PROJECT/PROGRAMME PROPOSAL TO THE ADAPTATION FUND PART I: PROJECT/PROGRAMME INFORMATION Programme Category: Small-sized Country: Namibia Title of Programme: Strengthening traditional approaches for coping with climate variability by small-scale farmers Type of Implementing Entity: National Implementing Entity: Desert Research Foundation of Namibia (DRFN) Executing Entity: Gobabeb Research and Training Centre Amount of Financing Requested: USD 989,140 Short Summary Projected climate-induced stress from rising temperatures and increased variability and unpredictability of wet seasons is likely to exacerbate the vulnerability of small-scale subsistence farmers in Namibia. Traditional farmers from four rural constituencies (Mashare, Ndiyona, Daures and Walvis Bay Rural) in the Kavango East and Erongo regions will participate in this programme. Activities will document, analyse, adjust and strengthen traditional on-farm production by integrating scientific and institutional risk management interventions. The beneficiary crop and livestock farmers are some of Namibia’s most vulnerable communities with least resilience and adaptive capacity. They are already characterised by severe poverty; acute inequality (assets, health, education, geography); limited alternative sources of income and marginalisation. Successful adaptation measures in these areas are expected to have a significant cascade effect on Namibia’s predominantly rural population, with over 70% of Namibia’s people relying on agriculture for their livelihoods, whether as producers, labour, retail or service providers. Namibian agriculture is already vulnerable to climate variability and change as production in the most arid country in sub-Saharan Africa relies almost exclusively on rain-fed crops or rangelands. Various global analyses have thus resulted in dire predictions regarding the socioeconomic consequences of climate change for Namibia. Improving the immediate preparedness and adaptive capacity of small-scale crop and livestock farmers may allow more long-term adaptation efforts to mature. The objective is therefore to address specific information needs and strengthen traditional systems to ameliorate the impact of climate variability on household agricultural production as determined through participatory consultation with farmers in various regions of Namibia. The programme activities will concentrate on (i) improved knowledge and use of traditional crop landraces and seed availability; (ii) better understanding of livestock and rangeland dynamics and management; and (iii) building capacity for area-specific agrometeorological forecasting. This will be achieved by combining traditional and scientific knowledge in an integrated approach to promote skills transfers, climate awareness, improved risk management, and institutional support mechanisms. The Mashare and Ndiyona constituencies represent some of the most challenging areas for crop production, while the Daures and Walvis Bay constituencies are marginal livestock production areas. The programme will address some drivers of vulnerability and build response capacity and improve the ability of managing climate risk by beneficiary communities in these areas. Effective local measures to improve household income from agriculture and greater resilience to climate variability will therefore be transferable elsewhere in Namibia. 1 Table of Contents PART I: PROGRAMME INFORMATION ................................................................................................. 1 Short Summary ................................................................................................................................. 1 Abbreviations and Acronyms ............................................................................................................. 3 Programme Background and Context ................................................................................................. 5 Programme Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 20 Programme Components and Financing ............................................................................................. 22 Projected Calendar ........................................................................................................................... 23 PART II: PROGRAMME JUSTIFICATION ................................................................................................ 24 A. Describe the programme components, particularly focusing on the concrete adaptation activities of the programme, and how these activities contribute to climate resilience. ........................ 24 B. Describe how the programme provides economic, social and environmental benefits, with particular reference to the most vulnerable communities, and vulnerable groups within communities, including gender considerations. Describe how the programme will avoid or mitigate negative impacts, in compliance with the Environmental and Social Policy of the Adaptation Fund. .............................................................................................................................. 43 C. Describe or provide an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of the proposed programme. .................... 51 D. Describe how the programme is consistent with national or sub-national sustainable development strategies, including, where appropriate, national or sub-national development plans, poverty reduction strategies, national communications, or national adaptation programmes of action, or other relevant instruments, where they exist. ................................................................. 57 E. Describe how the programme meets relevant national technical standards, where applicable, such as standards for environmental assessment, building codes, etc., and complies with the Environmental and Social Policy of the Adaptation Fund. .................................................................... 61 F. Describe if there is duplication of programme with other funding sources, if any. ............................. 63 G. If applicable, describe the learning and knowledge management component to capture and disseminate lessons learned. ............................................................................................................. 68 H. Describe the consultative process, including the list of stakeholders consulted, undertaken during programme preparation, with particular reference to vulnerable groups, including gender considerations, in compliance with the Environmental and Social Policy of the Adaptation Fund. .......... 73 I. Provide justification for funding requested, focusing on the full cost of adaptation reasoning. ........... 78 J. Describe how the sustainability of the programme outcomes has been taken into account when designing the progamme. ................................................................................................................. 82 K. Provide an overview of the environmental and social impacts and risks identified as being relevant to the programme. ............................................................................................................. 90 PART III: IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS ................................................................................... 94 A. Describe the arrangements for programme implementation. ......................................................... 94 B. Describe the measures for financial and programme risk management. .......................................... 99 C. Describe the measures for environmental and social risk management, in line with the Environmental and Social Policy of the Adaptation Fund. ................................................................... 100 D. Describe the monitoring and evaluation arrangements and provide a budgeted M&E plan. .............. 101 E. Include a results framework for the programme, including milestones, targets and indicators. .......... 104 F. Demonstrate how the programme aligns with the Results Framework of the Adaptation Fund .......... 108 G. Include a detailed budget with budget notes, a budget on the Implementing Entity management fee use, and an explanation and a breakdown of the execution costs. ............................ 109 H. Include a disbursement schedule with time-bound milestones. ....................................................... 113 PART IV: ENDORSEMENT BY GOVERNMENT AND CERTIFICATION BY THE IMPLEMENTING ENTITY ......... 117 APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................................... 119 2 Abbreviations and Acronyms AAP Africa Adaptation Programme Ministry of Agriculture, Water and MAWF ABS Access and Benefit-Sharing Forestry ADC Agriculture Development Centre MCA Millennium Challenge Account AF Adaptation Fund M&E Monitoring and Evaluation AMTA Agro-Marketing and Trade Agency MET Ministry of Environment and Tourism CA Conservation Agriculture MoU Memorandum of Understanding CBD Convention on Biological Diversity MPI Max Planck Institute Community Based Natural Resource MWT Ministry of Works and Transport CBNRM Management N$ Namibian Dollar Directorate of Agricultural Research and NAB Namibia Agronomic Board DARD Training (MAWF) Sustainable Management of Namibia’s NAFOLA Directorate of Agricultural Production, Forested Lands (GEF Project) DAPEES Extension and Engineering Services National Aeronautics and Space NASA (MAWF) Administration