Bla ni agba: Supporting women cassava growers' food security and ability to adapt to climate change in Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, which is having a major impact on its ecosystems, biodiversity and agricultural production.  Food insecurity already affects almost 5 million people, or nearly 20% of the population, the majority of whom are women living in rural areas.

In this context, cassava offers extremely interesting potential: one of the country's most widely consumed crops, it can withstand temperatures of up to 40°C and is highly tolerant of salt and drought. The growing demand for by-products also creates welcome economic opportunities, particularly for women, who play an active role in this value chain.

Cultivating resilience

Over the next five years, with financial support from Global Affairs Canada, we will be working with women cassava producers in the Gbêké region of Côte d'Ivoire to strengthen their technical capacities, improve their access to financing and thus reduce their vulnerability.

• We will work directly with these women to strengthen their knowledge and technical capacities in climate-smart agriculture, their access to productive resources and the exercise of their leadership, entrepreneurship and socio-economic rights, to encourage them to adopt more resilient and efficient agricultural solutions and practices.
• We will work with inclusive finance institutions and local professional agricultural organizations to improve their performance, service offering and capacity to respond to the needs of women agro-entrepreneurs.

This initiative, which we will be carrying out in collaboration with several Ivorian organizations, will not only directly benefit 1,500 women and their families, but will also enhance food security for the entire population of the region, i.e. 1.1 million people. By helping to strengthen local professional agricultural organizations and financial institutions, it will have a lasting impact over time.