Strengthening Evidence-Based Climate Change Adaptation Policies
Project timeframe: April 2011 to April 2014.
Background
Climate change poses a real risk to the future of farming and food security in Africa.
Crop yields in southern Africa, especially for staples, remain low: about 35% less than the average elsewhere. A key strategy for managing risk and vulnerability associated with climate change is developing and implementing evidence-based policies and programmes that respond to local realities and priorities. This project is implemented by FANRPAN with funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).
Objectives of the project
The objective of the project “Strengthening Evidence-Based Climate Change Adaptation Policies (SECCAP)” is to enhance the capacity of policy analysts and scientists in the fields of agriculture, climate and socio-economics to collectively build a strong base of evidence on cropping systems to inform adaptation policies and investment decisions.
The project, which covers three southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries (Lesotho, Malawi and Swaziland), will contribute to evidence-based decision making for policy makers and development practitioners through a systematic research process integrating climate, crop production and livelihoods data, and carrying out cost benefit analysis for the three countries.
Project outcomes
- Strengthened scientific, expertise and local knowledge;
- Strengthened partnership and networking on adaptation research among different institutions, including local and international universities and research centres;
- Strengthened methodology for assessing adaptation investment options using integrated models;
- Cropping adaptation options ranked on the basis of feasibility (climate, cost benefit and policy);
- Evidence-based African positions on adaptation are visible and amplified;
- Knowledge generated on household vulnerability for cropping adaptation;
- Strengthened multi-stakeholder/trans-disciplinary national and regional policy dialogue platforms; and
- National Adaptation Programmes for Action (NAPAs) developed/revised/implemented on the basis of evidence produced.
The SECCAP project is aligned to CAADP Pillars 1, 3 and 4 as it seeks to:
- enable farmers and communities to become more resilient to climate change by increasing food production, conserving soil and water, enhancing food security and restoring productive natural resources;
- increase food supply and reduce hunger across the region by raising smallholder productivity, and improving responses to food emer-gencies by identifying the most vulnerable households; and
- improve agricultural research in order to disseminate appropriate information on adaptation options to farmers, and providing evidence to inform formulation and implementation of national adaptation programmes of action (NAPA) priorities.
