GCA and African Development Bank to increase wheat production and strengthen food security in Ethiopia
R
otterdam, the Netherlands, 11 July 2023 – The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is working with the African Development Bank to provide technical assistance for the implementation of the US$94.3 million Ethiopia Climate Resilient Wheat Value Chain Development Project (CREW) in Ethiopia. The project aims to address the vulnerability of Ethiopia’s agriculture sector, particularly wheat production, to climate change.
In a 2°C global warming scenario, it is anticipated that wheat yields in lower latitude regions, including African countries like Ethiopia, could decrease by over 15%. In response to this challenge, the Government of Ethiopia has included increasing wheat production as a crucial component of its Ten-Year Development Plan (2021-2030), which aims to accelerate economic progress and ensure national food security.
The CREW project will support Ethiopia’s wheat production strategy by financing various interventions across the wheat value chain. These interventions include improving seed quality, ensuring a steady supply of fertilizers, promoting mechanization on clustered wheat farms, and developing irrigation infrastructure in the lowland areas of Ethiopia.
GCA’s contribution to the CREW project focuses on introducing climate adaptation measures to identify, design, and integrate digital adaptation solutions throughout the wheat value chain by:
- Assessing local climatic conditions and food security, the structure of the local economy and access to resources to identify parts of the country that are performing below potential in terms of agricultural productivity.
- The generation of micro-region climate risk maps and information to highlight local enabling conditions for particular interventions to accelerate adaptation in agriculture, and to facilitate the production of a feasibility and blueprint of the integration of digital adaptation solutions.
- A stakeholder workshop to obtain consensus on the identification of priority digital extension mechanisms and facilitate the integration of DCAS and adaptation solutions in the wheat farmer registration system.
- Supporting the capacity building of extension agents and stakeholders involved in deploying digital climate advisory services and digital adaptation solutions in the delivery and implementation of agricultural extension services for the wheat value chain in project sites.
These measures are intended to enhance the resilience of Ethiopia’s wheat production system, making it better equipped to withstand climate variability and change. Furthermore, the project aims to improve production and productivity of wheat in Ethiopia with the aim of promoting national wheat self-sufficiency, regional trade, and exports.
Food security is a key pillar under the African Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP). Launched in 2021, AAAP has already mainstreamed adaptation solutions into over $5.4 billion of investments in climate adaptation in Africa. These investments are vital for financing adaptation solutions in countries that are most exposed to the threats of climate change.
