Climate change (CC) is becoming one of the major challenges for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The strong fluctuations in precipitation combined with rising temperatures will have a particular impact on agricultural yields, leading to decreases of up to 50%. This is particularly relevant for West Africa, and especially for Burkina Faso (BF), where the agricultural sector plays an essential economic role. The climate here is characterised by variable onset of rainy seasons, short intermittent droughts and early absence of rainfall, but extreme precipitation also occurs frequently. A correspondingly unreliable, often shortened growing period is one of the main reasons for current crop failures in BF. The aim of AgRAIN is the further development and implementation of concrete adaptation technologies in BF that lead to improved resistance of farmers to increased climate variability. The specific objectives of AgRAIN are the support of technological developments and the implementation of two linked adaptation measures: (i) the innovative collection and short-term prediction of precipitation via commercial mobile radio links (CMLs) and (ii) novel technologies for rainwater storage for complementary irrigation using the above precipitation information for optimal functioning. In addition, AgRAIN aims to assess the effectiveness and extrapolation potential of the implementation measures through satellite-based Earth observation (EO) and in-situ measurements. The generated data and findings will be made available to the public via a mobile information and notification service. In addition, they are communicated on a scientific and political level through statements, publications and presentations at conferences and workshops.
The AgRAIN project (FK 01LZ1904C) are sponsored from: EUREKA innovation across borders
