From February 8 to 18, 2026, the ECOWAS Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food is organizing a series of five (05) thematic workshops on the provision of agrometeorological information to producers, respectively in Kandi (Benin), Manga (Burkina Faso), Tamale (Ghana), Maradi (Niger), and Kara (Togo), in collaboration with AGRHYMET, the Regional Climate Center for West Africa and the Sahel (AGRHYMET CCR-AOS). These training sessions are part of capacity building for actors and stakeholders in the Regional Project for the Promotion of IAM in West Africa.           

As part of the Regional Project for Promoting Climate-Smart Agriculture in West Africa, a training program was designed and delivered by AGRHYMET CCR-AOS to local beneficiaries (producers, municipal agriculture and livestock agents, including women) in the project intervention area. The overall objective of these workshops is to provide real-time agrometeorological information tailored to their needs. This activity specifically aims to: i) engage with producers and local stakeholders to gather information on their climate and agrometeorological needs, ii) improve producers' access to agrometeorological information tailored to their needs, iii) train producers and their local supervisors on methods and techniques for using climate and agrometeorological information and related recommendations, and iv) improve the dissemination of climate and agrometeorological information via mobile phone and radio broadcasts in local languages.

To this end, the CSA Regional Project Coordinator, Mr. Jacques André NDIONE, points out that "among the seven (07) levels of climate-smart agriculture (CCA), access to climate information contributes to improving community resilience, especially when based on an innovative approach such as CCA. Indeed, the use of climate information significantly reduces the risk of agricultural investment losses linked to delayed and/or irregular rainfall.“ In the same vein, Dr. Agali ALHASSANE, agro-meteorologist in charge of climate change adaptation at AGRHYMET CCR-AOS, points out that ” it is difficult, if not impossible, to ensure the resilience and sustainable development of the agro-sylvo-pastoral sector in West Africa and the Sahel without the widespread integration of agrometeorological and climate information into community planning and decision-making, especially in the context of climate change associated with extreme climate variability."

As a reminder, West Africa is one of the regions of the world most vulnerable to the effects and impacts of climate variability and change. Extreme weather and climate events such as droughts, devastating floods, torrential rains, and heat waves have become recurrent and threaten agricultural productivity, ecosystems, food security, and the livelihoods of thousands of households. Providing agrometeorological information to producers remains an essential component of the agricultural value chain. Moreover, all stakeholders in the agro-silvo-pastoral and fisheries sectors are unanimous on the need for access to reliable agrometeorological information, available in real time and accessible for adaptation to climate change. This access enables communities to make informed decisions about managing their farms and effectively mitigating risks.

Faced with these challenges, ECOWAS has relied on its Agricultural Policy (Ecowap) since 2005, supplemented by its strategic program on vulnerability reduction and adaptation to climate change, to launch, in June 2015, the West African Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) and its intervention framework. This Alliance contributes to African efforts to achieve the goal of adopting CSA practices by 25 million households by 2025. Since 2022, ECOWAS has had a Regional Climate Strategy (RCS).

Among other initiatives, ECOWAS is implementing, in partnership with CILSS and the Bioversity International & CIAT Alliance through the AICCRA program, the Regional Project for Promoting Climate-Smart Agriculture in West Africa. This project, financed by the Adaptation Fund through the West African Development Bank (BOAD), is being implemented by the ARAA, within the framework of the West African Alliance for Climate-Smart Agriculture. It aims, on the one hand, to reduce the vulnerability of farmers and herders to increasing climate risks that undermine food and nutrition security and, on the other hand, to strengthen income generation and the preservation of ecosystem services in poor communities..