ABOUT THE PROJECT
Summary
Agroforestry, a centuries-old practice, is increasingly recognised for its critical role in combating climate change through carbon sequestration. Incorporating trees into croplands and pastures and regenerating degraded lands not only stores significant carbon but also strengthens resilience to climate impacts such as droughts and floods. This approach enhances the social and ecological stability of vulnerable regions like the Greater Northern African Region (GNAR), which includes Northern Africa, the Sub-Saharan Sahel, and the Horn of Africa. These areas face acute climate challenges, including recurring droughts and scarce water resources, compounded by inadequate infrastructure for groundwater management. Such issues heighten vulnerability, threaten livelihoods, and fuel migration.
Despite these pressing challenges, agroforestry holds immense promise for both climate change mitigation and adaptation. However, implementing this practice on a large scale in arid and semi-arid regions in the GNAR remains constrained by data gaps, water scarcity, limited stakeholder capacity, and insufficient incentives for farmers and other relevant stakeholders.
The TRANS-SAHARA project seeks to break down these barriers by embedding water security into agroforestry systems using an innovative Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus approach. By deploying innovative technological nature-based solutions (NBS), advanced measurement technologies, scalable agroforestry models, and sustainable business strategies, the project aims to enhance community livelihoods and promote long-term adoption. Large-scale pilot initiatives in Tunisia, Ghana, and Ethiopia and smaller scale demonstrations as part of the UNCCD Great Green Wall initiative in Chad, Djibouti and Senegal will validate these solutions, with a strong emphasis on community-led engagement to ensure local relevance and acceptance.
By bridging knowledge gaps, improving crop yields, and establishing carbon sinks on degraded land, the TRANS-SAHARA project will contribute to socio-economic growth and climate resilience. Its participatory, multi-stakeholder approach aspires to achieve widespread adoption across Africa by 2030, fostering sustainable development and bolstering climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts in Africa and beyond.
Impacts
The TRANS-SAHARA project integrates technical and non-technical innovations within a WEFE-Nexus framework to design scalable, economically viable agroforestry systems for climate change adaptation and mitigation. With Living Labs, the project demonstrates potential for broader replication across the African Union.
By generating comprehensive datasets and insights into climate change impacts on ecosystems near the Sahara, the project aims to advance agroforestry and water cycle research. It will foster collaborations between European and African scientists, catalyse 5–10 new R&D projects, and establish up to 10 joint PhD positions addressing climate challenges by 2030.
The project supports local farmers and businesses by fostering agroforestry-based economic activities, including the production of “Made-in-Africa” IoT sensors. Through a network of 10 innovation incubators, the initiative anticipates creating a market worth EUR 29.5 billion by 2031, supporting over 33 million jobs globally, with 14% located in Africa.
By restoring ecosystems and increasing biodiversity, the project will provide habitats for diverse species and reconnect fragmented landscapes. It also addresses biodiversity loss, a key goal of the EU’s 2030 Biodiversity Strategy, while improving community resilience to climate impacts like droughts and floods through sustainable water management practices.
Outcomes
Improve access to qualitative and quantitative data on agroforestry’s contributions to climate change adaptation, mitigation, biodiversity preservation, and sustainable agriculture.
Enhancing data on the benefits of agroforestry systems for climate change, biodiversity, and sustainable agriculture is crucial. Reliable data supports evidence-based decision-making, policy development, and agricultural practices. However, regions like the GNAR lack such data, with recognition of agroforestry’s role in climate action still growing among local stakeholders. Efforts to document non-economic benefits in the area are fragmented and underfunded. The long-term investment required and challenges in quantifying agroforestry’s impact on regional climate further hinder the development of reliable data.
Advance the management of agroforestry systems—including conventional, agroecological, organic, and agropastoral systems—across Africa.
Agroforestry systems have the potential to mitigate climate change and promote sustainable, equitable economic growth, especially in regions like the GNAR. However, current management practices face challenges that hinder their effectiveness. A focus on short-term gains and subsistence living, reliance on traditional knowledge over data-driven insights, and the unsuccessful application of Western agricultural methods all limit the potential of agroforestry. Additionally, the disconnect between old techniques and modern practices impedes progress. To overcome these barriers, a holistic approach combining traditional wisdom with modern strategies is essential for creating a more sustainable and climate-resilient agroforestry system in the GNAR.
Strengthen capabilities to assess the socio-economic and environmental performance of agroforestry systems in fostering climate resilience.
Enhancing the capacity to assess the socioeconomic and environmental performance of agroforestry is crucial for climate resilience. Evaluations help ensure that agroforestry projects address climate challenges while benefiting communities and ecosystems. Socioeconomic assessments promote sustainable practices, while environmental evaluations measure contributions to carbon sequestration and biodiversity. In the GNAR region, which faces climate extremes, robust evaluations are essential for tailoring approaches to local conditions.
Challenges include economic diversity, geographical dispersion, and diverse ecosystems, complicating data collection. The region’s dynamic climate and varied cultural landscape also pose difficulties in aligning evaluation criteria. To overcome these, innovative, context-specific approaches are needed for accurate assessments.
Build a robust agroforestry innovation ecosystem to increase user acceptance and facilitate widespread implementation across the African Union.
Strengthening the agroforestry innovation ecosystem is crucial for increasing the acceptance and adoption of agroforestry practices within the African Union (AU). A robust ecosystem promotes the development of context-specific, sustainable solutions, encourages knowledge exchange, and fosters collaboration among stakeholders. By supporting innovation, research, and the sharing of successful practices, it can address region-specific challenges and help integrate agroforestry into mainstream agriculture, contributing to the AU’s goals of sustainable development, food security, and environmental resilience.
Key challenges include promoting effective collaboration among farmers, researchers, policymakers, and communities to bridge knowledge gaps, securing financial and institutional support for research and implementation, and overcoming resistance to traditional agricultural practices. Awareness campaigns and educational programs are vital for demonstrating the long-term benefits of agroforestry. Overcoming these challenges will strengthen the agroforestry innovation ecosystem, leading to broader implementation across the AU.
Funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme Grant Agreement Nº: 101182176. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or of the European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Copyright 2025 Trans-Sahara
TRANS-SAHARA will enhance livelihoods by improving crop yields, increasing farmers’ gross margins, and transforming African soils into carbon sinks. These efforts will reduce CO2 emissions, enabling AU nations to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets under the Paris Agreement and AU Agenda 2063, while creating incentives for sustainable resource management.