Research uptake
Development under climate change in Tanzania, Malawi and Ghana

Tanzania

UNU-WIDER presented the results of a detailed study of food security and climate change for in Tanzania to an audience of more than 50 government officials, members of civil society, and donor representatives in Dar Els Salaam. The presentation was moderated by the Director of Climate Change policy within the Office of the Vice President. This is the group charged with mainstreaming climate change issues into regular government planning in Tanzania. In addition, UNU-WIDER engaged with the Ministry of Agriculture on the analysis of biofuels policy infor Tanzania. This work has included a more detailed analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from land use change.

Malawi

Unlike many countries in Africa, Malawi has elected to allocate substantial resources to the agricultural sector in general and the Ministry of Agriculture in particular. The Farm Input Subsidy Programme (FISP), which is principally a seed and fertilizer subsidy programme, regularly absorbs about nine per cent of the government budget, which is substantially more than the share allocated to the entire agricultural sector in most countries. In this context, current climate variability is of enhanced interest because weather patterns may influence returns to the FISP. In collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the DUCC project team has published a series of papers examining the implications of climate variability for Malawi. These results have been presented to Malawian officials in a variety of forums. In addition, UNU-WIDER presented likely climate change implications for Malawi to a high level group from the government of Malawi assembled by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture. The group included representatives from Planning, Transportation, and Defence as well as the Ministry of Agriculture including the Permanent Secretary.

Ghana

UNU-WIDER has initiated a partnership arrangement with the University of Ghana and a series of research initiatives with the Institute for Statistical, Social, and Economic Research (ISSER) within the University of Ghana. UNU-WIDER is supporting a climate change impacts and adaptations study led by ISSER. This initiative began with a training programme for 15 Ghanaian researchers and government staff members on the potential implications of climate change and methods for evaluating adaptation options. From this group, a team of five Ghanaian researchers was selected to lead the impacts and adaptation study.