Safeguarding African Foodsheds and Ecosystems for all Actorsacross Local, regional and international Levels to manage migration (SAFE4ALL)

Research Introduction

Agriculture is the foundation of the livelihoods of billions of people worldwide, including African rural and urban households, farming communities, and cities. However, weather and climate risks have increased, creating a need for better access to climate and weather information, soil water management, insurance, and other climate-agricultural services. Although some services exist, they are often separated and follow a top-down information
provision that operates on a national scale.

Research challenges

SAFE4ALL aims to address the interconnected issues of climate change,
food security, ecosystem and disaster management, and migration in Africa by
providing user-centered climate services. It will innovate and bundle affordable, and scalable services that include location-specific information to meet the needs of end-users in Kenya, Ghana and Zimbabwe. Three co-creation case studies will be organized in these African countries, engaging with small-scale farming communities, municipalities, and cities.

SAFE4ALL will coordinate efforts from governments, civil society, academia, and
international organizations to mobilize the capacity of end-users, build food security and resilience, promote sustainable agriculture, and provide social safety nets to affected localities. Specific objectives include establishing a collaborative, co-creation, and engagement platform for the prioritization and co-development of needs-based climate services, identifying adaptation challenges, requirements, and enabling factors and complementing policies in adapting to the wider socio-economic environment, and exploring and harnessing existing services to improve the uptake and effectiveness of climate services and develop sustainable business and implementation models for services. The outcomes aim to manage migration to cities by ensuring that communities are better equipped to adapt and cope with the impacts of climate change while enhancing food security in a rapidly changing world.