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Africa is home to a越来越多的企业家who see business opportunities in sustainable agriculture and forestry. This is an opportune time to invest in nature-based ventures, partly because African governments have committed to begin restoring100 million hectares(247 million acres) of degraded land by 2030 as part of the AFR100 initiative. Restoring land with certain trees, crops and grasses can help improve land productivity, as well as ecosystem services like water management and carbon sequestration.

但是,这也是增加气候风险的时期。必威官网是真的吗去年年底,政府间气候变化小组发表了必威官网是真的吗特别报告describing the various intensifying impacts of global temperature rise at 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) and 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F). Regardless of whether and how much greenhouse gas emissions are eventually reduced, small and medium businesses in Africa are already feeling these impacts. They are trying to grow their companies while grappling with climate risks like rising temperatures and more frequent, intense droughts and floods.

Last month in Nairobi, WRI and Fledge, a global network of company accelerators and investment funds, held theLand Accelerator, the world's first startup accelerator focusing on scaling businesses involved in land restoration. After leading a session on climate risks that businesses in Africa face, I sat down with two of the participating companies to better understand how they are adapting to a changing climate.

Planting Trees and Diversifying Crops Buffers Farms from Weather Extremes

Aoulaye Sesame, a company that grows white sesame in Niger, has helped restore 100 hectares (247 acres) of arid, degraded land by planting trees alongside sesame. The company's director, Mamadou Ousseini, reports that the treesretain water周围的农作物并保持农场绿色,这也有助于它适应增加干旱。但是,马马杜没有为强烈的降雨和洪水尼日尔近年来也经历过。

align left Trees retain water on restoration land in Niger. Rodrigo Ordonez/GLF
Trees retain water on restoration land in Niger. Rodrigo Ordonez/GLF

Floods and heavy rain are unusual for Niger, where two-thirds of the country is comprised of the Sahara Desert. The farm's sesame plants have so far survived the heavy rainfall. But Mamadou knows that diversifying crops is more reliable than luck. The company is now considering planting more water-tolerant plants, such as cassava, on some of its land. This way, if Mamadou's sesame crop does not survive one year, he could still harvest cassava. Diversifying crops helps companies such as Aoulaye Sesame stay in business and cope with the uncertainty in rainfall that climate change brings.

Crop Variety Helps Farmers Adapt to Drought

On the other side of the continent in Ethiopia,伊甸园农业种子企业提供耐旱的树和草种子。该公司的技术经理Yirsaw Wubete Ayele为农业和放牧社区提供种子,以恢复退化的土地并用作牲畜饲料。

像Aoulaye芝麻一样,Eden Field正在寻找应对的方法干旱这是埃塞俄比亚干旱高地的反复出现和加强风险。为了帮助顾客打击干旱,伊甸园菲尔德开始专门研究苏丹草等耐寒草。该公司现在充当经纪人,从埃塞俄比亚农业研究所and the国际牲畜研究所,然后将它们出售给该地区的2500名农民和牧民。

这些坚硬的草不仅有助于恢复牧场,还可以改善原料,并使牲畜蓬勃发展,在不断变化的气候下保护生计和粮食安全。必威官网是真的吗

在伊甸园农田企业的种子。索非亚·法鲁奇(Sofia Faruqi/Wri)
在伊甸园农田企业的种子。索非亚·法鲁奇(Sofia Faruqi/Wri)

Supporting Small Businesses Helps Communities Adapt to Climate Change

尽管诸如Aoulaye芝麻和伊甸园田间农业企业等公司受到干旱,洪水和热浪的威胁,但他们正在寻找创新的方式来最大程度地减少气候风险。必威官网是真的吗

非洲的许多人依靠这样的小型企业的生计和粮食安全。通过支持这些有韧性的企业家,政府,非政府组织和更大的农业综合企业可以帮助农村非洲社区在未来蓬勃发展。

例如,政府农业机构可以与开发组织联手为企业提供天气预报的访问权限,以便他们更好地为极端天气事件做准备。在津巴布韦Chiredzi, farmers and small agribusinesses have struggled in the past to plan around extreme changes in rainfall. To address this, the Zimbabwean Environmental Management Agency, with assistance from the UN Development Programme, created a customized rain forecast for farmers and small business in Chiredzi.

Larger companies, including multinationals, often rely on small businesses as part of their supply chains. To better sustain their own businesses, these companies can invest in financial and technical assistance for their local suppliers. In乌干达, Café Direct is supporting farmers who grow tea for the company by promoting disease-resistant tea varieties, planting trees to improve land productivity, and installing water tanks to harvest rainwater. In肯尼亚and other parts of Africa, Unilever is also investing in tea plants that are drought- and disease-tolerant. These adaptation measures help companies and workers throughout the supply chain.

Restoration business entrepreneurs at the Land Accelerator in Nairobi. Peter Irungu/WRI
Restoration and agricultural entrepreneurs at the Land Accelerator in Nairobi. Maria Franco Chuaire/WRI

诸如最近的土地加速器等专业培训计划可以进一步帮助小型公司将适应性纳入其业务计划,从而使他们能够建立弹性,以增加对自己和他们支持的社区的气候冲击。必威官网是真的吗