2026 Reports

Improving Science-To-Policy Information Pathways To Support Planning And Action On Climate Change In African Agriculture: Workshop Report

Madajewicz, Malgosia; Karl, Kevin; MacCarthy, D.; Tall, L.; Valdivia, Roberto O.; Haris, Sara Abdul; Ankrah, D.; Thiam, H.; Ciss, P.; Adejoh, V.; Homann-Kee Tui, S.; Kemal, N.; Kozlowski, Natalie; Nedasa, R.; Shikuku, K.; Sisito, G.; Thurlow, J.; Tola, A.; Aduramigba, V.; Agyei-Holmes, A.; Amoah, N.; Amoako, K. K.; Dalle, G.; Denhere, C.; Diagne, D.; Diatta, L.; Dramé, D.; Faye, A.; Kimoro, B.; Mustapha, I.; Quist, E.; Williams, P.; Mencos Contreras, Erik A.; Rosenzweig, Cynthia E.

Climate change threatens to worsen already pervasive food insecurity across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). To successfully advance climate-resilient agriculture, scientists, policy, and decision makers must improve efforts to bridge the gap between research, policy, and practice. Success requires coordinating extensive research on adaptation and mitigation strategies with the planning, policy, funding, and implementation processes that can leverage scientific insights to improve food security and nutrition outcomes. Improving food security requires, for example: research into which crop varieties and livestock breeds can thrive under the changing conditions in the variety of agro-climatic, socio-economic, and governance contexts present in SSA; identifying what inputs these resilient varieties need; understanding farmers' capacity to select and cultivate appropriate varieties; and determining which agricultural outputs can meet both nutritional requirements and consumer preferences.

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP), University of Ghana (UG), and Initiative Prospective Agricole et Rural (IPAR), co-led a workshop titled “Improving Science-to-Policy Information Pathways to Support Planning and Action on Climate Change in African Agriculture,” as part of a project titled “AgMIP Demand-Scoping Study in Sub-Saharan Africa.” AgMIP is a global network of climate, crop, livestock, economics, nutrition, and policy experts who co-develop with stakeholders model-based evidence that can inform adaptation and mitigation planning and action in agriculture. The AgMIP approach employs integrated climate, crop, livestock, and economic models to assess vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies under different climate and socioeconomic scenarios. UG and IPAR are members of the AgMIP network in Ghana and Senegal, respectively.

The goal of the workshop was to strengthen the science-policy interface for planning climate adaptation and mitigation in agriculture in SSA. Policymakers and researchers representing Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Zimbabwe, and the United States participated in the workshop. The workshop was generously supported by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom (FCDO). It was hosted by the University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana on May 21st to 22nd, 2025. This report documents the discussions and main insights from the workshop, which had three main objectives:
1) To assess the highest priority needs for science-based information to support national planning, policy, and decision-making processes related to climate resilience in agriculture
2) To collaboratively develop elements of a decision support framework that can strengthen the utilization of science-based information in policy and decision making
3) To shape future efforts that can enhance the links between research, policy, and practice in each of the participating countries