Addis Ababa — The African Development Fund has approved a 9.3-million USD grant to strengthen climate resilience, improve water security and boost food production in vulnerable communities in Ethiopia and South Sudan.

The Board of Directors of the Fund approved the grant with the view to strengthening climate resilience, improving water security and boosting food production in vulnerable communities in the countries, according to the African Development Bank Group.

The project will construct and/or rehabilitate seven solar powered water supply systems and introduce integrated flood management measures that will provide reliable access to safe drinking water for nearly 80,000 people, it added.

The Fund will also support the provision of climate smart agriculture training for more than 100,000 farmers, helping them improve food production while adapting to increasingly unpredictable weather.

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

About 19,300 youth will receive training in agricultural skills, entrepreneurship and development of climate resilient value chains, it was learned.

Communities will benefit from new sanitation facilities in schools and public institutions, improved hygiene services and women-led local water management committees. Farmers - most of them women - will gain access to improved seeds, agricultural extension services, demonstration farms and climate resilient technologies that increase productivity while protecting natural resources.

The project will also restore degraded land through large scale tree planting and watershed rehabilitation and the strengthening of ecosystems.

The multinational Climate Proof Water4Food project promotes shared technical standards, cross border learning and coordinated approaches, thereby advancing regional cooperation to manage climate risks that affect communities in both countries.