Project

Climate Resilient Agri-Business for Tomorrow

Many countries across East Africa are experiencing rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall patterns, and an increasing number of extreme weather events such as floods and prolonged droughts.

Climate change is having far-reaching consequences not only for the agricultural sector, but also for the management of natural resources as well as the food security situation for the growing urban and rural population. Adoption of climate smart and ecologically sustainable production methods is key to improving productivity of the existing food crop production and supply systems.

CRAFT's Objectives

The CRAFT programme objectives include:

  • Increasing the adoption of climate smart practices and technologies amongst famers and agro-enterprises
  • Increasing investments and business growth in climate smart value chains
  • Creating the enabling environment necessary to ensure large-scale roll out of market driven climate smart agriculture

CRAFT will implement the following activities:

  • Climate risk analysis of major food value chains and identification of business opportunities in CSA
  • Business case development and matching grant funding to private sector, SMEs, and farmer cooperatives
  • Levering investments by facilitating access to finance
  • Policy influencing and operationalisation of climate plans
  • Feedback of practical applicability of CSA technologies, models and climate science
  • Knowledge sharing among countries and networks

Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR) is leading the climate risk analysis of major food value chains, including climate change impact assessments on agricultural production. WENR contributes to capacity building of financial institutions on climate change related risks as well as to the creation of an enabling environment necessary to ensure large-scale roll out of market driven climate smart agriculture. Wageningen University, through 2 PhD students assigned to the CRAFT project, will support the development of the evidence base on the socio-economic and environmental impact derived from the application of various climate smart practices, technologies, and interventions.