The Gambia has urged the parliament of ECOWAS to prioritize climate resilience in its legislative agendas and budget allocations.
The call was made on Thursday, 24th September 2026, during the presentation of the report on Gambia’s climate change experience with P2P2RS Phase II, at the ongoing parliamentary seminar in Accra by the Regional Parliament.
Lessons Learned and Recommendations for Regional Sharing of The Gambia’s Experience:
The report shows that The Gambia’s experience demonstrates that climate resilience is most effective when agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability, nutrition, and livelihoods are addressed together.
Farmer-centered interventions
It stated that these work best when they respond to practical constraints faced by communities, adding that access to ploughing services addresses a real barrier to timely cultivation and can help farmers increase production.
The report recommended that resilience programs should prioritize women and young people. Women are central to household nutrition and agricultural production, while young people require viable opportunities in agriculture, agribusiness, and climate-resilient enterprises.
Regional programs
It also called for strengthening knowledge exchange among ECOWAS Member States, as this will ensure that countries learn from one another on climate-smart agriculture, water management, small-scale irrigation, soil restoration, seed systems, mechanization models, food processing, and community-based early-warning systems.
Legislative roles
According to the report, parliamentarians have a critical role in ensuring that national budgets, laws, and policies support resilient food systems.
“They must provide oversight of programme implementation, advocate for adequate financing, promote accountability, and ensure that vulnerable communities are not left behind,” it stated.
The report further advocated that climate action “must be treated as a peace and security priority,” noting that food insecurity, environmental degradation, and loss of livelihoods can intensify social pressures, rural poverty, and displacement. Investing in resilient agriculture and sustainability is therefore essential.
“We are here at the confluence of two powerful realities: the escalating threat of climate change and the urgent need for regional solidarity. We are here to translate the promise of resilience into tangible progress for the shores, fields, and communities of our West African region,” it added.
Overview of the P2P2RS Project in The Gambia
The Gambia P2P2RS Phase II is a regional resilience initiative designed to address food and nutrition insecurity through sustainable agricultural production, improved natural resource management, climate adaptation, and stronger rural livelihoods.
Project 2 of the Programme is a USD 17.75 million project co-funded with a USD 16.5 million grant from the African Development Fund (ADF) and an in-kind Government Counterpart Contribution of USD 1.25 million.
Its primary objectives are to contribute to improving living conditions and food and nutrition security of populations in the Sahel and West Africa. It also aims to sustainably increase productivity in agriculture, silviculture, and pastoral production; increase income from agricultural and fisheries value chains; build the adaptive capacity of populations through better control of climate risks; and contribute to climate change mitigation.
The priority value chains of the project include maize, rice, fonio/findi, vegetable gardening, small ruminants (sheep and goats), and water irrigation infrastructure.
The project consists of four components:
- Strengthening resilience to climate change in agro-sylvo-pastoral production
- Development of agro-sylvo-pastoral and fisheries value chains
- Building adaptive capacity for climate change
- Programme coordination and management
The project proposed interventions in 19 districts across 4 of the 7 agricultural regions of The Gambia, based on vulnerability to food insecurity and the degree of land degradation. It is designed to directly benefit at least 67,200 people across its intervention sites, particularly vulnerable households, small-scale producers, herders, and agro-pastoralists.
