A training course to facilitate the uptake of Climate-Smart Agriculture and Climate Information Systems in Senegal had farmers and technicians under the Accelerating Impact of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) project in attendance.
In Senegal, ICRISAT is leading the capacity building for the National Agricultural Extension Systems’ technical staff as well as beneficiary farmers and other key stakeholders in the pearl millet and groundnut value chain.
The Regional Center for Improvement of Plant Adaptation to Drought (CERAAS) of the Senegalese Institute of Agricultural Research (ISRA) is hosting ICRISAT.
“The training course focused on improving the use of climate-smart technologies for improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the target communities,” the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) said.
“The dissemination of climate information, agro-advisories and services, the production of quality seed of groundnut, pearl millet, cowpea, and the production of beef and milk are listed as priority agricultural value chains in the project. The training additionally equipped participants on the processes for setting up and monitoring trials and demonstration plots for the 2022 cropping season.
The AICCRA project, financed by the World Bank for a period of three years (2021-2023), has three major components: a) developing of an agricultural database and a tool to help decision-making, b) strengthening the capacity of actors for sustainable production of climate services in Senegal, and c) promoting, validating and adopting Climate-Smart Agriculture techniques in Africa.
The three-day course was held at the Senegalese National Agronomic Research Center (CNRA) in Bambey had 30 participants drawn from three target clusters – Méouane, Daga Birame and Thiel.
They were trained by Folorunso Akinseye, ICRISAT scientist based at CERAAS; Aliou Faye, Project coordinator at CERAAS; Jacob Emmanuel, scientific officer, ICRISAT-Tanzania, and Ousmane Sy, former millet breeder at ISRA.
