GCA Convenes Roundtable to Advance Digital Technologies for Agriculture in Kenya
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airobi, Kenya, 6 July 2022 – The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) today convened a roundtable dialogue to advance digital solutions that will strengthen climate adaptation in agriculture in Kenya.
The event, organized by GCA with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives of Kenya and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), brought together more than 30 stakeholders engaged in agriculture and digital technology in Kenya, including scientists, researchers, government officials, humanitarians, and members of the non-profit sector.
GCA’s guidebook on “Mainstreaming Digital Approaches for Adaptation in Agriculture in Kenya”, developed in collaboration with the Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT, was at the heart of the roundtable discussion, moderated by GCA’s Senior Director for the Africa Region, Prof. Anthony Nyong. The guidebook anchors GCA’s strategy for digital solutions to address climate impacts on food security under the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), an Africa-owned and led initiative developed jointly by GCA and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
“Kenya – indeed Africa – is confronting a perfect storm of food, fuel, and fiscal shocks that are exacerbated by the climate emergency and that will reverberate through the economy and through communities for many years to come. The ongoing drought in parts of Kenya presents a stark example of the threat climate change presents to the lives and livelihoods of people,” said CEO of GCA, Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen.
“GCA aims to scale up digital solutions that can help communities and the government assess, plan, and finance solutions to address climate risks in priority value chains”
The goal of the event was to offer insights into results from the study and allow key actors in Kenya’s digital agriculture ecosystem to provide feedback, network, and discuss opportunities to take them forward. In its role as a global solutions broker for adaptation action, through this dialogue, GCA brought together relevant actors to build on existing expertise and realize opportunities for collaboration.
The dialogue included a presentation by Dr. Aniruddha Ghosh, a scientist at the Alliance if Biodiversity International and CIAT, about the key highlights of the study and the potential and impacts of digital solutions in agriculture in Kenya.
Dr. Ghosh warned that the Horn of Africa is warming faster than the global average, and “over half of the total agricultural area will be affected by climate hazards, especially drought and climate extremes.” Without climate adaptation, this could lead to a severe decline in cereal and livestock production.
In Kenya specifically, climate hazards could affect 15 million people in rural areas and lead to losses of more than $2 billion in crop and livestock value, he explained.
Adaptation in agriculture through digital solutions is one way to avoid this.
“Digital adaptation is a complement and multiplier to other adaptation approaches,” Dr. Ghosh stated in his presentation.
The roundtable also included remarks by Veronica Ndetu, Director of the Climate Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Co-operatives of Kenya and a questions and remarks session facilitated by Prof. Nyong.
About the Global Center on Adaptation
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is an international organization that works as a solutions broker to accelerate action and support for adaptation solutions, from the international to the local, in partnership with the public and private sector, to ensure we learn from each other and work together for a climate resilient future. Founded in 2018, GCA is hosted by the Netherlands, working from its headquarters in Rotterdam with a knowledge and research hub based in Groningen. GCA has a worldwide network of regional offices in Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Dhaka, Bangladesh and Beijing, China. Through this evolving network of offices and global and regional GCA teams, the organization engages in high-level policy activities, new research contributions, communications, and technical assistance to governments and the private sector.
