Supporting coherent policy implementation to catalyze food & livelihood security in Africa
Introduction
Introduction
While the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promise to “leave no one behind”, Africa not only lags behind the rest of the globe in achieving these goals, but has been so for a while. The prevailing socioeconomic challenges of food insecurity, youth unemployment, low economic productivity coupled with climate change that shrinks incomes of the most vulnerable, has been further compounded by the COVID-19 global emergency. In Africa alone, this pandemic has worsened the region’s vulnerability. The continent needs up to $100billion to buffer its economies where up to 50% of jobs were projected to be lost. Compounded unemployment greatly impacts the youth who currently form majority of the unemployed in Africa at over 60%. The informal sector which is the largest employer in Africa at over 80% labour engagement, including for 80% of youth, and whose players live on a daily income has been highly impacted. Cumulatively, these economic dampers threaten Africa’s realisation of the SDGs with just 10 years to expiry of these goals. In response, an African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) decision recommended that investing to climate proof and maximise productivity of the regions food systems offers a catalytic trajectory for the continent to accelerate realisation of multiple SDGs. Specifically, investing in climate action solutions of clean energy and Ecosystems Based Adaptation (EBA) approaches stands out as catalytic to unlock socioeconomic opportunities alongside environmental benefits to drive realisation of social, economic, and environmental dimension of the SDGs. This investment however requires enablers across different sectors. Unlocking these enablers calls for cross-sectorial coherence in implementation to generate data and information on what works so that proven successes can inform more targeted policy enablers across different sectors. This ensures that policy implemention programmes across different sectors have readily available empirical, contextual data of what works to pick up and inform optimal implementation pathways & incentives that unlock multiple SDGs.
This project supported by the United Nations Development Account, demonstrates this multi-sectorial implementation coherence and the generation of data to inform policy implementation across different sectors towards unlocking relevant SDGs. Operational level actors in the informal sector – who form up to 80% of work in Africa, and the youth have been engaged to integrate these climate action solutions into their ongoing enterprises, and by this generate contextual data on what works so that policy can pick it up for further incentivisation. Specifically, this empirical data is to show how multi-sectoral coherence unlocks climate action enterprise investment in EBA & clean energy for increased agricultural production, enhanced ecosystems productivity, cut postharvest losses, increased incomes, and enhanced food safety. This data will then be made available to be taken up by policy experts and actors from different sectors to inform their work on SDGs implemention, including actions in responding to the COVID-19.
About the project
About the project
This project aims to enhance the capacity of stakeholders for cross-sectorial coherent actions that upscale clean energy enabled EBA for food and livelihood security. By this, ensure member states can take advantage of the catalytic potential of climate action solutions of EBA and clean energy to climate proof and maximize productivity of their food systems and leverage them to unlock realization of multiple SDGs. With the COVID-19 socioeconomic impacts already compounding legacy challenges of food insecurity, unemployment, poverty and low economic productivity, this approach is set to accelerate realization of the SDGs. By this, it will set member states on a path of rebuilding better and different, more resilient post-COVID-19 economies on track to realization of agenda 2030 and the SDGs. For this, work will focus on specific stakeholders. These are strategic level policy experts and actors who will take up the project logic and infuse it into their policy implementation decisions that have wide scale impacts. The other level is operational level actors – where informal sector especially the youth will be leveraged to infuse the project logic into their enterprise actions. Specifically, women agro-value chain actors and youth driven enterprises. The informal sector is the one that is most impacted by COVID-19 and uptake of project logic by these actors will ensure a targeted effective response to the emergency and enhance the progress to realization of the SDGs.
Project approach & linkage to EBAFOSA
Project approach & Ecosystems Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA) linkage
To minimise start-up risks and limit duplication of efforts, this project will build on ongoing work by different ground actors specifically, youth and other informal sector actors, including women involved in enterprise actions. These will be structurally guided to integrate EBA & clean energy into their ongoing work and demonstrate the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of this integration towards SDGs realisation. These operational level actors will be mobilised through the EBAFOSA framework and the Innovative Volunteerism approach. The policy actors to take up the empirical data and lessons from these ground actions to inform their implemention programmes will also be engaged through the EBAFOSA framework to drive implementation of their relevant policies – be it in trade / standards education curriculum, agriculture, youth etc.
