Last week, the African Development Bank (AfDB) last week hosted the first-ever pan-African dialogue on achieving climate change goals for adaptation and mitigation.

In a statement before the start of the conference in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, AfDB noted that local governments, civil society and the youth are getting increasingly vocal, asking more commitment at all levels to fight climate change, which makes Africa a key player in the global challenge to meet goals set in the Paris Agreement to cut greenhouse gases [GHG] emissions and to adapt to climate change.

Last year in March, AfDB rolled out a project that helped rural households in Malawi to adapt to climate change. The Climate Adaptation for Rural Livelihoods and Agriculture (CARLA) project was designed and implemented in 3 of 6 priority districts with the goal of building community resilience by developing and implementing adaptation strategies and measures that will improve agricultural production and rural livelihoods.

CARLA increased household agricultural productivity (maize from one ton per hectare to 4.5 tons per hectare) and reduced food insecurity from 9 months of hunger in a year to zero for direct project beneficiaries. This was to ensure and maximise food security in case of an unpredictable weather pattern that may disturb harvests. In addition, a total of 6,665 goats were distributed at the end of the project. Farmers who benefited from the project have testified to the success of this program.