AfDB approves $14.6m grant to boost Sahel climate resilience efforts

The African Development Fund (ADF) has approved a $14.64 million grant to accelerate climate adaptation and food security programmes across the Sahel, the Bank announced after its Board meeting on 21 November in Abidjan.

The new financing comes through the ADF’s Climate Action Window, a dedicated mechanism designed to channel concessional climate funds to vulnerable African countries. The grant will support Project 2 of the Programme to Strengthen Resilience to Food and Nutrition Insecurity in the Sahel (P2-P2RS).

According to the ADF, the additional funding will help communities strengthen their resilience to increasingly severe climate extremes. The project will scale up the “climate-smart villages” model, integrating sustainable farming practices, water management, and clean energy solutions around key hydro-agricultural infrastructure.

The grant also prioritises improving access to reliable climate information, which is essential for local planning and risk management. It will finance modern climate data-gathering systems, upgrade observation networks, and establish a regional digital platform for real-time data collection, analysis, and dissemination.

A significant component will focus on enhancing the regional seed system to ensure farmers have access to climate-resilient, high-yield crop varieties. Activities include updating the Regional Catalogue of Species and Varieties, creating a business-to-business networking portal for seed stakeholders, and strengthening seed multiplication capacity in national research institutions and private seed companies. Women and young people will receive targeted training and support to help them participate more effectively in climate-smart agriculture.

The project will also introduce a multi-scale digital platform for monitoring and managing loss and damage from climate impacts, with standardised reporting across participating Sahel countries.

Overall, the Climate Action Window grant will cover 30 municipalities and fund the establishment of 60 climate-smart villages across the region.

The ADF said the investment underscores the Bank’s commitment to supporting Sahelian countries as they confront rising climate risks, chronic food insecurity, and growing pressure on livelihoods.