The African Development Fund (ADF) has approved a $14.64 million grant to help countries across the Sahel scale up climate adaptation measures and strengthen food security, the Bank confirmed following a Board meeting held on 21 November in Abidjan.
The financing—sourced from the ADF’s Climate Action Window—will support the second phase of the Programme to Strengthen Resilience to Food and Nutrition Insecurity in the Sahel (P2-P2RS), a regional initiative designed to help communities withstand extreme weather, drought, and recurrent food crises.
Under the new package, the ADF will expand the “climate-smart villages” model, which promotes sustainable land use, improved irrigation, drought-resistant crops, and renewable energy solutions around key hydro-agricultural infrastructure. The Bank said this model has shown strong results in improving yields and stabilising rural livelihoods.
A major component of the project focuses on strengthening the regional seed system. The grant will fund the dissemination of high-yield, climate-resilient seed varieties, update the Regional Catalogue of Species and Varieties, support national research institutions, and build the capacity of seed companies to ensure wider availability of improved seeds across the Sahel. Women and youth will benefit from targeted empowerment programmes to enhance their participation in the agricultural value chain.
The project will also bolster climate information services across the region. Funding will be used to modernise climate data collection networks, improve real-time monitoring, and develop an integrated digital platform for managing climate, disaster, and loss-and-damage data. A harmonised reporting framework will be established to enable countries to track and respond more effectively to weather-related shocks.
According to the ADF, the grant will benefit 30 municipalities and support the establishment of 60 climate-smart villages, giving communities better tools to anticipate, withstand, and recover from climate stresses.
The African Development Bank Group says the investment aligns with its broader commitment to enhancing resilience and strengthening food systems across Africa’s most climate-vulnerable regions.
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