PROJECT COMPONENTS
Component 1
Component 1
Component 1: this will cover local ground demonstration actions on cross-sectorial coherence in climate proofing and maximizing productivity of agro-value chains using the climate action solutions of EBA and clean energy through enterprise actions. These ground actions will then generate empirical data to inform policy experts and actors across different sectors on practical aspects of coherent policy implementation towards climate proofing and maximizing productivity of food systems to unlock multiple SDGs. Specifically, youth already engaged in enterprises will be technically and structurally guided to take up actions in decentralizing EBA and clean energy solutions to agro-value chain actors as a strategy to expand their climate action enterprises. Agro-value chain actors, including women farmers & agro-traders, will be guided to convene into savings & resource pooling community level cooperatives through which they will afford the climate action solution of clean energy and EBA produce by the youth. These groups will then work together with other enterprises in value adding the EBA produced clean energy processed products and marketing them leveraging on food safety, organic and environmental compliance as a competitive advantage. There is a growing market segment of consumers ready to pay a premium for food that is certified organic, healthy and environmentally complaint – at times up to 3 times the price of conventional foods. This is the market niche that will be tapped.
The technical and market data from the above coherent multi-sectorial actions will then be compiled into formats ready for sharing with policy experts and actors from diverse sectors so they can take up lessons on coherent implementation of their policy programmes from a more practical dimension. These ground actions will demonstrate how policies can be implemented coherently and these lessons taken up by policy makers.
Component 2
Component 2:
this component focuses on sharing and uptake of empirical data and lessons from the ground enterprise actions by policy experts and actors to inform the implementation of their respective sector policies, including COVID-19 response policies, in a coherent way that leverages the catalytic areas. Specifically, policy experts and actors drawn from key line ministries aligned with the catalytic areas – at the minimum, agriculture, energy, environment, and national standards bodies, will be convened for uptake of the empirical lessons. These actors will be guided to establish a “policy harmonization and coherence committees for implementation”, that will be coordinated either by agriculture or environment or national standards bodies. These committees will be responsible for continuous feedback to policy, of empirical data from enterprises, on how cross-sectorial policies can be implemented coherently towards common goal to climate proof & maximize productivity of food systems using climate action solution of EBA & clean energy. And once lessons are taken up by experts, they will use them in their implementation programmes including national COVID-19 response strategies.
Component 3
Component 3:
To the third component is lessons sharing of the above two components in non-participating countries across the continent. Specifically, lessons from the ground actions will be shared with informal sector actors especially the youth in non-participating countries across the continent for uptake and infusion into their ongoing initiatives. This will be to ensure, that the connecting the dots paradigm of driving clean energy and EBA driven solutions in a composite can progress towards becoming the norm.
project countries
The primary beneficiary countries are Uganda, Nigeria, and Cameroon. These were selected based on fulfilment of three criteria. In no order of importance, the first was clear country demand expressed through existing policy focus on increased EBA and clean energy investment. Second was the level of vulnerability. Third was the availability of ready ongoing ground youth and vibrant informal enterprise actions in the food sector to improve and build upon in demonstrating practicality of intersectoral coherence, and by this, enhance potential for impact while lowering risk
Lessons from these three countries will be shared continentally through the EBAFOSA framework and Innovative Volunteerism approach with non-participating countries as they are received to catalyse similar coherence for SDGs at operational and policy level.
Cameroon
This work aims to support Cameroon to enhance cross-sectoral coherence towards upscaling climate action solutions of Ecosystems Based Adaptation approaches (EBA) and clean energy for food and livelihood security as a strategic pathway to unlock multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The intervention will also generate lessons to be shared with additional actors towards entrenching this paradigm continentally.
Work will focus on actualising coherent actions that demonstrate uptake of climate action solutions to cutting postharvest losses (PHLs), enhancing ecosystems, and clean cooking towards actualising multiple SDGs to tackle climate & socioeconomic development priorities of the country. These actions will align with sectors highlighted in Cameroon’s climate and socioeconomic development strategies and plans that are critical to respond to prevailing socioeconomic & environmental realities of the country. Accordingly, in its revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the country has set forth priorities whose coherent implementation can unlock multiple SDGs. From EBA actions towards nitrification to improve soil quality, to enhancing clean cooking including through investing in biodigesters, to forestry by protecting forest, these areas are symbiotic to each other considering that the biodigester generates organic fertiliser that is crucial for soil nitrification and provides clean cooking alternatives to prevent dependence on forests for biomass energy that drives deforestation.
