"Africa is one of the most vulnerable and affected regions of the world because of the effects of climate change. About 95% of the food grown in the region is very vulnerable to adverse weather conditions such as droughts and irregular rainfall", said Mr Germain Dasylva, FAO Representative in Côte d'Ivoire, at the opening of the training. 

This specific training, funded by the AfDB, is a result of technical assistance to FAO by the Bank to strengthen the capacities of its project managers based in Abidjan in the area of climate-smart agriculture. 

Based on a long-standing collaboration between FAO and AfDB, the two organizations saw their joint efforts strengthened in Rome in August 2018, when the strategic Alliance was signed by the Director-General of FAO, José Graziano da Sylva, and the President of the AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina. The new strategic alliance aims to improve the quality and impact of investment in food security, nutrition, social protection, agriculture, forestry, Fisheries and rural development. 

Climate-smart agriculture is a key element in achieving the ambitious objectives set out in the new strategic alliance, as well as in the AfDB's strategy, action plan and flagship program. Climate-smart agriculture aims to strengthen the capacity of agricultural systems to support food security, by integrating the need for adaptation and the potential for mitigation in sustainable agriculture development strategies. 

For five days, this initial training focuses on the key concepts and approaches associated with climate action in agricultural sectors, including climate-smart agriculture, and looks at the five-step implementation approach, the diffusion of locally-appropriate practices and context-specific technologies, while addressing institutional, political and financial barriers. 

This training introduces preliminary guidelines on how to integrate climate change concerns into the AfDB's agricultural investment projects/programs. It also focuses on the AfDB's action plan and tools on climate change, as well as the AfDB's climate-smart agriculture program. Presentations and panel discussions on integrating climate change and climate-smart agriculture into agricultural investment projects will provide recommendations on the best way to integrate smart-agriculture in the AfDB's project cycle.