United Purpose works with some of the most climate vulnerable people in the world. While Africa contributes less than 3 percent of global greenhouse emissions, its population is disproportionately impacted by the direct impacts of flooding and drought, and the indirect effects of increased pest attacks, rising costs of inputs and food and so on. 70% of the population of Africa is engaged in agriculture, much of it rain fed. In Ghana, for example, only 0.89% of cultivated land is irrigated, leaving rural populations reliant on unreliable rain patterns (UNDP). The low yield is attributed to low-adoption of good agronomic practices by smallholder farmers, dwindling rainfall (due to Sahel rain patterns creeping in), intensifying weather variabilities and limited access to relevant information and direction from agriculture extension agents on the respond
to emerging challenges in the production of these crops. Specific climate related challenges include desertification, heat stress on plants, changes in soil moisture and temperature, changes in height of water table, and less water available for crop production. Impacts of climate variability may result in increased cost of production, low yields, increased post-harvest losses, food insecurity and loss of livelihoods. They are less likely to have access to the knowledge, skills and assets needed to adapt to a changing climate and mitigate their risks; leaving them more vulnerable to shocks and stresses. In the Gambia, 10-20% of its total land area is seasonally or diurnally flooded. The Government of Senegal (GoS) announced in June 2016 that Senegal has lost more than one million trees since 2010 mainly due to illegal logging and the timber trade.
United Purpose works with mostly rural communities in West Africa to help them find ways to increase their household climate resilience, enabling thriving individuals, enterprises and communities.
Ability of a system, household and individual to prepare for, mitigate or recover from the impacts of negative events using predetermined coping responses in order to preserve and restore essential basic structures and functions (e.g. human life, housing, productive assets) (Béné et al.,
Ability of a system, household, individual to adjust, modify or change its characteristics and actions in order to better respond to existing and anticipated future climatic shocks and stresses and to take advantage of opportunities (Béné et al., 2012, Brooks, 2003, IPCC, 2012).
Early warning systems Savings and access to credit Disaster risk reduction Irrigation
Climate smart agriculture Access to information Natural resource management Crop and income diversification
Advocacy In the Upper West region of Ghana, our training on climate change and the advocacy cycle motivated 150 community members (mostly women) to organise a peaceful march to lobby the District Assembly to better implement environmental by-laws. They were particularly concerned about the lack of action being taken on deforestation, bush fires, and charcoal burning. The march was reported on by a local radio station and acknowledged by local government.
Inclusion We work with some of the most marginalised and excluded individuals in our target countries. These may be communities particularly affected by the changing climate, and those that disproportionately experience these impacts, particularly women. In Senegal, for example, we conducted a gender analysis of climate vulnerabilities, to identify men and women;s priorities, preferences, and needs; mobility patterns; decision making and negotiation processes; their respective exposure to disaster risk; and other constraints to full participation in the project, such as access to credit, education levels, resources, and other gender dynamics.
Participatory approach UP’s approach is to work with communities to find locally appropriate solutions, rather than implanting technologies without consultation, buy in and collaborative working. For example, in Senegal we engaged over 20,000 farmers in farmer led field trials through our USAID-funded project Increasing awareness and uptake of improved seeds through farmer demonstrations and farmer to farmer networks
in Senegal Improved and modern seed varieties have great potential to increase yields, contributing to climate resilience. But farmers are faced with real life challenges that mean that sometimes when they adopt these varieties they do not realise the expected yield increases or they fail to adopt the varieties at all despite proven research station findings that they are high yielding. Farmers need to be exposed to (and ideally have a direct or indirect connection to field demonstrations or other farmers fields) the improved varieties being grown under their local growing conditions and relevant livelihood constraints, and ideally in comparison against their current varieties and practices. Without such demonstrations small farmers, and particularly the poorest of them who are the risk averse, are hesitant to adopt the varieties based on top-down recommendations from distant trial sites. in partnership with local Farmer Organisations (FOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in six regions of Senegal we promoted the widespread adoption of improved crop varieties through a coordinated network of farmer demonstration trials and sharing of the experiences of those trials, thereby empowering informed farmer decision-making through evidence of local adaptability. The 735 demonstration trial sites over two years covered the main spatial and social diversity of agronomic and livelihood constraints. The project has enabled 20,891 farmers to directly be exposed to the target technologies and learn from this experience. In addition this reach extended to 92,750 small farmers through an malert campaign run by the project and a radio campaign delivered in appropriate local languages by the ICT Agriculture Extension Challenge grantee also led by United Purpose under a separate USAID award
Early warning systems, data collection
financial literacy enables smallholders to make informed decisions about their small businesses and farm management. It encourages farmers to approach their operations as a business as well as way of life.
