Projects and Flagship Initiatives in Ghana

Projects and Flagship Initiatives in Ghana - Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT

With a diverse range of projects and flagship initiatives, the Alliance strategically addresses critical issues such as biodiversity conservation, climate resilience, digital inclusion, and nutrition improvement. These efforts are designed to leverage agricultural innovation and research, ultimately fostering resilience, promoting food security, and empowering communities across Ghana. 

Project Title 

Project Rationale 

Promote Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) in West Africa 

Promoting climate-smart agriculture is essential for enhancing resilience in West Africa. This project aims to promote climate-smart agriculture in Ghana, contributing to climate resilience, food security, and sustainable development in the region.   

Support to the Agroecology Coalition Secretariat 

The Agroecology Coalition aims to accelerate the transition to sustainable and  equitable food systems using agroecology.   

 

Partnership for further development and dissemination of ClimMob, beneficial environmental and social impact at scale and the common good 

To accelerate climate action, digital inclusion plays a pivotal role. This project further develops and disseminates ClimMob - a digital platform facilitating climate monitoring and response. By promoting digital inclusion, it aims to foster environmental sustainability in Ghana.   

Advancing translation and impact of the Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI) 

The Periodic Table of Food Initiative (PTFI) is a global effort to create a public database of the biochemical composition and function of the food we eat using state-of-the-art mass spectrometry technologies and bioinformatics. The Initiative is supported by The Rockefeller Foundation and its public charity, RF Catalytic Capital, Inc. and the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research and facilitated by the American Heart Association and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture). 

Project Title

Project Rationale

Building Equitable Climate-Resilient African Bean and Insect Vectors (BRAINS) 

The BRAINS Project aims to transform agriculture in 15 African countries by integrating beans, beneficial insects, and fruit trees like mangoes, citrus, and avocados, promoting low-carbon practices, and enhancing climate resilience, particularly among women and youth farmers through climate-smart technologies.    

 

Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) 

AICCRA (Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa) is a major initiative designed to scale climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and climate information services (CIS) for millions of smallholder farmers across Africa. 

 

Strengthening community seed banks in Ghana 

Supported by the Anton Jurgens Fonds (NUS Network-Ghana), Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, the project places strong emphasis on youth and student involvement to ensure long-term sustainability and promote innovation within the agricultural sector. The initiative seeks not only to enhance farmers’ incomes but also to strengthen resilience to climate change by positioning indigenous seeds as both sustainable resources and economic assets for smallholder farmers across the region. 

 

Landscapes for Sustainable Cocoa Supply Chains 

This project is driven by the need to address systemic sustainability risks in cocoa production by moving beyond farm-level interventions to a broader landscape approach that integrates environmental protection, climate resilience, and livelihood improvement across cocoa-growing regions. 

Climate Change Impacts on Deforestation and Crop Expansion in Cashew Growing Regions in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana 

This project is driven by the need to understand how climate change is reshaping land-use dynamics in major cashew-producing landscapes, where rising agricultural pressure is increasingly linked to deforestation and ecosystem degradation. 

Project Title

Project Rationale

A Climate-Smart Agronomy Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (AgVACS).  

The AgVACS project aims to co-create participatory experimental modelling networks in Ghana and Nigeria that enable farmers and scientists to jointly evaluate, optimize, and scale climate-smart agronomic practices particularly for VACS-priority crops to improve productivity, equity, resilience, and sustainability under current and future climate conditions. 

Strengthening Financial Institutions Capacity for Climate-Smart Lending in West Africa 

This project seeks to strengthen financial institutions' ability to design, deploy, and scale climate-smart financial products through the Agricultural Adaptation Facility (AAF) while managing climate risks effectively. The approach will focus on de-risking portfolios through climate-analytics, enhancing financial institutions’ capabilities, and fostering innovation in climate finance solutions. 

Beans For Women For Empowerment 

(BEANS4WOMEN) 

Beans for Women for Empowerment (B4WE) project seeks to improve the entire beans value chain by providing rural women with resources, training, and social support to transform their lives and uplift their communities.       

Investigating smallholder banana planting material movement in East and West Africa 

This project aims to safeguard banana and plantain production in East and West Africa by reducing crop losses caused by banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) 

Project Title

Project Rationale

Program for Seed System Innovations for Vegetatively Propagated Crops in Africa (PROSSIVA) 

PROSSIVA aims to enhance the efficiency, productivity, and profitability of VPC seed systems in target countries of Africa through conducting research and delivering innovations that will overcome seed system bottlenecks. 

Technical Services to Support Climate Adaptation in the Food Security Sector of Africa & South Asia (Framework Agreement) 

This project responds to the growing threat of climate change on agricultural productivity and food security, particularly for vulnerable smallholder farmers. Climate risks such as droughts, floods, and rising temperatures are not sufficiently integrated into current food system investments, limiting their effectiveness and resilience. The project therefore aims to strengthen technical capacity and scale climate-smart solutions to ensure more resilient, sustainable food systems. 

Combating malnutrition in Africa through Diversification of the Food system (HealthyDiets4Africa) 

HealthyDiets4Africa is a transdisciplinary research project that harnesses the potential of food systems diversification to address malnutrition and improve food and nutrition security. Its central hypothesis is that diversifying elements of the food chain is key to improving health and reducing malnutrition in Africa, while bringing additional economic and environmental benefits.   
CGIAR Sustainable Farming Science Program   A CGIAR-wide program aimed at increasing nutritious food production to meet the demands of a growing population, reversing the decline in agricultural productivity driven by climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and addressing persistent social inequities, including the exclusion of youth, women, and marginalized communities from agricultural production.