But this is not the only paradigm. The country’s economic blueprint, the vision 2035, which sets forth a target for economic transformation also informs target actions to climate proof and enhance productivity of the country’s agriculture value chains as strategic to unlocking multiple SDGs. Specifically, agriculture engages up to 60% of the population and generates over 20% of non-oil GDP for Cameroon. It has also been highlighted in the “Growth and Employment Strategy” as the engine sector for economic growth and job creation. However, climate change is projected to drive a loss of over 40% in incomes. This is in addition to the notable challenge of postharvest losses (PHLs) – where in critical value chains such as tomato, the county registers in excess of 6million CFA in PHLs, over 4billion CFA in rice among key areas. However, if processing and value addition is prioritised, over 1.5million jobs can be created annually in tomato processing alone.
The other critical environmental priority for the country is in reversing degradation & pollution which cause an equally notable cost for the country. For example, about 7,000 deaths are associated with indoor pollution every year in Cameroon, and these driven by unclean cooking & heating. Related to this, is deforestation where the country loses about 100,000 ha of forest each year due to several reasons including harvesting for domestic energy. Up to 70% of the population depends on fuel wood.
Climate change further exacerbates these losses. It is projected to cost Cameroon up to 10% in economic losses in the short term and 50% in the long term.
As remediation, this initiative comes in to buttress the country’s effort to reverse these losses towards realising the socioeconomic development priorities & the SDGs by leveraging climate action solutions of EBA & clean energy. Most importantly, this intervention will address the above through the climate action lens. It will build on ongoing work in the country mobilised through the Ecosystems Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA) policy action framework structure, with a focus on strengthening the policy dimension towards unlocking multiple SDGs. This will involve enhancing work on NDCs implementation through greening agro-value chains to cover more agro-ecological zones and generate data to inform enabling policies across different sectors to unlock multiple SDGs in the different sectors.
This work will also demonstrate how the above can be achieved by leveraging the most significant constituency of ground implementers in Cameroon – the vast informal sector. This sector provides livelihoods for 90% of the active population and contributes more than 50% of Cameroons GDP. This sector is Cameroon’s middle-class equivalent, which forms the bastion that underpins economic competitiveness and growth. Through this strategic focus, the project will demonstrate how coherent actions by the largest constituency of ground implementers in the economy can unlock realisation of the SDGs through the climate action lens.
To this end, work will be undertaken on three levels to actualise this paradigm of leveraging EBA & clean energy through informal sector actions to enhance the productivity of food systems and unlock multiple SDGs.
The first is practical ground actions that empirically show how cross-sectorial coherent actions are critical to bridging gaps towards upscaling EBA & clean energy to enhance food system productivity through cutting post-harvest losses (PHLs) & clean cooking. This level will show how the collaboration of operational actors drawn from different sectors & with different skills is needed for complementary actions in applying EBA & clean energy, including clean cooking to reverse PHLs, enhance productivity and unlock multiple SDGs.
The second level will build on the first. The results and data generated from the coherent ground actions on the social, economic, environmental, aspects that enable EBA & clean energy upscaling to unlock multiple SDGs will be shared with policy actors drawn from key ministries of government for their uptake to inform their policy implementation towards unlocking multiple SDGs. The empirical data and lessons from the ground actions will be made available to different sectorial policy actors so that they can take it up and integrate into their own policy implemention programmes. This will ensure they are informed to prioritise actions towards realisation of relevant SDGs, by what has been proven to work amongst the largest constituency of operational level actors in Cameroons economy – the informal sector.
The third will be lessons sharing from work done in Cameroon with additional actors to influence coherent uptake of these climate action solutions towards the realisation of multiple SDGs across Africa. The Ecosystems Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA) framework and information portal will be leveraged for these lessons sharing.
Uganda
This intervention is focused on supporting Uganda to enhance cross-sectoral coherence towards upscaling climate action solutions of Ecosystems Based Adaptation approaches (EBA) and clean energy for food and livelihood security as a strategic pathway to unlock multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The intervention will also generate lessons to be shared with additional actors towards entrenching this paradigm continentally.
Work will focus on actualising coherent actions that demonstrate uptake of climate action solutions to cutting postharvest losses (PHLs), enhancing ecosystems, and clean cooking towards actualising multiple SDGs to tackle climate & socioeconomic development priorities of the country. These actions will align with sectors highlighted in Uganda’s climate and socioeconomic development strategies and plans. Accordingly, in its revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which build on the first round submissions, the country has set forth a number of priorities whose coherent implementation can unlock multiple SDGs. They prioritise sustainable agriculture approaches of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA), forestry by prioritising clean & efficient cooking, clean energy, specifically solar, including to power agro-value addition among key areas. These priorities align with the project objectives of enhancing EBA & clean energy for food and livelihood security towards unlocking multiple SDGs.
