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This briefing by the Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI) examines the status of climate change adaptation in Ghana, focusing on the opportunities and barriers to locally-led adaptation. Based on case studies across three ecological zones, the analysis highlights that while local communities are actively employing indigenous knowledge and innovative practices to build resilience, they are constrained by limited financial resources, inadequate institutional support, and poor coordination between national and sectoral strategies.

This report by the Africa Policy Research Institute (APRI) and ENDA Energy examines the landscape of climate change adaptation in Senegal, specifically focusing on the alignment between national policies, such as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) practices. Through mapping and three case studies in agriculture, coastal zones, and health, the research identifies a gap where community-driven strategies are often ignored by central government planning and suffer from a lack of direct financial access, despite being well-aligned with national goals.

This research paper evaluates the impact of integrated crop-poultry systems on food security and farm income for smallholder farmers in semi-arid Kenya, finding that combining livestock (indigenous chickens) with crop-based climate-smart agriculture practices yields higher benefits than single-technology adoption.

This report examines barriers to accessing finance for community-led resilience in the global South, drawing on the 'Voices from the Frontline' initiative. It identifies five main barriers—regulatory, market, social, economic, and technological—and highlights four sustainable alternatives: VSLA savings groups, the TWW profit-sharing model, Kiva crowdfunding via field partners (iDE), and Abalimi Bezekhaya's subsidised cost model. The report emphasizes that financial access must be paired with capacity building and mentorship, and suggests that the private sector can play a critical role as guaranteed offtakers and mentors for small-scale entrepreneurs.

This report details the outcomes of the Southern African Resilience Academy (SARA) in 2021, focusing on transforming food systems in southern Africa. Through a series of workshops and dialogues, SARA identified key leverage points for change, including the need for water-energy-food (WEF) nexus approaches, the integration of indigenous knowledge, and the empowerment of women and youth. The document provides 14 comprehensive recommendations for regional transformation, emphasizing a shift from siloed sectoral thinking to systemic, people-centered governance and the adoption of 'futuring' methodologies to plan for resilient food landscapes.

This case study describes the application of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and microfinance to support smallholder horticulture farmers in the Singida region of Tanzania, focusing on the experience of a youth entrepreneur named Amani Saidi Mwangu.

This policy brief examines the role of nuclear science and technology in advancing Africa's sustainable development, specifically aligning with the AU's Agenda 2063 and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It highlights applications in healthcare and agriculture, the existing infrastructure of research reactors, and the legal frameworks ensuring the peaceful use of nuclear energy on the continent.

This policy brief by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines the role of agriculture in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of Southern African countries. It argues that while agriculture is often mentioned, NDCs frequently lack quantifiable commitments, detailed financing plans, and the active inclusion of farmers. The document provides recommendations for strengthening these climate policies to better support farmers' interests and enhance the agency of national farmers' organisations (NFOs).

This practical guide by the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) provides a framework for integrating gender-responsive approaches into climate change adaptation and mitigation projects. It emphasizes that gender-blind approaches risk exacerbating inequalities and undermining climate resilience, while intentional gender-responsive designs lead to more sustainable and effective outcomes. The guide outlines a project cycle involving the understanding of people's needs, assessing solutions, and implementing a Monitoring, Evaluating and Learning (MEL) system with sex-disaggregated indicators.

This report synthesises 50 'Voices from the Frontline' stories from June 2020 to October 2021, documenting how local communities in Asia and the Pacific, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean coped with the compounding effects of Covid-19, climate change, and socioeconomic vulnerability. It examines these experiences through the lens of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting grassroots resilience and the need for external actors to support locally-led solutions.

This policy brief argues for increased investment in resilience in Malawi to mitigate the rising economic costs of extreme weather events. It introduces the 'triple dividend' of resilience—avoided losses, unlocked development potential, and co-benefits—and provides evidence from various sectors and regions showing that such investments are highly cost-effective compared to humanitarian aid.

This case study describes a climate-smart agriculture initiative led by the Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group (GEAG) in Campierganj, Uttar Pradesh, India. The project focuses on gender-responsive training to address increasing climate volatility, including unpredictable rains and flash floods, by empowering women who constitute over 40% of the local agricultural workforce.

This case study examines a climate-smart agriculture initiative in Nepal led by Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD). The project focused on implementing the government's Chief Minister’s Environment Friendly Model Agriculture Village Programme (CMEFMAVP) in Gandaki province, emphasizing gender-responsive strategies and the adoption of 'women-friendly' tools to overcome barriers to climate resilience among rural farmers.

A case study on a women-led climate-smart agricultural model piloted by Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) in the drought-prone Marathwada region of Maharashtra, India, which has scaled to reach over 60,000 women farmers.

This case study examines the implementation of a solar pump cooperative in Dhundi, Gujarat, which provides irrigation and generates income for farmers by selling excess electricity to the grid. The model incentivizes sustainable groundwater use and reduces carbon emissions by replacing diesel pumps.

This case study describes a women-led climate-smart agriculture model piloted by Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) in 2014 in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, India. The model focuses on sustainable farming, water conservation, and livelihood diversification to empower rural women and build household resilience against drought and climate change.

This briefing transcript features a panel of experts discussing coastal resilience in the Great Lakes region, focusing on climate impacts, nature-based solutions, tribal adaptation strategies, and climate-smart agriculture. The discussion emphasizes the economic and environmental importance of the Great Lakes, the role of coastal wetlands in mitigating flooding and improving water quality, and the necessity of integrating traditional ecological knowledge and local leadership into federal and state policy.

The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) report synthesizes the results of the Water Window Challenge, a program funded by the Z Zurich Foundation to improve flood resilience. The initiative supported 11 grantees implementing 12 projects across sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia. The report evaluates progress through four Impact Pathways: policy influencing, finance and investment, innovation and scaling, and knowledge and partnership. Key outcomes include supporting over 500,000 people, establishing new partnerships, and implementing innovative technological and agricultural solutions to mitigate flood risks.

This policy brief from the African Center for Economic Transformation outlines the vulnerability of Africa to climate change and the impact of global megatrends on the region's economic transformation, suggesting climate-smart agriculture as a potential solution for smallholder farmers.

This guidebook by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines how Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSSs) in agriculture can be leveraged to advance gender equality and women's empowerment in alignment with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Analyzing five key standards, the document identifies opportunities for VSSs to improve women's working conditions and decision-making, while warning that without gender-sensitive implementation, they may inadvertently increase women's unpaid labor burdens or reinforce patriarchal norms.