Sustainable Agricultural Production Program (SAPP-II) Project

Adaptation Need:

Malawi’s smallholders face climate-related pressures on multiple fronts. Rainy seasons now arrive late, then swing between searing droughts and cloud-burst floods, while average temperatures in the four SAPP-II districts are projected to rise another 2–2.5 °C by 2050. The growing unpredictability and severity of climate impacts are already shrinking and degrading crop and pastureland, rising crop and livestock losses, and the country’s familiar food insecurity trap. More than one in four Malawians—approximately 5.4 million people—require food relief assistance each year. Yet, most farmers still lack access to timely climate advisory and early warning information, an integrated early warning system, and proven climate-resilient management techniques, leaving their livelihoods and food security investments vulnerable to present and future extreme weather events.

GCA’s Added Value:

GCA supported SAPP-II with an end-to-end adaptation package: (i) a geo-referenced climate-risk and adaptation map for the four focus districts; (ii) a fully costed investment brief for Digital Climate Advisory Services (DCAS) scale-up roadmap; and (iii) an integrated multi-hazard Early Warning System (EWS) roadmap that operationalises DCAS outputs. To institutionalize the framework, GCA aligned DoDMA’s national EWS protocol with CAP standards, developed a four-module DCAS/EWS training manual, and trained 163 trainers who are now disseminating the knowledge and skills through District Agriculture Extension Coordination Committees.