Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in agriculture: Lessons learned from an innovative training programme

The content and capacity-building relevance of a training programme on Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction in Agriculture (PACC-RRC) conducted by the Institute of BioEconomy, a WMO Regional Training Centre (RTC) in Italy, are described and evaluated in this chapter. The training was delivered to staff members of technical services in West African countries. The innovative method adopted for the training consisted of three consecutive phases: a distance learning pre-course (DLC) phase, a classroom course phase, which consisted of a blend of theoretical and practical sessions, and a post-course phase. Each of the three phases presented strengths and weaknesses to be considered when planning future training programmes. Participants found the comprehensive training experience to be an important step towards improving knowledge and skills that would enable them to be more effective in supporting the farming community to reduce the impact and risk of climate change and disasters in agricultural practices in their respective countries. Overall, the three-phase solution was considered very effective by participants, and they made good use of knowledge acquired during DLC and classroom course in their post-course activities. In order to build long-term sustainability of the project results, the learning materials developed within the project will be catalogued, each module classified on the basis of the competency addressed, reorganized and finally made available for further use by different institutions. The reorganization of the resources collected will involve the creation of course packages (for example, the Training and Operational Principles (T.O.P) Seasonal Forecast Course Package) to be shared.