The SmartAG partner: CCAFS East Africa Quarterly Newsletter, January – March 2016

We are pleased to share with you the second issue of our quarterly newsletter in 2016. We present key highlights from ongoing research and policy engagement initiatives. In March, the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) convened a working session to prepare submissions on issues related to agriculture for the upcoming Bonn Climate Change Conference (SBI 44 and SBSTA 44). Read about proposed adaptation measures and the need for gender inclusive policies. To celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March, CCAFS EA organized a webinar on achieving gender parity in African agricultural systems. Learn about case studies from Africa presented during the webinar. From Kenya, key stakeholders working on climate change recently held a post COP21 meeting to better understand the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Read about opportunities presented for the country in this agreement. Uganda has developed guidelines to mainstream climate change into the agriculture sector policies, plans, programs and activities. Read about this process and why it is important for the country. Common beans are vital for Africa’s struggle to achieve food security. But what determines farmers’ preference and adoption of bean varieties? Find out from a study by researchers from Pan Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA) in Uganda. Also, see how farmers and researchers in Uganda are out scaling climate-smart agriculture (CSA). In Rwanda, we recently launched an exciting new project on climate services for agriculture. Find out how this collaborative project will transform Rwanda’s farming communities and national economy through improved climate risk management. Finally, CCAFS EA early career scientist Catherine Mungai received a best paper award at the symposium on climate change adaptation in Africa held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Read more about her paper and others from CCAFS, highlighting ongoing work in CCAFS climate-smart villages