Climate information services for agro-pastoralists in Africa's Great Green Wall area

Mali's Minister of Environment, Sanitation and Sustainable Development, Mr Modibo Koné, chaired the partnership signing event between ICRISAT, ​ National Agency for the Great Green Wall, Mali’s Institute of Rural Economy, Mali-Météo and Orange-Mali for the use of climate information services by agro-pastoralists in the Great Green Wall area.

“This initiative aims to make climate-smart agriculture technologies and climate information services more accessible to millions of smallholder farmers in Africa, including Mali,” said Minister Modibo Koné.

This partnership is the logical continuation of the preliminary identification and development activities initiated by the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (ANGMV) with the support of the CGIAR Accelerating Climate Research Impact for Africa (AICCRA). The Director of ANGMV, Mr Toumani Diallo was present at the event held in Bamako on 24 November 2022.

Dr Ramadjita Tabo, Regional Director-West and Central Africa, ICRISAT said, “The public-private partnership was identified as a fundamental need of the communities following a participatory diagnosis with the partners of the implementation of the Great Green Wall.”

These partnerships will help to equip and positively influence the decisions of agro-pastoralists in the Great Green Wall area on environmental issues and also on aspects of climate change for good production and productivity in their respective sectors, said the representative of the Director General of IER, Dr Adama Korbo.

“The goal is to improve agricultural productivity, increase food security and the income of farmers in order to ensure sustainable rural development and make the rural sector the engine of economic growth in Mali,’’ said Issa Traoré the representative of Mali-Météo.

Dr Zougmoré Robert, Regional Coordinator, AICCRA, said that the overall objective is to strengthen the partnership between stakeholders and to develop mechanisms to improve access to climate information services and smart agriculture technologies.

Dr Bouba Traore, the coordinator of this activity, presented on the protocols of partnerships. He said that on the basis of their respective mandates and what each partner can bring or receive from the others, the stakeholders have developed and validated a "Business to business to client" model between the producers of climate information (Mali -Weather and IER), dissemination services (extension agents and Orange Mali) and end-users such as municipalities, radios and farmers' organizations with a particular focus on the Great Green Wall intervention area in Mali.

Banner image: (from L to R) Mr Yaya Bouaré, ​ Dr. Bouba Traoré, Mr. Modibo Koné, Toumani Diallo, Mr. Issa Traoré, Dr. Ramadjita Tabo, and Dr Adama Korbo.