The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) have approved projects in Niger and Mozambique that aim to strengthen their populations' resilience to climate change by improving hydrometeorological methods and communication in Niger and climate-proofing agricultural supply chains in Mozambique.
Niger's Climate Information Development and Forecasting Project, which will receive USD 13 million from the CIFs' Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR), will work to improve the national climate observatory system, research and optimize climate modeling, strengthen the national early warning system, and expand communication on climate information to end users. More comprehensive and accurate hydrometeorological data means Niger can better understand current and potential future climate in all eight regions of the country so adaptation responses can be tailored to address the vulnerabilities of specific populations, particularly rural communities that rely on subsistence farming.
Over the past 40 years, Niger has experienced seven episodes of drought whose effects on agro-pastoral production, food security and socio-economic life have been dramatic. Without sustained climate change adaptation measures, rural communities that depend on rain-fed crops will continue to be fragilized and will have no alternative but to leave the vulnerable areas.
In Mozambique, rural livelihoods are threatened by frequent flooding, especially in the southern Gaza Province. Mozambique's Baixo Limpopo Irrigation and Climate Resilience Project, which will receive USD 15.75 million in PPCR funding, aims to intensify agricultural production and improve the lives of some 8,000 farm families by introducing new climate-proofed seeds, weatherizing rural roads and irrigations systems, localizing processing and storage facilities, and expanding access to markets.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) will be channeling PPCR funding to both projects along with co-financing from its own resources. The Bank has provided technical support to Niger and Mozambique throughout the design and development of these projects, and expects to approve them and begin implementation in late 2012. These projects offer measures that could be applied in other areas of the continent, and best practices will help the Bank design future climate resilience operations in other sectors.
