16th September 2025
The West Africa Cluster 2025 Planning Workshop, under the Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) programme led by WASCAL, in partnership with The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), has concluded in Ouagadougou with renewed commitments to strengthen the link between academic research and practical solutions for communities across the region. The three-day meeting brought together scientists, researchers, academics, policymakers, and development partners, who agreed on concrete steps to accelerate climate resilience.
The workshop highlighted how West Africa continues to face increasingly severe climate impacts, characterised by unpredictable rainfall, prolonged droughts, and frequent floods, which disrupt lives and livelihoods. Participants emphasised that while research remains vital, its credibility will ultimately be measured by its ability to guide planting decisions, inform national policies, and provide hope to families across the Sahel.
Building on the progress achieved earlier this year in Kumasi and Bamako, the Ouagadougou meeting reviewed and advanced curricula on Climate Information Services and Climate-Smart Agriculture. Delegates agreed that these initiatives, when embedded in universities and research institutes, are already demonstrating their potential to equip students, lecturers, and practitioners with tools that deliver immediate value to farmers, policymakers, and businesses.
The event also highlighted Ouagadougou’s growing role as a hub for climate science. In addition to hosting WASCAL’s Climate Change and Informatics programme at Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, the city will soon boast one of Africa’s most advanced science competence centers. Backed by a seven-million-euro investment from the German government, the center will unite researchers from across the continent to develop collaborative solutions for climate resilience.
In his opening remarks, the Executive Director of WASCAL, Prof. Emmanuel Ramde stated, “The workshops in Kumasi and Bamako earlier this year demonstrated that the curricula on climate information services and climate-smart agriculture can go beyond theory. They have shown us that when students, lecturers, and practitioners work with the same tools and ideas, they generate solutions that are immediately relevant to farmers, policymakers, and businesses. This is the path we must now strengthen here in Burkina Faso”.
Participants stressed the importance of strategic communication as a bridge between knowledge and impact. They concluded that even the most rigorous research would fail to change lives if it remained within academic journals. Farmers need timely and practical advice, policymakers require evidence they can act upon, and communities need messages that connect to their lived experiences.
Delegates called for stronger cross-border collaboration, deeper institutional partnerships, and clear commitments that can be measured in action. The outcomes signal a clear determination to move beyond dialogue and demonstrate resilience in practice.
The AICCRA programme builds on the achievements of the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) in Africa, with a focus on scaling Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies and Climate Information Services (CIS). Central to the programme is capacity development in six African countries, WASCAL works to create awareness, train lecturers, and share training materials built around four thematic modules on CSA and CIS. Through these efforts, the project supports the uptake of CSA innovations by piloting practical solutions, while also facilitating knowledge generation and exchange to strengthen the delivery of effective climate services.