The agriculture sector stands out as one of the most critical to Uganda’s economy. It not only provides livelihoods for about 65% of the population, but has also been highlighted as being strategic to accelerate the realisation of the 3rd National Development Plan (NDP3). The NDP3 is a derivative of the long-term development vision 2040 which underpins inclusive, climate-resilient growth in transforming Uganda into an industrialized country, aligning with the SDGs. Value addition and agro industrialisation are expressly captured as key trajectories to this end.
Climate change and post-harvest losses are among the leading sources of inefficiency in Uganda’s value chains. Accordingly, between 2 – 4% of Uganda’s GDP is depleted each year because of climate change, and without remedial actions, Uganda is set to lose up to $5 billion per year by 2030. Specific to the agriculture sector, which engages up to 70% of the population, increasing extreme events are costing the sector over $40million in crop damage alone. Beyond climate change, the high levels of post-harvest losses (PHLs) stand out as another significant inefficiency. Accordingly, the country loses up to 45% of its yields to PHLs, which constitutes a substantial threat to Uganda’s agricultural contribution to the national economy and the realisation of the SDGs. The losses are particularly notable in key-value chains such as cassava, the second most crucial staple food farmed by over 70% of the population. Cassava is very susceptible to PHLs and begins to deteriorate within 48 hours of harvest. Uganda’s annual cassava PHLs are estimated at over $30million. Reversing these PHLs, together with climate change-induced yield losses, stands out as critical to the realisation of the SDGs.
Beyond these direct food system losses, unclean cooking solutions are also a leading impediment to the SDGs. Over 90% of the Ugandan population rely on biomass fuel for cooking and heating. This high dependency on unclean cooking is a leading driver of indoor pollution, which causes over 20,000 deaths in Uganda each year, with more than 5,700 being children, compromising health. In addition, about 3% of Uganda’s forests are cut down each year for fuel. This, in turn, drives the degradation of forests and other terrestrial ecosystems. The cumulative effect of these losses – from PHLs to climate-induced reduction in yields, indoor pollution and deforestation- impacts Uganda’s realisation of the SDGs.
As remediation, this initiative comes in to buttress the country’s effort to reverse these losses towards realising the socioeconomic development priorities & the SDGs by leveraging climate action solutions of EBA & clean energy. Most importantly, this work demonstrates how the above can be achieved by leveraging the most significant constituency of ground implementers in Uganda – the youth and the informal sector, which contributes over 50% of GDP and 80% employment in Uganda. Through this strategic focus, the project will demonstrate how coherent actions by the largest constituency of ground implementers in the economy can unlock realisation of the SDGs through the climate action lens.
To this end, work will be undertaken on three levels to actualise this paradigm of leveraging EBA & clean energy through informal sector actions to enhance the productivity of food systems and unlock multiple SDGs.
The first is practical ground actions that empirically show how cross-sectorial coherent actions are critical to bridging gaps towards upscaling EBA & clean energy to enhance food system productivity through cutting post-harvest losses (PHLs) & clean cooking. This level will show how the collaboration of operational actors drawn from different sectors & with different skills is needed for complementary actions in applying EBA & clean energy, including clean cooking to reverse PHLs, enhance productivity and unlock multiple SDGs.
The second level will build on the first by generating empirical data on the social, economic/market, technical dimensions of developing & applying these climate action solutions to inform coherent policy implementation. These lessons will be shared with policy practitioners to inform cross-sectorial coherence in their actions towards driving the SDGs. Key policy areas that will be highlighted to take up lessons for coherence include the National Standards of the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS).
The third will be lessons sharing from work done in Uganda with additional actors to influence coherent uptake of these climate action solutions towards the realisation of multiple SDGs across Africa. The Ecosystems Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA) framework and information portal will be leveraged for these lessons sharing.
In addition, the EBAFOSA policy action framework will be leveraged to mobilise ground actors with ongoing work that can take up these climate action solutions and demonstrate their impact on enhancing food systems in a low-risk manner. EBAFOSA will also be leveraged to engage the policy actors for data uptake.
