Abstract

Climate change is projected to compromise agricultural production, especially in smallholder systems with little adaptive capacity, as currently prevalent in many parts of Africa. In particular, West Africa is known to be particularly vulnerable to climate change due to high climate variability or high reliance on rain-fed agriculture and especially due to urgent drive to meeting food, healthy diet, and economic needs. The project aims to unlock the potential of agro-ecology in West Africa by building on existing indigenous and scientific knowledge to improve food and nutrition security, livelihoods and planetary health while tackling the climate change and environmental impact of agricultural practices. Research and innovation agro-ecological strategies set the focus on locally available resources to incise on a circular economy model and reduce dependency on imported resources. This way, CIRAWA envisions a double-approach to encompass not only improved land, soil and water management, but also establish pathways to translate the enhancement of agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability into the socio-economic aspect of rural communities and thus, ensure farm resilience and viability of local communities. CIRAWA works on innovative agro-ecological approaches by the following strategies: (i) valorization of agro-wastes for vermicomposting and bio-based fertilizer production; (ii) production of high-quality seeds of staple crops and vegetables; (iii) saline soil reclamation methods through phytoremediation; (iv) soil fertility, water and crop management practices. The project is implemented in 4 countries in West Africa (Cape Verde, Ghana, Senegal and The Gambia)