The\nnumber of households in one of the hottest regions of West Africa who are able to\ncope with climate extremes increased almost four-fold, as a result of work supported\nby Self Help Africa.<\/p>
That\u2019s\nthe conclusion of a report that reviews how families who adopted new farming\npractices are coping with a climate that is becoming hotter, drier and more\nunpredictable.<\/p>
83% of households\nthat adopted of new farming methods, took steps to conserve moisture and\nnutrients in soil and that introduced new crops and new farming activities had\nincreased their climate resilience, the report into the four and a half year\nproject found. At the start of the project just 24% of families were coping\nwith the climate extremes. <\/p>
Self Help\nAfrica undertook \u2018BRACED\u2019 in collaboration with German development agency\nWelthungerhilfe and with four local partners, between 2015 and 2019.<\/p>
The\nactivities carried out, which included rice cultivation, cassava production, market\ngardening and poultry rearing, together with the promotion of improved seed\nvarieties and of \u2018climate smart\u2019 agricultural techniques, also helped to increase\nthe number of households who were producing a year-round supply of food from\njust 31% up to 56%. <\/p>
In a\nregion of Burkina Faso that has experienced rising poverty and hunger as a\nresult of global warming, BRACED sought to support 1.3 million people to\ndiversify farm production and change their farming practices so that they could\ncope better with changing climate.<\/p>