As part of the Climate Resilience Agriculture and Productivity Enhancement Project (ProPAD) in Chad, the village of Amsinéné located in the commune of Amtiman, received new infrastructure on Saturday, December 16, 2023 for its “climate-smart village”. The aim is to foster the adoption of climate-smart technologies and practices, thereby contributing to building resilience and improving food security in Chad.
“ProPAD is an initiative of the Government of the Republic of Chad with financial and technical support from the World Bank. It is a sustainable development project whose objective is to fight food insecurity while addressing climate challenges. It aims to increase revenues through the financing of income-generating activities and the adoption and promotion of innovative and climate-resilient technologies at the community level.” recalled Brahim Ali Ranga, acting local coordinator of the ProPAD project.
“It is in this context that the ProPAD project through CORAF has set up three (03) climate-smart villages in the village of Maibessé in the Middle Chari; Bedogo 2 in Mandoul and Amsinéné in Salamat in Chad. This work will enable the beneficiaries to test and promote the adoption of improved technologies to increase agricultural productivity and strengthen the resilience of agricultural production systems in the targeted areas,” he stressed.
Various infrastructures including solar boreholes have been erected as part of the Smart Climate Villages. It should be noted that these boreholes are powered by solar energy and surrounded by a perimeter of several hectares fenced for the implementation of activities.
Acting ProPAD project coordinator Brahim Ali Ranga expressed his gratitude to the partners, such as the World Bank, CORAF, ITRAD, the National Concertation Council of Rural Producers of Chad (CNCPRT), the National Rural Development Support Agency (ANADER) and entrepreneurs for their dedicated work. The mayor of the commune of Amtiman, Ahmat Hassan Brémé, present at the ceremony, also expressed his gratitude for the initiative of the ProPAD project. He urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the infrastructure provided, so that other villages can also benefit in the future.
As a reminder, the “Climate Smart Village approach” is an approach where agricultural research actors are in partnership with rural communities and other actors (Weather, NGOs, local authorities, etc.) to test and validate in an integrated way, several agricultural interventions. It aims to boost the ability of producers to adapt to climate change, manage risks and build resilience. At the same time, this approach is expected to improve livelihoods and incomes and, where possible, reduce greenhouse gas emissions to ensure sustainability of proposed solutions.