Climate Action
Why Climate Change Matters
to Us
Climate change is one of the most urgent threats facing food and nutrition security in Africa. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, extreme weather events, and land degradation are eroding hard-won gains in agricultural productivity and rural development. Smallholder farmers—especially women, youth, and those in fragile or conflict-affected regions—are on the frontline of this crisis.
John Choptiany
Team Lead
SPOTLIGHT
A multidisciplinary evidence base for climate-smart cocoa production
Key Projects and Initiatives
Impact at a Glance
CSA adoption
Ghana study shows CSA adoption (drought maize + row planting) improves yield & farmer welfare (AICCRA Impact Brief, 2023).
Improved soybean & cowpea varieties
Improved soybean & cowpea varieties delivered continent-wide—pest resistant, early-maturing (IITA Variety Catalogue, 2021).
Climate-Smart Delivery
Climate-adaptive maize varieties launched with CIMMYT across Sub-Saharan Africa (CGIAR Maize Program, 2022).
9 yam varieties
9 yam varieties distributed in Nigeria since 2023 to boost climate-resilient planting (IITA News Update, 2023).
5 cassava varieties
5 cassava varieties released in 2020 via genomic breeding for resilience and disease tolerance (IITA Press Release, 2020).
Tanzanian farmers trained
1,000+ Tanzanian farmers trained in climate-smart practices; 40% women (IITA Tanzania CSA Programme, 2022).
Publications
AICCRA ESMP: Regional Hub for Fertilizer & Soil Health in West Africa
Related News
See all news

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Our Team
John Choptiany
Climate Adaptation Expert
Barbra Muzata
Communications Officer
Siyabusa Mkuhlani
Associate Scientist-Data Science
Francis Muthoni
GIS and Remote Sensing Scientist
John Omondi
Systems Agronomist
Sika Gbegbelegbe
Agricultural Economist (Foresight Modeler)
Asare, Richard
Kamara, Alpha
Kamara, Alpha
Tepa-Yotto, Ghislain
Coordinator of the Biorisk Management Facility (BIMAF)
Bendito Eduardo
Kreye, Christine
Deedi Eurydice Sogbohossou
Bhattacharjee, Ranjana
Coyne, Daniel