` REPORT [xxx] Report Stephen Yeboah, Mustapha Alasan Dalaa, Faustina Obeng Adomaa, Obed Kwaku Mahama, Ghislain Tepa-Yotto AICCRA Ghana Accelerator Programme: Strengthening Public– Private Partnerships for Scaling Bundled Climate-Smart Solutions To cite this report Yeboah, S. et al., (2025). AICCRA Ghana Accelerator Programme: Strengthening Public– Private Partnerships for Scaling Bundled Climate-Smart Solutions. Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA), AICCRA Report. Acknowledgments Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) is a project that helps deliver a climate-smart African future driven by science and innovation in agriculture. It is led by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and supported by a grant from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank. The authors would like to thank our farmers and staff of the Department of Agriculture at various intervention districts. About AICCRA Reports Titles in this series aim to disseminate interim research on the scaling of climate services and climate-smart agriculture in Africa, to stimulate feedback from the scientific community. © AICCRA / [Photographer] Disclaimer This info note has not been peer-reviewed. Any opinions stated herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the policies or opinions of AICCRA, donors, or partners. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution – Non-commercial 4.0 International License. © 2025 Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) Partners About AICCRA Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) is a project that helps deliver a climate-smart African future driven by science and innovation in agriculture. It is led by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and supported by a grant from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank. Explore our work at aiccra.cgiar.org aiccra.cgiar.org aiccra@cgiar.org CGIARAfrica AICCRA GHANA REPORT 1 | P a g e CONTENTS Contents ` .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 The Challenge ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 The Accelerator Consortia Programme ............................................................................................................................... 4 Bundled Solutions Scaled by Accelerator Consortia Partners ........................................................................... 4 Accelerator consortia partners collaborating with District CSA Hubs to enhance Scaling .......... 7 1. Demand-driven innovation and co-design ................................................................................................................. 8 2. Strengthened last-mile delivery ......................................................................................................................................... 9 3. Ensuring access to validated CSA technologies ..................................................................................................... 9 4. Gender and social inclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 9 5. Scalable pathways for CIS-CSA bundles ..................................................................................................................... 9 Overall Impact on AICCRA’s Scaling Outcomes ........................................................................................................... 9 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 AICCRA GHANA REPORT 2 | P a g e Abbreviations AICCRA Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research in Africa CGIAR Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research Centres FFS Farmer Field School CIS Climate Information Services CSA Climate Smart Agriculture CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial Research FP Farmer Practice IDA International Development Association ISFM Integrated Soil Fertility Management SMEs Small and Medium-sized Enterprises MMDDoA Metropolitan/Municipal/District Department of Agriculture MoFA Ministry of Food and Agriculture UDS University for Development Studies AICCRA GHANA REPORT 3 | P a g e The Challenge Farm productivity among smallholder farmers is continuously affected by climate variability and ecological changes (Figure 1), leading to socio-cultural, economic, and environmental challenges and vulnerabilities (Antwi-Agyei et al. 2021). Productivity in farmers’ fields remains low, and several reasons account for this. Notable among these reasons is the continuous reliance on unimproved seeds and or low access to improved technologies (Quarshie et al.,2023; Yeboah et al., 2019). To provide secure and safe food in Ghana, prevent the development of resistance to pests in crops and animals, and their attendant public health implications, and reduce the vulnerability of smallholders requires urgent efforts to curb the effects of climate change on food production. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and associated climate-informed services (CIS), as well as one-health innovations, are needed to enhance the resilience of food production and its safety, however, access to these by end users is limited. Figure 1: Challenges faced by smallholder farmers AICCRA Ghana’s deployment and scaling of CSA and CIS AICCRA Ghana has deployed climate-smart agriculture and climate information services through technology parks and the establishment of the Climate Agriculture Hubs (CAH) in 13 operational districts and 65 climate-smart agriculture farmers working groups at the Community level (Yeboah et al., 2024). These platforms, especially the CSA hub within which multiple channels of dissemination were anchored, facilitated the scaling of CSA and CIS technologies among smallholders (Obeng Adomaa et al., 2024). AICCRA GHANA REPORT 4 | P a g e The Accelerator Consortia Programme With learnings from four years of implementation (2021-2024), AICCRA Ghana set up an Accelerator Programme to bring together agricultural small and medium enterprises or consortia of enterprises to provide end-to-end bundled climate smart solutions that address farmers complex needs (Kyere, 2024). The accelerator consortia programme was a public–private partnership, led by the private sector partner to de-risk and scale CSA and CIS technologies. It serves as a platform for innovation, finance, and value chain development to accelerate the adoption of CSA and CIS bundles in Ghana. The Accelerator Programme partners comprised national incubators, start-ups, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged in delivering CIS and CSA technologies. The consortium works to de-risk innovation at scale while strengthening value chain