Nigeria
This work focuses on supporting Nigeria to enhance cross-sectoral coherence to upscale ecosystem-based adaptation approaches (EBA) and clean energy for food and livelihood security towards unlocking multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also aims to generate lessons to be shared across Africa and induce similar developments in additional countries on the continent.
Focus will be on actualising coherent actions that demonstrate uptake of climate action solutions to cutting postharvest losses (PHLs), and clean cooking towards actualising multiple SDGs to tackle climate & socioeconomic development priorities of the country. These actions will focus on key sectors of Nigeria’s climate and socioeconomic development priorities. Accordingly, in its climate action priorities, popularly known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Nigeria has highlighted clean energy - including clean cooking, sustainable agriculture approaches among key areas in its updated NDCs. Agriculture has also been highlighted as key to diversifying the country’s economy and accelerating the realisation of the Nigeria Economic Recovery & Growth Plan (ERGP), which underpins inclusive climate-resilient growth. It is among critical sectors needed to underpin the projected 7% growth & employment creation. However, lack of value addition means Nigeria loses significantly. Nigeria loses billions in postharvest losses across different value changes. For example, while the country is the second-largest producer of tomatoes in Africa, it loses up to 60% of its production, averaging over $70 million each year – primarily because of inadequate processing. In 2017, Nigeria lost tomato valued at $15 billion. Tomato is not the only loss. In Cassava, where Nigeria is the largest producer globally, up to $600 million is lost each year as PHLs. Rice registers up to $155 million in PHLs. And the list goes on. Climate change further exacerbates these losses. For example, in the tomatoes value chain alone, it causes yield losses of up to 25% per hectare, threatening the livelihoods of over 200,000 farmers and an entire supply chain of enterprises they serve. In addition, Nigeria, the largest producer of charcoal in Africa, has lost up to 96% of its natural forest cover. Nigeria’s current deforestation rate is estimated at 3.5% - one of the highest in the world. Up to 90% of wood harvested produces fuelwood, which makes charcoal and firewood used for agro-value addition one of the most critical drivers of ecosystem degradation. In addition, the health hazards of using charcoal are notable, with over 120 million Nigerians facing health risks through exposure to smoke from cooking and adding value to food using firewood and other unclean solid fuels. Decentralisation of clean cooking solutions is, therefore, a critical component of agro-value addition.
The work in Nigeria will focus on buttressing the country’s efforts to reverse these losses and realise the promises of the economic development blueprints & the SDGs by leveraging on climate action solutions of EBA & clean energy. To ensure low risk implementation this work will focus on building on already ongoing work by the most significant constituency of ground implementers in Nigeria – the youth and informal sector actors. The informal sector contribute up to 80% to Nigeria’s livelihoods, including for the youth. Through this strategic focus, the project will demonstrate how coherent actions by the largest constituency of ground implementers in Nigeria’s economy can unlock realisation of the SDGs through the climate action lens.
Accordingly, work will be undertaken on three levels to actualise the envisaged coherent actions towards upscaling EBA and clean energy for food and livelihood security for realisation of multiple SDGs through informal sector and youth actions. The first is practical ground actions that empirically show how cross-sectorial coherent actions are critical to bridging gaps towards upscaling EBA & clean energy for enhancing food systems productivity through cutting PHLs & achieving clean cooking. This will show how the collaboration of operational actors across different sectors & skills are needed to apply EBA & clean energy to food systems to reverse PHLs, drive clean cooking and by this drive realisation of multiple SDGs. The second level is on generating empirical data on the social, economic/market, technical dimensions of developing & applying these climate action solutions to inform coherent policy implementation. These lessons will be shared with policy practitioners to inform cross-sectorial coherence in their actions towards driving the SDGs. Key policy areas that will be highlighted to take up lessons for coherence include academic curriculum, as well as the National Standards of the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON). The third level is on sharing lessons from work done in Nigeria with additional actors in non-participating countries to take up coherent cross-sectoral actions to upscale EBA & clean energy for food and livelihood security to unlock multiple SDGs. The Ecosystems Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA) policy action framework structure will be used to mobilise ground actors that can take up these climate action solutions and demonstrate their impact on enhancing food systems in a low-risk manner. EBAFOSA will also be leveraged to engage the policy and non-policy actors to share results across other countries in Africa.