In Senegal we recently completed the project Increasing resilience of vulnerable communities through Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) community planning and institutionalisation in Senegal, funded by ECHO. In Senegal, about 987,000 people are food insecure. Drought is a major challenge and continues to pose a threat to 139,200 people, particularly in the northern regions. As well as community-led Disaster Risk Reduction planning, we mapped the existing Early Warning System and helped bridge the gaps in this system in order to enable it to be accessible to people at the community level and also for people at the community level to be able to share information and trigger warnings - ie a two way flow of information centred on connecting local communities to commune - department - regional - national EWS systems. This was enhanced with the use of integrated ICT tools that are effective in communicating with and receiving information from rural communities. For example, results from PVCAs were broadcast by community radio stations and community members were able to respond in an interactive way. To do this we used innovative ICT tools such as M-alerts (mass messaging to determined lists of people through SMS and voicebased messaging in local language) and YouTalk, allowing for local language responses to radio stations - who would be polling responses from communities and sharing this information with other actors in the EWS and DRR system at the local level.
In Ghana, we help to set up and support Community Savings and Credit Associations (CSCAs), which act as the primary vehicle for delivering financial services to some of the most vulnerable and isolated communities., saving and advancing loans on their own terms and conditions. Members are trained on how CSCAs function, record keeping and facilitation, and supported to develop policies and rules, and to shareout interest. Interest is charged on loans as agreed by members and earnings shared equitably at the end of the cycle. CSCA leaders play a significant role in designing and implementing the project, ensuring that it continues to be locally relevant and sustained beyond the project lifespan. This model has been proven to reach the rural poor more effectively than MFIs, at larger scale and in more remote areas. It responds to the need for uncomplicated, sustainable and accessible financial services. We adapt the microfinance model to meet the needs of smallholder farmers. We enable farmers to access emergency credit through CSCAs to respond to unforeseen shocks, a service rarely provided through formal institutions due to geographical and administrative constraints. However, we largely adopt a savings-led approach that relies on members’ own savings, reducing reliance on external funds that often come with unsuitably high interest rates and repayment terms. This responds to learning that has found that, when engaged first with credit services only, the target group are more exposed to increased risk of debt and an erosion of assets, presenting them as a more ’risky’ investment. The savings-led approach is thus more empowering and reduces vulnerability.
Limited savings
income/
credit/
Limited financial literacy and barriers to saving and accessing loans also limit smallholders’ ability to adapt to and mitigate against the risks of climate change. They are less likely to be able to save to invest in income-diversifying small businesses, or to buy food if their crop yield is low. In Ghana these barriers are addressed in an integrated programme including climate smart agriculture, supporting over 15,000 community members to access appropriate savings, loans and insurance products annually. Improved
Irrigation Most of the smallholders we work with rely on rainfed crops and have limited capital to invest in often costly irrigation schemes. In the Gambia we are working with women’s horticulture groups to support 10 garden schemes across the country with solar irrigation facilities, which will be used to improve productivity in a climateresilient and sustainable way, by providing quality and reliable irrigation through clean energy. This will benefit around 4,500 people in total.
Increased productivity and Climate Smart Agriculture We support smallholders to use Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) techniques. CSA is an approach to developing the technical, policy and investment ocnditions needed to achieve sustainable agricultural development for food security under climate change. It integrates; 1. Sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes; 2. Adapting and building resilience to climate change; 3. Reducing and;or removing greenhouse gases emissions, where possible. This approach also aims to strengthen livelihoods and food security, especially of small holders, by improving the management and use of natural resources and adopting appropriate methods and technologies for the production, processing and marketing of agricultural goods. CSA is not a single specific agricultural technology or practice that can be generally applied. However, an example training program includes; climate change and climate impacts on agriculture; good site selection and appropriate land preparation; selecting appropriate varieties and healthy planting materials; intercropping; crop rotation; soil and water management; Integrated Soil Fertility Management; and soil conservation. By promoting CSA, we contribute to sustainably increasing productivity and income; reducing agriculture’s contribution to climate change; and strengthening resilience to climate change and variability. Previous initiatives have seen a 14% increase in maize yield in 1 year. Demonstration fields, local radio shows, mobile voice messaging and training videos are some of the successful tools we have used. In Ghana, we developed a training manual to be used for trainers, to help ensure consistency in training for maize and cassava production in the wake of changing climatic conditions and to support sustainable production of these crops. It is developed to equip smallholder maize and cassava farmers with principles of climate smart agriculture, integrated soil fertility management, integrated pest management and guidelines on harvesting and post-harvest management. We have built the capacity of government-employed agricultural extension agents to deliver this training, for sustainability. In Guinea we work with ’market gardeners’’ women who grow vegetables, flowers and fruits. They rely on small plots of land with an average size of 1 to 1.5 hectares. These small scale farmers face numerous challenges in this growing market. A significant one is the changing climate that makes it harder to plan when to sow seeds, apply fertilizer and harvest their
produce. One fun way we are helping to tackle the challenges of climate change is by partnering with One Mobile Projector per Trainer (OMPT) to create training videos from scratch. Our team have learned how to make story boards, target messaging and produce videos about improved irrigation, how to tackle erosion and how to tackle pest invasions (an increasingly common occurrence with the changing climate). We are now screening these videos in convenient locations for the market gardeners, using OMPT’s low cost, easy-to-transport technology. We have also helped to set up market garden perimeters fenced by the installation of hedgerows will increase plant resources while decreasing logging and protecting crops.
