The Government of Senegal, in partnership with several international organizations including the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), officially launched the Africa Integrated Climate Risk Management Program (AIRCM) today.
The program aims to strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers to the impacts of climate change in seven Sahelian countries participating in the Great Green Wall: Burkina Faso, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal.
Other partners in the initiative include the Green Climate Fund, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group, the World Food Program (WFP). The Government of Senegal is working through the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock. In Senegal, the program aims to increase the resilience and improve the livelihoods and food and water security of 169,200 households in nine regions of Senegal.
The total cost of AICRM-Senegal is USD 19.77 million, out of which about 60 percent financed through a grant by the Green Climate Fund, and the remaining financed by IFAD, AfDB, ARC and the Government of Senegal. The program will be implemented for a period of six years, until 2029.
The program will build on IFAD-funded initiatives already underway or completed in the country and will benefit from synergies with the IFAD-supported Sahel Regional Program, which is currently being implemented.
According to the representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Livestock (MASAE), Ndèye Hélène Diallo, who chaired the kick-off workshop, “the AICRM Senegal program, with its holistic and integrated approach to climate risk management, will be both an appropriate response and a proven model for addressing climate change issues. The option taken by this program to consolidate the achievements and existing investments of projects and programs is to be welcomed and encouraged”.
For Matteo Marchisio, IFAD’s Country Director in Senegal, the support once again demonstrates IFAD’s commitment to supporting the development of Senegal’s agricultural sector. “IFAD is committed to continuing its engagement with the Republic of Senegal in support of our shared goal of improving economic prosperity and food and nutrition security. I am particularly pleased to witness the launch of this project, which I believe will help Senegal move towards agricultural development that is more resilient to the effects of climate change and that benefits all the country’s people,” concluded Matteo.
The AICRM program will support Senegal’s transition to low-emission agricultural development through sustainable forest and soil management, the promotion of solar power micro-grids and the use of solar energy in agricultural value chains. The program’s implementing agencies are the AGRI-JEUNES Project Coordination Unit, WFP, ARC, and the AfDB through its Africa Disaster Risks Financing Program.
The launch workshop provided an opportunity to inform and sensitize all stakeholders at national level, to mobilize the various parties involved in the implementation of the program, and to seek the institutional and political support of Senegal’s highest authorities.