Implementation progress
Country Progress
Cameroon
Actions started with gap analysis towards establishing the baseline of coherent cross-sectoral actions in applying clean energy enabled EBA for food and livelihood security. The EBAFOSA Cameroon policy action framework engaged local actors through the structure of local cooperatives known as “jangui/njangi/tontines/Community Green Tontine (TVC)” for this gap analysis in the uptake of climate action solutions and generation of data to inform policy. The specific actions undertaken were in 3 key aspects: mapping actions to determine gaps; shortlisting of most viable actions to build on towards bridging gaps; initial steps undertaken towards bridging the gaps using climate action solutions. The following was done:
1.) on the initial survey and mapping for gaps, a total of 30 tontines/village cooperatives engaged in different agro-value chains were mapped, surveyed, and engaged for gaps in productivity that could be bridged using climate action solutions. And this generates data to prove the efficacy of these climate action solutions for enhanced food & livelihood security and achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These tontines were sampled from all country regions – Western region, Eastern region, Adamaoua region, Far-North region, Central region, and Southern region. The specific gaps mapped were:- on-farm level application of EBA: the need for increased yields where solutions like organic fertilizer are critical, need to conserve soils using approaches like agro-forestry etc.,
- value addition using clean energy solutions: need to cut high post-harvest losses through applying solar dryers that have been proven to reduce aflatoxin cases by over 50% to enhance food safety compliance, need to increase incomes, savings through value addition of solar-dried produce – e.g. milling dried cassava to flour, making snacks from flour etc., need to switch to use clean energy solutions for value addition – e.g. switch from open-air dried rice, vegetables etc., to solar dryer dried rice, switching from using fish smokers, chicken smokers to using solar dryers etc.
- need for clean cooking/charcoal substitution: where fuel briquettes made from agro-waste can offer more affordable yet non-polluting cooking alternatives to charcoal power agro-value addition in households, eateries etc.
- environmental gap in the amount of charcoal offset by using solar dryers instead of fish & chicken smokers, and using fuel-briquettes instead of charcoal/firewood; the amount of money saved from avoiding buying charcoal & firewood for these smoking & cooking operations
- need for efficient linkages to markets: where practical tools to achieve compliance in food safety, health, organics; the need for low-cost market access where the use of ICT /digital marketing tools for real-time, affordable linkage of products to potential buyers was underscored.
- need for training in developing and applying the above climate action solutions by the local communities in the tontines.
2) For each gap area, the relevant ongoing work built on low-risk integration of the climate action solutions was established, and the capacity enhancement was determined. A total of 16 tontines were shortlisted based on the strength of their ongoing work to integrate 4 classes of climate action solutions – Ecosystems Based Adaptation (EBA) approaches for enhancing on-farm yields; solar dryers to cut post-harvest losses; clean cooking fuel briquettes to substitute charcoal use and lower dependence on charcoal and minimise risk on forest ecosystems; ICT digital marketing systems for low carbon linkages to markets.
Accordingly, value chains selected for decentralisation of solar dryers and EBA for organic production were – cassava, corn, sorghum, rice, yam, Onion and Garlic, Beans, cowpeas, soybeans, peanuts, and Irish potato.
Specific EBA actions prioritised were agro-forestry plants (to green rural plots and family concessions), biofertilizers, including organic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, and integrating alternative livelihoods of livestock raring to enhance incomes and savings in the tontines.
Specific capacity enhancement actions to be undertaken were also established and included: theoretical training on types of EBA applicable to different agro-value chains, technical training in developing these EBA solutions, and the application of the same to the other agro-value chains.
On solar dryer value addition, all tontines surveyed and shortlisted engaged in various agro-value chain actions were determined to need solar dryers. The specific areas of capacity enhancement that were prioritised included: theoretical training on the benefits/impacts of solar dryers, training in the fabrication of solar dryers, the development and decentralization of these dryers for communal use in communal solar dryer centres for the tontine members for adding value, data collection on the amount of post-harvest losses reduced & savings made through the value addition, and the amount of income opportunities created from trade in the dried produce.
On uptake of waste recovery to clean fuel briquettes to substitute charcoal, all tontines that were surveyed were interested in the uptake of clean cooking solutions of fuel briquettes and had the potential for uptake of these fuel briquettes to substitute charcoal/firewood. The specific areas of capacity enhancement that were determined and agreed to were: training in making fuel briquettes, especially for young people; development and market testing of fuel briquettes; analysis of the market performance of fuel briquettes, including the number of fuel briquettes made and the amount of charcoal that the fuel briquettes have displaced, amount of savings made from using fuel briquettes over charcoal,
On the market linkages using low carbon ICT applications, all tontines surveyed agreed to digital marketing systems to enable efficient linkages to markets. These digital systems will enhance demand for agro-produce cultivated using EBA and pre-processed using solar dryers. It was also established that fuel briquettes to substitute charcoal would also be efficiently linked to digital markets. Specific areas of capacity enhancement were: recalibrating the afroshop application to integrate digital marketing platform for these climate action solutions; training of tontine members, including young people in using the ICT application to reach markets, refinements of the ICT tool to accommodate the different product lines of the tontines.