Lack of information on climate change and environmental issues In Senegal, we are implementing the project, Community led Environmental Governance, funded by the European Union. To encourage behavior change and awareness in the three intervention regions and across Senegal, we are carrying out a nationwide radio and communication campaign. The goal is to engage the citizens throughout Senegal in a discussion of pressing environmental challenges, their consequence on local livelihoods and possible solutions using interactive radio shows;campaigns, an annual forest festival, demonstrations, school field trips and mobilization of locally effective means of communication (incl. kanyelengs – traditional communicators who use drama, comedy and song, rappers). The awareness campaign highlights the importance of forests to overall development (economic and social;cultural values of forests;non timber forest products; impact of deforestation on agricultural production, on womens’ livelihoods, nutrition, reslience and climate change mitigation), connect it to other environmental problems (soil erosion, desertification, biodiversity loss and climate change) and present the opportunities and solutions that sustainable forest management provides (gender -equal community forest management, reforestation, agroforestry, energy efficiency e.g. fuel-efficient stoves and sustainable substitutes for firewood; charcoal). Content is delivered in local languages through local radio stations strengthening their potential to be understood, trusted, and lead to behavior change on environmental issues.
Natural resource management We recognise the link between livelihoods and climate and environmental issues, particularly relating to deforestation and charcoal burning. In the Casamance region of Senegal we are working to address the drivers of forest destruction; conflict and lack of community control over forest resources; lack of alternatives to forest destroying livelihoods; poverty and lack of information across the Casamance and Senegal as a whole. We are implementing the project, Communityled Environmental Governance funded by the European Commission. Through the project we aim to promote a culture of citizen responsibility toward environmental protection by; supporting communities and local authorities on forest governance; building capacity of CSOs and authorities on environmental management and citizen engagement. We promote environmental monitoring in sensitive forest areas subject to rapid degradation; facilitate community-led management of natural resources; build capacity of civil society to educate, organise and empower local communities, put in place forest committee management structures, build their capacity and develop a local forest management plan with support of authorities; support local CSOs to conduct analysis and disseminate information; and scale up good practices (community forest management, substitutes to charcoal, effective approaches to sub granting and capacity building). We have also enabled wide scale community awareness of negative effects of mismanagement of natural resources through interactive radio campaigns. We have supported community and local authority dialogue consultations on the rational management of natural resources at the local level including integration into local development planning tools through citizen dialogue with authorities. Through small grants awarded to local CSOs, we have helped to generate labor-intensive, environmentally friendly jobs and livelihoods for women and young people linked to focus sectors of the project; scale up of proven, cost-efficient, labor-intensive techniques for producing alternative charcoal from waste organic material and develop alternatives to reduce the use of firewood and charcoal fuel for fish drying in Kafountine
Diversification to non-farming activities and enterprise development By supporting smallholders to both diversify their incomes into non-farming activities, and to develop micro and small enterprises along the agricultural value chain, we help them become more resilient to shocks and more able to ’save for a rainy day’. In Guinea, for example, we are recognised leaders in the Market Analysis and Development (MA&D) approach and were the first to apply the approach to the WASH and agriculture sectors in the country. With funding from the Big Lottery Fund, UP worked to increase market shares and incomes for 1560 rural producers (1412 women) through enhanced business skills, organisations, advocacy and lobbying capacities. We also helped to reduce barriers to entry in Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) markets for poor rural traders through enhanced collaboration, exchange, networking and strategic partnerships along the NTFP value chain. We focused on building capacity in resource management, harvesting and domestication for target entrepreneurs leading to sustainable NTFP supply chains. By the end of the project we had supported 64 enterprise groups to develop business plans. All groups met or exceeded their financial projections and their income ranged between £236 and £551
Improve awareness and preparedness for future climate change We integrate climate awareness into training, so that smallholders have basic knowledge of what climate change is, how it might affect them, what they can do about it and what their rights are. For example, in northern Ghana, we reached over 30,000 people through radio and community based messages about the detrimental impacts of deforestation and bushfires, as well as wider information about climate change. Since this information campaign, we have seen parkland management committees implementing self-managed fining systems to deter and punish community members found chopping down trees or setting fires.
