The presentation was help virtually on November 7, 2023 at 9:30 AM Myanmar Standard Time. This is an output of the Myanmar Strategy Support Program, funded through the Feed the Future Initiative conducted jointly with US Agency for International Development, International Food Policy Research Institute, and Michigan State University.

Climate change is severely impacting our food systems, making it increasingly challenging to provide food security and healthy diets for all people. At the same time, food systems contribute 25–30% of all greenhouse gas emissions. The livestock sector alone contributes about half of these GHGs, and has a large land and water footprint.

Tackling the climate crisis means equipping the youth with the knowledge and skills they need to manage climate risk. Universities across Africa have an enormous role to play towards this end. By equipping the next generation of researchers, policymakers, and leaders with the knowledge and skills they need to build resilient societies, education systems represent an important avenue for sustained capacity building beyond project life cycles.

• Limited access to credit, e.g., due to a lack of collateral and documented land rights, exposes smallholder farmers to risk and liquidity constraints
• This does not only reduce farmers’ ability to cope with weather shocks but may also prevent them from investing in their farms.
• Insurance to reduce risk and thereby increase access to credit typically falls short: High costs of indemnity-based insurance; Basis risk in weather index-based insurance.
• What if we can overcome information asymmetries at a low cost, using smartphone images?

Work package 4 maps rice areas using remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS), and crop modeling. This work builds on the Remote sensing-based Information and Insurance for Crops in Emerging economies (RIICE, http://www.riice.org/) co-developed by IRRI and implemented in South and Southeast Asian countries. RIICE technology is being introduced across Africa to enhance its rice monitoring system. A set of field protocols and forms was developed for seasonal field data collection.

In most developing countries, although agricultural extension and research devolved since 1980s to promote relevance, cost-effectiveness, ownership, and sustainability, participatory action research (PAR) have been run, albeit with limited empirical evidence on their impacts on farmers livelihoods. The study use a three-stage extended regression model (ERM) to estimate the effect PAR and the promoted agronomic practices on crop produce dietary outputs considering potential endogenous engagement, omitted variable bias, reverse causality, endogenous covariates, and factor simultaneity.

Climate change is projected to cause an increase in average temperatures in Zambia and a decline in rainfall, particularly in the southern and western regions. The country experiences high rainfall variability, which climate change is expected to exacerbate, resulting in likely higher frequency and intensity of already reoccurring extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods.

Substantial model variability exists regarding the likely meteorological impact of climate change on Kenya, particularly with respect to future precipitation levels. Significant regional differences are expected, largely due to Kenya’s diverse climate profile. Overall, temperatures are projected to increase while future precipitation levels are highly uncertain. Climate change is expected to significantly affect coastal areas, including because of sea level rise risks, stronger winds, and an overall warmer and drier climate.

Mozambique is already vulnerable to extreme weather events and climate change is projected to exacerbate their frequency and intensity. The occurrence of cyclones and flooding has increased in recent years and the trend is expected to continue. The country’s coast—where 60 percent of the population, the three biggest cities, and critical infrastructure are situated—is most exposed to climate change-related risks, including damage from cyclones and projected sea level rise.

• Agriculture in Africa has untapped potential to meet regional and global food demands, but it faces
challenges like fragmentation, inefficient value chains, and climate shocks. Transforming food systems will
come at a cost.
• There is an opportunity to harness business acceleration as a catalyst for private sector financing food
systems transformation, and a powerful scaling mechanism for climate-smart agriculture (CSA).
• Science and research have a role to play in business acceleration to support the adoption and