3) initial steps towards bridging these gaps were undertaken, which revolve around two aspects. First was training to enhance knowledge and skills in applying these climate action solutions. Second, the engagement of policy actors in readiness for data made available to inform policy implementation trajectories for SDGs. Accordingly, a total of 213 actors drawn from 18 tontines were trained on EBA applications to bridge identified gaps, and this will be built on in the next period. A letter of introduction to engage the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Cameroon was submitted to the ministry focal point to engage the ministry in readiness for receiving data coming in from the ground for policy uptake across different dockets.
In all these actions, the gender breakdown of beneficiaries was undertaken, and over 50% of beneficiaries were women. This is a significant step in bridging the gender divide exacerbated by unequal access to economic opportunities.
Uganda
Work started with engaging actors under the EBAFOSA Uganda framework and voluntarily engaging them to work with the community in developing and decentralising climate action solutions using the Innovative Volunteerism approach. The local governance structure of the Buganda kingdom administration and the leading local cooperative – the CBS PEWOSA – provided the structure for low risk, accountable engagements of the community. The Buganda kingdom policy on jobs and food security through cassava value addition provided a basis for EBAFOSA collaboration with the kingdom in implementing this policy. These engagements entailed coherent/complementary actions among actors of diverse sectorial backgrounds. Accordingly, work involved four key segments.
The first was gap analysis, where community members mobilised under the patronage of the Buganda kingdom and engaged through the kingdom’s CBS-PEWOSA cooperative structure decentralised to the village level through “Village Savings & Loans Associations (VSLAs)” were surveyed to establish gaps in their food systems on value addition and clean cooking. During the value addition survey, it was also established that most of the community applies nature-based EBA approaches to grow their food. A sample of 125 community members drawn from 5 VSLAs leading in agro-value chain engagement within the PEWOSA membership was interviewed. What was realised is that open sun drying was the predominant method of drying used, and solar dryers were not applied. It was also found that up to 56% of respondents have heard of solar dryers. Cumulatively, the survey established that up to 80% of yields is lost per season for lack of adequate preservation and value addition. Up to 70% of community members were willing to take up solar dryers as alternative value addition, while the rest expected to see the effectiveness of the dryers before making the shift. On clean cooking, up to 50 respondents who use different cooking methods – charcoal, firewood – and drawn from households to eateries were surveyed, and 92% indicated their eagerness to try clean cooking fuel briquettes as an alternative fuel to learn how to make these briquettes.
The second segment was training and capacity enhancement in developing and applying these climate action solutions. Accordingly, 20 young people, 21 women, and three men were trained to make and use fuel briquettes. The ten youth were also trained in fabricating simple briquettes making machines to enable broad application within the community. These are set to train more people through the VSLAs structure. 58 young people were trained in the development/fabrication of solar dryers. Up to 139 agro-value chain actors drawn from 5 VSLAs were trained to apply solar dryers for processing & preservation to cut PHLs & enhance their incomes. One hundred fifty community members holding a total of 92acres of farmlands were trained on diverse EBA techniques to improve their knowledge on EBA application. These trainings indirectly benefitted over 8000 community members spread over 21 VSLAs represented by family members in the trainings. Manuals for EBA training, solar dryer fabrication and use were also developed to guide the training and expand it to more VSLAs. Up to 60 VSLA members were also trained on financial management to complement the technical training in developing and applying climate action solutions to enable them to improve their savings in the VSLAs cooperatives groups.
