FROM THE FIELD: 

Preparing Africa for Accelerated Climate Change
By Anita Campion, President and CEO



Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, Connexus Corporation launched its 13th international Cracking the Nut® Conference, at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, Nigeria. With a focus on “Preparing for Accelerated Climate Change,” this year’s learning event created a collaborative environment for 150 participants from 14 different countries to discuss strategies for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions associated with agriculture and food production, supporting climate adaptations in agriculture, while integrating food security and resilience. Connexus’ CEO, Anita Campion, opened the conference by emphasizing the notable increases in extreme weather events causing global level disruptions to agricultural markets and food systems. USAID/Nigeria’s Mission Director, Melissa A. Jones provided an introduction to the topic by highlighting the many ways that climate change has been having a negative impact on the people of Nigeria, stating that her “heart goes out to those impacted by the recent flooding in Borno state” for example. She argued that “climate change is one of the greatest disrupters of our time” and emphasized the importance of partnerships to achieve results.

AGRA’s Nigeria Country Director, Dr. Rufus Idris, through his Key Note Speech offered a detailed description of what is needed to “Transform Africa’s Food Systems” in light of accelerating climate change. He also emphasized the need to use public private “partnerships as an accelerator” to holistically address issues impeding the implementation of climate smart agricultural practices, including a strong need for more finance, risk mitigation tools and incentives to attract private sector investments that flow down to benefit rural smallholder farmers, women and youth.

Sule James, the Former Coordinator of the Green Bond Program for Nigeria’s Ministry of Environment, presented on how to leverage the Government of Nigeria’s investment in issuing sovereign green bonds, which mostly benefited climate mitigation-related investments, such as for renewable energy. He presented a road map of how to tap the abundance of patient capital for green finance to issue Green Bonds for climate adaptation-related investments, which are needed to support a variety of investments in climate smart agriculture and resilient food systems.

In addition to these plenary topics, the conference highlights 18 competitively selected participatory breakout sessions, from which core lessons will be extracted and shared publicly in early 2025, so that the whole world can benefit from this knowledge sharing. For commitment to this important knowledge exchange, Connexus would like to thank its sponsors, including USAID/Nigeria, DAI, CRS, Chemonics International, Plethora Design, Abt Global, ACDI/VOCA, Winrock International and UC Davis.