The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) today launched the first climate-smart agriculture pilot projects in Benin, Mauritania, Niger and Chad for an amount of €842,730. four projects were selected following the first call for proposals in September 2019 of the GCCA + West Africa regional project (GCCA+WA), funded by the European Union to the tune of €12.1 million, which focused on the theme “Innovations for climate-smart family farming in West Africa”.

In Benin, the climate-smart rice-growing project led by Eclosio for a total budget of €229,037, including a grant of €183,230 from GCCA+AO; in Mauritania, there is a project for innovative solar solutions for irrigation in the municipality of Boghé, led by the Temnyia association, for a total budget of €255,000 including a grant of €229,500; in Niger, the integrated agriculture and livestock project for increased resilience of women and young people led by the Federation of Unions of Farmers' Groups of Niger for a total budget of €267,000 with a grant of €230,000 and Chad, a project to support ecological, self-sufficient, sustainable family farming adapted to climate change in peri-urban areas through the introduction of organic fertilizers, led by Oxfam France, for a total budget of €250,000 including a grant of € 200,000.

The GCCA + West Africa project (GCCA+WA) is implemented by Expertise France under the aegis of ECOWAS and with the participation of CILSS.