Supporting smallhoder farmers from Central and West Africa to be more resilient and to adapt to climate change through more efficient agriculture water management is the theme of the workshop organized by FAO in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire.

This three-day workshop, organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER) of Ivory Coast, aimed at launching the country phase of the project to adapt small-scale irrigation to climate change in West and Central Africa.

Representatives of the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development of Mali, Niger, Côte d’Ivoireand The Gambia and representatives of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United nations (FAO) attended the workshop.

During the workshop, the many challenges facing agriculture and food security at global level, taking into account climate change, were discussed. In addition to being a major obstacle to achieving FAO's goal of increasing food production by about 60 percent by 2050, the anticipated effects of climate change are reducing water availability and compromising the ability of agriculture to feed the most vulnerable populations, in this case small farmers from developing countries.