Foreign Affairs committee  I know that CIDA has funded a climate change program with AGRHYMET, which is part of an interstate committee on drought and desertification in west Africa. But this is an original organization. Otherwise, I don't know of any other supports that came from this special fund.

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. Concerning food aid, I think planning food in advance has to be avoided, because in cases of good production internally that can negatively affect food prices and farmers' incomes. In cases of extreme food shortage, food aid is compulsory because it can help, but the

Foreign Affairs committee  First of all, in the case of Sahelian countries, especially those of Western Africa, people are fully aware of climate change. They experience daily the effects of climate change and they adapt because climate fluctuations from one year to the next have become very frequent. Th

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. In my view, what we should stop doing, right away, are those vast bilateral programs which were designed without consulting the people and which for the most part did not take into account the deeper aspirations of the local people. They do not value the knowledge and

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. I think the scaling up is a permanent issue, and a very strategic issue. This depends on the approaches taken. Participatory approaches can really help in scaling up. I take the example of a small village in Douentza. When we were doing the participatory rural appr

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes.

Foreign Affairs committee  Yes, both. The local civil society is very important for sustainability, as it's from the people, but in other places, civil society is weak most of the time. But by linking these people with western civil society members, you can then really build capacities, because our main pr

Foreign Affairs committee  Thank you. It is with great pleasure that I come before you as the son of a farmer and a farmer myself. From the youngest age, having been born and having lived and grown in a Saharan climate which is inherently unstable and difficult, I have admired the ingenuity of peasants. T