Safeguarding African Foodsheds and Ecosystems for all Actors across Local, regional and international Levels to manage migration

Project Information

SAFE4ALL

Grant agreement ID: 101137814

DOI

10.3030/101137814

EC signature date 30 November 2023

Start date 1 January 2024

End date 31 December 2027

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 4 989 715,00

EU contribution

€ 4 989 715,00

Coordinated by

WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY
Netherlands

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - SAFE4ALL (Safeguarding African Foodsheds and Ecosystems for all Actors across Local, regional and international Levels to manage migration)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Agriculture is central to the livelihoods of billions of people worldwide, including African rural and urban households. However, climate change and extreme weather increasingly threaten food security, ecosystems, and social stability. Many existing climate services are fragmented, top-down and poorly adapted to local realities.

SAFE4ALL responds by co-developing user-centred, bundled climate services in Kenya, Ghana and Zimbabwe. The project combines weather and climate information, soil and water management, agricultural advice, and risk reduction services into affordable, scalable solutions tailored to local needs.

Through LivingLabs, SAFE4ALL engages multiple stakeholders to ensure services are demand-driven and context-specific. SAFE4ALL addresses the nexus of climate, food security, migration, and ecosystem management, with expected impacts including:

- Increased resilience and adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities.
- Improved food and water security in rapidly changing environments.
- Reduced forced migration pressures on cities and fragile regions.
- Policy uptake and mainstreaming of climate services in national planning.
- Contribution to multiple SDGs, especially Zero Hunger (SDG2), Sustainable Cities (SDG11), and Climate Action (SDG13).

SAFE4ALL explicitly integrates social sciences and humanities by analysing migration dynamics, labour mobility, governance barriers, and gender dimensions of adaptation, ensuring solutions are socially inclusive and politically relevant.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

WP1 – Co-Creation in case studies
- Established co-creation environments in all three countries.
- Conducted large-scale needs assessments (>1,500 respondents).
- Mapped stakeholders, priorities, and existing adaptation strategies.
- Developing roadmaps for services uptake.

Submitted Deliverables:
D1.1 Report on inventorying tools, services, and policy context for co-creation case studies: Needs assessment and gap analysis for Climate Change adaptation
D1.2 Engagement matrix with engagement approach per stakeholder for each case and theme
D1.3 Report on needs assessment for climate change adaptation in the co-creation case studies
D1.4 Overview first set of Proofs-of-Concept

WP2 – Innovation of services
- Developed harmonised datasets for weather, soil, and hydrology.
- Advanced AI-based tools: hyperlocal forecasts, thunderstorm nowcasting, and eWaterCycle simulations.
- Introduced Foodshed Information Service and Climate Atlas prototypes.
- Early proof-of-concepts tested with local partners.

Submitted Deliverable:
D2.1 Report on data integration for climate services

WP3 – Policy mainstreaming & Rural-urban connection
- Analysed 60+ national policy documents using SPIRIT framework.
- Identified weak integration of migration into climate and food security policy.
- Mapped migrant roles and adaptation strategies.

Submitted Deliverable:
D3.1 Publication assessing the food policy systems in Africa

WP4 – Business models & institutional arrangements
- Drafted Business Model Canvases for SAFE4ALL services.
- Mapped financing mechanisms and potential public–private partnerships.
- Identified value propositions with stakeholders to ensure long-term services delivery.

WP5 – Community building & Local embedding
- Designed and delivered training modules for farmers, extension officers, and municipalities.
- Created a Community of Climate Champions.
- Launched peer-to-peer and cross-country exchanges.

Submitted Deliverables:
- D5.1 Report on the technical kick-off week
- D5.4 Report on the design of case specific on-boarding learning modules

WP6 – Dissemination & communication (Technical activities only; outreach reported separately)
- Developed accessible materials in local languages.
- Established digital platforms to host climate services and training content.

Submitted Deliverables:
- D6.1 Project Website
- D6.2 Communication, dissemination and outreach strategy – 1st version
- D6.3 Policy brief on Safeguarding African Foodsheds and Ecosystems for all actors in SSA to manage migration
- D6.4 First set of SAFE4ALL sectoral newsletters
- D6.7 SAFE4ALL brochure summarizing the main SAFE4ALL concepts and goals
- D6.11 SAFE4ALL Social media accounts

WP7 – Project coordination
- Organized joint EU–AU dialogues and stakeholder workshops.
- Presented project outcomes in high-level EU and African events.
- Positioned SAFE4ALL as a reference in the food–climate–migration nexus.

Submitted Deliverables:
- D7.1 Confirmation of the Governance Structure
- D7.2 Risk Management Plan
- D7.3 Guideline for Communication Flow
- D7.4 Data Management Plan – 1st version
- D7.5 Ethics Requirements Related to Collection, Storage and Processing of Personal Data
- D7.6 External Advisory and Ethics Board report – Year 1

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

SAFE4ALL goes beyond existing practices by:

- Bundling services (weather, agriculture, food security, migration) instead of siloed, single-purpose tools.

- Using AI-driven climate intelligence (hyperlocal forecasts, reinforcement learning frameworks) in regions with scarce observation coverage.

- Creating the Foodshed Information Service, linking climate, migration, and food systems.

- Embedding co-creation and social science analysis (migration, governance, gender inclusion) directly into technical service design.

- Launched SAFE4ALL Learning Programme and Communities of Climate Champions that ensure knowledge transfer and practical use of tools.

- Developing sustainable business models early to secure continuity and scalability.

- Actively engaging in collaboration with sister projects under Horizon Europe, exchanging information, approaches, and policy insights. These joint activities position SAFE4ALL results in a wider European-African knowledge ecosystem, avoid duplication, and create synergies that enhance impact and uptake across regions.

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