BY SELLINA SHEENA NKOWANI
Efforts aimed at supporting climate change and resilience should be designed and implemented with input and engagement of local stakeholders, the statement signed Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), says.
In a statement released at the end of the three day Fourth Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDAIV) conference in Marrakech, Morocco, the umbrella body of African climate change conscious civil society organisations, said much as climate change is a global phenomenon, its impacts are highly localized hence the need for development partners, researchers, policymakers and other institutions to make efforts to be more accountable to vulnerable communities by way of involving them in climate discussions and decisions.
“No two communities will have the same combination of exposure, vulnerability and capacity to act making it imperative to include all stakeholders in adaptation and resilience efforts,” the statement reads.
The statement stresses that agriculture in Africa comes with the issue of climate change adaptation, finance and accountability and because of this, it is essential that civil society and farmer organizations have the opportunity to contribute to the discussions and exchange experiences with African government and other stakeholders to build consensus of approaches which could be taken to improve resilience for smallholder farmers.
The three day conference held under the theme; Africa can feed Africa now: Translating climate change knowledge into action, drew a diverse pool of both African and international climate change think tanks who for three days deliberated on how best African can turn climate change challenges into opportunities that can enable the continent feed its people.
The general consensus was that yes, Africa has all it takes to turn around climate challenges into opportunities by using climate data, information and knowledge to boost sustainable agricultural productivity.
With most of African countries’ economy being largely agro-based, PACJA is asking African governments to allocate 10 percent of their national budget towards promotion of climate smart agriculture which CSOs strongly believe will boost agricultural development.
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