Project
Climate resilient agri sourcing in Africa
The effects of climate change will have a major impact on production and sourcing of agricultural commodities in many African countries. Extreme weather conditions, such as drought and heavy rainfall, are putting pressure on products including grains, coffee, vegetables, fruit and many other crops. Farmers, investors and traders feel the need to better understand and prepare an adequate response to the projected impacts.
Wageningen University & Research (WUR) aspires to develop a framework for the African continent that supports climate sensitive decision making, a starting point for defining mitigation and adaptation strategies. Based on the framework this project will deliver partners an interactive dashboard for possible scalable solutions.
This instrument will improve strategic decision making to enhance climate resilience of production, agricultural sourcing and investments in supply chains across Africa.
Mapping, analysing and improving
In the Public-Private Partnership (PPS) project Climate resilient agri sourcing in Africa (2021-2024), we aim to answer the following questions for production, agricultural sourcing and investment:
- What are the crop and region-specific climate risks and opportunities? The research for this area will be supported by using crop growth modelling, extrapolation and prediction of shifts in production regions, including the level of crop productivity under different climate change scenarios and suitability of current production regions
- What are key drivers and feasible mitigation and adaptation strategies for specific crops and their regions? These strategies include among others crop breeding, field management, precision agriculture and changes in transport, logistics, risk profiling, early warning systems. Also financial mechanism such as insurance to field and water management will be part of the equation.
- Which improved strategic options for sourcing investments are viable? What is the trade-off between small scale and large scale in efficiency, logistics, vulnerability, local ability to invest in technology etc.
This web page is continuously updated with the latest results and insights. Please stay tuned.
Photo: Sunshine Seeds/Shutterstock.com
Join the project
Would you like to develop or adapt your agricultural sourcing strategy to the effects of climate change? Join this project and help to develop proven and feasible solutions, based on the latest technologies and integrated knowledge of all agricultural and climate aspects, which you can apply directly in your organisation. Reach out to Willem Ruster, Programme Manager Improve Sustainability Along the Agri & Food Chain.