The third was developing and decentralising these climate action solutions for community uptake. Accordingly, 7 giant solar dryers of over 400kgs capacity each were designed and decentralised to benefit over 300 agro-value chain actors through communal solar dryer centres where the use of the dryers is shared. Among primary beneficiaries are actors cultivating cassava, the strategic crop of both the Buganda kingdom and the CBS PEWOSA cooperative and pumpkin and vegetables. These 300 beneficiaries were spread across 5 VSLAs. On EBA, after training, a total of 60 agro-value chain actors, representing 125acres and 609 household members, directly benefited from the distribution of organic cassava cuttings to be cultivated using EBA approaches and to be used for multiplication gardens to reach more beneficiaries. Up to 375,000 cassava cuttings were distributed. Cassava is highly climate-resilient and resistant to moisture stress. Expanding its cultivation is part of EBA. Projections show that while other crops are likely to experience significant declines of up to 22% under moisture stress, cassava will experience the least decline – of about 8%. On fuel briquettes, over 500 pieces were made, already creating earning opportunities for the community. A prototype briquettes machine capable of making up to 500 pieces per day was tested and passed, and this is set to be used as an example to make machines to be taken up and used by up to 9 VSLAs in the area with up to 150 members benefiting directly, and 900 indirectly.
The fourth was data compilation for policy uptake. Accordingly, data on the technical & socioeconomic impacts of these climate action solutions were compiled for policy uptake. For example, the use of solar dryers enabled the processing of up to 500kgs of cassava by VSLA members according to the UNBS standard US2241:2020, which specifies threshold moisture content values needed to ensure food safety. A 100% quality rate was registered for dried cassava. The reduction in PHLs was particularly critical during the COVID-19. The COVID-19 control measure minimised market activities meaning the loss of stock of perishables that could not be sold as fast during normal market days. The decentralisation of solar dryers to VSLAs in Buganda ensured reduction of pumpkin losses by 28%, earnings from high-quality dried cassava increased by $50. This was in a trial group of about 15 farmers, and these impacts were registered in a period of about one month. Cumulatively, this data was compiled into guides for fabricating and using solar dryers set to be used to engage the UNBS towards developing an affordable solar dryer standard to enable quality assurance and regulation in the commercial development of these climate action solutions by the informal sector enterprises across Uganda.
Fifth was the Innovative Finance component. The engagement of actors through the structure of cooperatives meant that the financial benefits registered in the uptake of climate action solutions were deposited back to their cooperatives savings. This provided a foundational basis for the CBS PEWOSA cooperative to target investments in climate action solutions as a business development & expansion strategy.
Nigeria
The engagement started by working with the local governance structures of the Emirates of Nasarawa through the EBAFOSA framework. Officials of the Emirates engaged community members in gap analysis towards the uptake of climate action solutions. The first was guiding youth to retool their skills and develop climate action solutions, including solar dryers and clean cooking fuel briquettes.
The second was developing and testing climate action solutions in readiness for community uptake. Accordingly, three giant greenhouse community solar dryers were developed – designed & fabricated and tested for suitability for uptake by the community. Over 200kgs of fuel, briquettes were produced and tested in readiness for decentralisation to the community to substitute charcoal use.
The third was the decentralisation of these climate action solutions for community uptake. Accordingly, the local governance structure of the Emirates of Nasarawa was engaged to work with the local communities in taking up the developed climate action solutions. Through the Emirates of Nasarawa, the largest cassava market in Nasarawa – called the shabu market, with large open drying centres was engaged to take up solar dryers. A giant greenhouse solar dryer was developed and decentralised for community use among these farmers. In addition, still through the Emirates of Nasarawa, communities were engaged in awareness-raising, market testing, and uptake of fuel briquettes to substitute charcoal use. A 78% acceptance rate was reported for these briquettes.
The fourth was data generation to inform policy. Data on the effectiveness of solar dryers in dehydrating food items to threshold moisture levels needed to ensure food safety by preventing the growth of aflatoxins, mold, yeast, and other mycotoxins was compiled. This data is made available with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to inform the implementation of relevant standards. In addition, this technical data on the efficiency and effectiveness of solar dryers in driving food safety, coupled with data on community acceptability of these value-added solutions, was made available to inform entrepreneurship curriculum expansion of the Nasarawa State University-Keffi (NSUK). Data on the effectiveness of fuel briquettes in substituting charcoal – by being smokeless, more affordable, better burning among key attributes was also leveraged to inform the entrepreneurship curriculum of the NSUK to include climate action solutions. This led to establishing the climate action entrepreneurship centre at the NSUK.
Fifth was lessons sharing of actions undertaken in Nigeria, with additional actors in other countries to take up climate action solutions. Accordingly, from work in Nigeria, reports for fuel briquettes and lessons in solar dryer development and decentralisation were used to cross-hybridise lessons from Nigeria with actors in Uganda, DRC, Togo, Kenya to take up the climate action solutions equally.
