface (PyCPT2). In particular, the major objectives of the training were to strengthen the knowledge and understanding of national meteorological services of seasonal forecasting tools, introduce the new advances and functionalities of the Python (PyCPT2) interface for the NextGen forecasting approach, configure and run PyCPT version 2 to make the best- available forecasts in participants’ home countries, including forecast verification, and provide foundational training on best practices for forecast communication including the flexible forecast format.Item Training of Trainers (ToT) on Enhancing National Climate Services (ENACTS) Maprooms for Users in Zambia(Report, 2022-11) Grossi, Amanda; Dinku, TufaA five-day training of trainers (ToT) workshop was implemented from November 7 to November 11, 2022, in Lusaka, Zambia by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) in collaboration with the Zambia Meteorological Department (ZMD) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). The workshop, which was organized as part of the World Bank’s Accelerating the Impact of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project, brought together 18 participants from the Zambia Meteorological Department (ZMD) alongside the Zambia Agriculture Research Institute (ZARI), the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment (MGEE), the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA), the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to be trained on ZMD’s existing suite of free online ENACTS Maprooms. The major objective of the workshop was to ensure that each of these institutions that play an important role in promoting the use of climate information and services and broader resilience of the agricultural sector are aware of and have the capacity to train users within Zambia on the best-available climate information products for decision-making. The ENACTS maproom products, which are freely available through ZMD’s website, provide location-specific (4 km grid) historical, monitoring, and forecast information that is important for activities related to planning, monitoring, and response for the agricultural sector and wider food system.Item Training of Trainers (ToT) on Enhancing National Climate Services (ENACTS) Maprooms for Users in Kenya(Report, 2022-11) Grossi, Amanda; Dinku, TufaA five-day training of trainers (ToT) workshop was implemented from October 31 to November 4, 2022, in Nairobi, Kenya by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) in collaboration with the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). The workshop, which was organized as part of the World Bank’s Accelerating the Impact of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project, brought together 21 participants from national and county KMD offices, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries (MOAL&F), and the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) to be trained on KMD’s existing suite of free online ENACTS Maprooms. The major objective of the workshop was to ensure that each of these institutions that play an important role in promoting the use of climate information and services and broader resilience of the agricultural sector are aware of and have the capacity to train users within Kenya on the best-available climate information products for decision-making. The ENACTS maproom products, which are freely available through KMD’s website, provide location-specific (4 km grid) historical, monitoring, and forecast information that is important for activities related to planning, monitoring, and response for the agricultural sector and wider food system.Item East and Southern Africa Regional Training On the Improved NextGen Seasonal Forecasting Approach (PyCPT 2)(Report, 2022-10) Grossi, Amanda; Robertson, Andrew; Muñoz, Angel; Singh, Bohar; Dinku, Tufa; Demissie, Teferi Dejene; Solomon, DawitFrom October 3-11, an eight-day training of trainers (ToT) targeting East and Southern Africa (ESA) was implemented in Zanzibar, Tanzania by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) of the Columbia Climate School, in close collaboration with the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA). The workshop, which was organized as part of the World Bank’s Accelerating the Impact of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project, brought together 10 national meteorological services from the ESA region, as well as its regional climate center— IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC)—to improve seasonal forecasting capacities using the “NextGen” approach and its concomitant PyCPT version 2 interface (PyCPT2). In particular, the major objectives of the training were to strengthen the knowledge and understanding of regional and national meteorological services of seasonal forecasting tools and approaches, introduce the new advances and functionalities of the Python (PyCPT2) interface for the NextGen forecasting approach, configure and run PyCPT version 2 to make the best-available forecasts in participants’ home countries, including forecast verification, and provide foundational training on best practices for forecast communication including the Flexible Forecast format.Item Automatic Weather Station Data Tool (ADT) Installation and Training at ANACIM(Report, 2022-12) Faniriantsoa, Rija; Hansen, JamesThe recent expansion of meteorological observation networks has focused on the use of Automatic Weather Stations (AWS). Automatic Weather Stations offer a number of advantages including automated reporting at a very fine temporal resolution (15 minutes on average). The challenge many National Meteorological Services (NMS) have been facing with the exploitation of AWS data is that different initiatives and donors have been providing different types of AWS from different vendors, leading to different AWS systems and networks. The data collected by these different AWS systems are in different formats and may sit on different computers. Although there are applications that come with each AWS network to access and visualize AWS data, access to the data is still done manually and station by station. This complicates data access, processing, and use. In addition, data from the different AWS networks is in different formats, which makes it even more difficult to analyze all the data without additional tools or applications that can convert the data into a common format and combine the data from the different networks. As a result, accessing, processing, and using these data has been a major impediment to the use of data from these varieties of AWS.Item Curriculum Platform Needs: Assessment for AICCRA Partners(Report, 2022-10-01) Curtis, AshleyThis report summarizes findings on needs and gaps for a key activity of the AICCRA project-development of a curriculum platform. The AICCRA curriculum platform will be a resource that enables institutions to establish and continually develop curricula that support key competencies/skills in climate services/CSA prioritized by stakeholders in regions.Item Scaling Out the Next Generation of Seasonal Climate Forecasts in Africa(Brief, 2022-11) Hansen, James; Grossi, Amanda; Trzaska, Sylwia; Dinku, Tufa; Beathgen, Walter; Ali, AbdouAICCRA is supporting African National Meteorological Services (NMS) and Regional Climate Centres to implement Next Generation (NextGen) seasonal and sub-seasonal climate forecast systems and an improved online Flexible Forecast presentation. This brief describes the NextGen forecast system and the transformative presentation of these forecasts using an interactive web interface (Flexible Forecast Maproom), summarizes AICCRA training and support to scale out these forecast tools, and introduces a workshop process developed to equip farmers to take advantage of the Next Generation of seasonal forecasts and the Flexible Forecast Maproom.