Thanks to a $14 million grant from the Adaptation Fund, Cornell researchers adjust West African rice production to keep up with a changing climate.

Cornell Atkinson Fellow Erika Styger (CALS) is leading efforts to make rice more resilient to climate change and increase production through the Scaling up Climate Resilient Rice Production in West Africa project (RICOWAS).

"Adapting to climate change and addressing food insecurity in West Africa should start with caring for and regenerating the soils, which leads directly to healthy, resilient, and productive crops," says Styger.

"In the RICOWAS project, we will focus on just that by taking a holistic system's perspective while at the same time developing best agronomic practices smallholder farmers can implement readily and independently."

"I first met with Sahara and Sahel Observatory staff members as a delegate to the 2018 U.N. Climate Conference (COP24) in Katowice, Poland, where we came up with the idea to develop this project together. It was Cornell Atkinson that supported my participation at the COP, which allowed for this important networking experience to happen."

Cornell Atkinson fosters these vital connections and funds research to increase food security across the globe. Projects span all agriculture, aquaculture, and wild food harvest systems to meet the nutritional needs of all those living today while enhancing the quality of life of those producing the food—and the land and ecosystems on which they depend. Increasing food security requires intervention at all stages of food production, processing, and consumption.