Project Title, Donor and Value
Gambia Senegal
Timeline
Summary
01/02/2017 to 31/01/2021
Improved nutrition and food security of 18,000 rural households in 5 regions of the Gambia through increased, diversified production, stronger value chains, better market access to and consumption of fortified & high micro nutrient foods. This project promotes the use of ’climate smart’ agricultural practices (i.e.; organic fertiliser, soil and water conservation technologies) to ensure environmental sustainability while supporting smallholder producers to build resilience to climate change. African Leafy Vegetables and Pearl Millet are also promoted for their high level of resilience to adverse growing conditions, as they are climate-resilient
Improved Horticulture Techniques for MarketOriented Enterprises for female horticulture producers in the Gambia Nema;Ministry of Agriculture ;IFAD £408.343,00
13/07/2017 to 12/07/2020
This action will contribute to enhancing production levels and market access for women and youth across The Gambia in order to lift them out of the cycle of poverty and take their production and business potential to scale. The project will materially support 10 garden schemes across the country with solar irrigation facilities, which will be used to improve productivity in a climate-resilient and sustainable way, by providing quality and reliable irrigation through clean energy. This will benefit around 4,500 people in total
Increasing resilience of vulnerable communities through Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) community planning and institutionalisation ECHO €500000
01/04/2017 to 30/09/2018
Targeted communities in Senegal have a supported and responsive Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) system in place and targeted local government authorities have the capacity to integrate DRR in their local development planning, directly reaching over 18,000 people
17/10/2017 to 16/10/2020
This project aims to; 1) Reduce trafficking in timber and charcoal in Senegal through effective environmental governance and monitoring based on citizen engagement in forest management and eco-friendly livelihood opportunities; 2) Promote a culture of citizen responsibility towards environmental protection through nationwide advocacy campaign. The project will reach 45,000 people through CSO sub-grants, as well as 90; villages through 30 community forest committees
20/11/2017 to 19/11/2020
this project aims at supporting women to graduate from kafos into lead farmers, value chain enterprises - creating employment in their communities and showing innovative pathways to an improved business environment for women who wish to step up to farming as a business. At least 20 women will become commercial farmers, individually register land (at least 0.5HA each), gain valuable entrepreneurial skills and sustainable links to business services and markets. This will create direct on-farm employment for at least 200 women linked to 20 gardens, with potential for more employment creation along strengthened value chains.
01/01/2017 to 30/06/2020
The project supports market gardeners in Kankan, Faranah, Bok; et Kindia, Guinea to become more climate resilient, and to protect the natural environment, through improved irrigation, soil fertility management, tackling erosion (through mulching, buttresses, and grass strips), producing quality seedlings and seeds (nurseries and seed conservation, in partnership with research centres), diversification and pest management. The market garden perimeters fenced by the installation of hedgerows will increase plant resources while decreasing logging and protecting crops.
Partnership for Accelerated Local Economic Development in Brong Ahafo. Funded by European Commission € 882433.91
16/1/2017 to 16/6/2020
The project aims to strengthen crop value chains (particularly maize, cassava and cashews) and market access for 10,000 smallholder crop farmers and 500 agro-entrepreneurs in the Kintampo South, Nkoranza North, Nkoranza South and Wenchi districts. This project will build the capacity of over 10,000 smallholders to use climate smart agricultural practices.
Conserving Shea Trees for Sustainable Livelihoods in northern Ghana Mitsubishi Foundation, annual grants of £45,000
2015-19
This project aims to achieve a viable market price for the shea nuts and butter and help reduce poverty through an environmentally sound and viable business opportunity.
Reducing micro nutrition deficiencies of women and children in The Gambia through sustainable and integrated approaches to food fortification European Commission €2.647.983
Gouvernance Environnementale Communautaire S;n;gal (GoECO S;n;gal) European Commission € 639960,65
Diffusion d;Exp;riences innovantes de gestion participative - Mangroves et Territoires (DEMETER) European Commission € 694989
Guinea
Development of the Market Gardening Sector in Guinea European Commission € 3352657
Ghana