Regional training and experience sharing on climate change adaptation for stakeholders of the Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) promotion project in West Africa

The regional workshop on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) was held in Aneho, Togo, from September 15 to 19, 2025. It brought together 36 participants from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, and Togo, representing agricultural development, meteorology, research, extension, rural advisory services, farmers’ organizations, and regional institutions. Organized by the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA-ECOWAS) and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT under the AICCRA program, the workshop aimed to strengthen technical capacities in CSA. The workshop combined theoretical sessions, participatory discussions, peer learning, and field visits to climate-resilient aquaculture and agricultural innovation sites. These activities enabled participants to deepen their understanding of CSA concepts, technologies, and cross-cutting issues such as gender and social inclusion. Country experience-sharing sessions highlighted common constraints to CSA adoption, including limited access to inputs and finance, weak research-extension linkages, socio-cultural barriers, and institutional coordination challenges. They also identified enabling factors such as national CSA strategies, community-based organizations, public financing schemes, and
multi-actor cooperation platforms. Workshop evaluation results showed a substantial improvement in participants’ knowledge of CSA practices and their relevance for climate adaptation in West African agriculture. Participants expressed strong interest in applying and disseminating the knowledge gained through training, advisory services, policy integration, and community-level engagement. Overall, the workshop contributed to building a regional network of CSA actors and created a foundation for scaling climate-smart practices through continued collaboration, capacity strengthening, and institutional support.