resilience, promoting social inclusion, and ensuring the sustainable use of land and water resources. They also assess gender and youth vulnerabilities within Ghana’s food system and, through user-centred co- design, identify entry points for building climate resilience. This approach promoted gender and social inclusion by aligning solutions with user preferences and improving access. AICCRA research partners (CGIAR and national institutions) provided technical backstopping and jointly validated technologies alongside the private sector implementing the activities. The AICCRA Ghana Accelerator Consortia partners adopted market systems approaches to expand CSA and CIS innovations to reach more areas and a broader range of users. Bundled Solutions Scaled by Accelerator Consortia Partners Four thematic bundles are being scaled by four different consortia in the AICCRA Ghana Accelerator programme (figure 1). Climate-smart Integrated Pest Management 01 Solar irrigation for female farmers 02 Smart seeds & market systems 03 Smart production & soils 04 AICCRA GHANA REPORT 5 | P a g e The bundled solutions and the details are: Smart production and soils: bundled solution to address declining soil fertility and increased vulnerability of crop production systems to climate change by promoting resilient production and soil health options for maize and cowpea. Technical assistance from AICCRA was provided by the Alliance of Bioversity & CIAT Figure 3: Smart production and soils bundle and dissemination channels. Smart seeds and market system: bundled solution to address the low use of improved seed varieties and associated agro-advisories among smallholder farmers to build their resilience. Technical assistance from AICCRA as provided by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- Crops Research Institute of Ghana (CSIR-CRI). Figure 4: Smart seeds and market system bundle and dissemination channels. AICCRA GHANA REPORT 6 | P a g e Climate smart integrated Pests and Diseases management: bundled solution to address increasing incidence of climate-driven pests and diseases, by enhancing smallholders’ access to pest alerts and advisories to help build their resilience through effective management of crop pests and diseases while promoting one-health outcomes. Technical assistance from AICCRA was provided by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI) and Plant Protection and Regulatory Services directorate (PPRSD) of Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Figure 5: Climate-smart IPM bundle and dissemination channels Solar Irrigation for vegetable farmers: bundled solution to offer inclusive irrigation solutions to smallholders especially women farmers producing vegetables in Northern Ghana. Technical assistance from AICCRA was provided by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Figure 6: Solar irrigation bundle and dissemination channels AICCRA GHANA REPORT 7 | P a g e Ghana’s Accelerator Programme, led by Kukobilla Nasia Farms, M&B Seeds, WamiAgro, and Farmerline has delivered strong value addition by de-risking innovations financing and bridging research with market application. It has mobilised human resources on a scaling platform to scale out demand-driven and commercially viable CSA and CIS innovations (Figure 7). The leadership of the private sector enhances commercialization and scaling through appropriate models, thereby, further enhancing coordination and sustainability of climate smart innovation scaling. By aligning the private sector with farmer needs, the accelerator programme is increasing the adoption of CSA technologies and creating sustainable, market-driven pathways for their scaling. Accelerator consortia partners collaborating with District CSA Hubs to enhance Scaling In 2024, AICCRA Ghana building on lessons from 2021-2023 convened district level CSA hubs to serve as multi-stakeholder platforms where site-specific CIS and CSAs for men, women and youth farmers will prioritised and deployed. AICCRA Ghana’s scaling strategy is significantly strengthened by the District CSA Hubs, which function as the institutional backbone for coordinating and delivering CIS and CSA innovations. These hubs bring together government agencies, private sector partners, farmer organizations, and community actors to jointly plan, demonstrate, and scale site-specific CSA solutions. Their decentralized structure makes them a critical mechanism for translating national-level innovation into community-level adoption. Figure 7; Source, Nieminen, 2021 AICCRA GHANA REPORT 8 | P a g e The District CSA Hubs serve as coordination platforms that align local institutions and actors around the promotion of CIS-CSA bundles. Led by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development through the Department of Agriculture, each hub convenes a multi-stakeholder CSA Working Group consisting of district agricultural officers, Women in Agriculture Development Directorate (WIAD) representatives, plant protection officers, meteorological services officers, community radio representatives, lead farmers, private agro-input dealers, and financial service providers. This diverse membership ensures that scaling is not only technically sound but also institutionally grounded and responsive to local realities. The hubs act as the central point where advisory services, technology demonstrations, financing pathways, and market linkages converge, creating a coherent ecosystem for farmer adoption and learning. A foundational feature of the hubs is the network of Community CSA Hubs and technology parks established across implementing districts. These serve as demonstration and learning sites where CIS-CSA bundles are practically showcased for key crops. The presence of Climate-Smart Farmers (CSFs)—local champions who set up their own demonstration fields—further supports peer learning and diffusion. Through these structures, the hubs directly and indirectly reach thousands of farmers, accelerating the spread of validated CSA technologies and practices. AICCRA’s Accelerator Consortia partners—made up of incubators, start-ups, and SMEs—play a central role in delivering digital advisory services, climate information, seeds, biopesticides, solar-powered irrigation, and other CSA technologies. They collaborated with the District CSA Hubs to ensure that innovations developed by the private sector are embedded within local institutional systems, making them more accessible, relevant, and scalable. This collaboration enhanced scaling in several key ways: 1. Demand-driven innovation and co-design The District CSA Hubs served as entry points for accelerators to understand farmer needs, gender dynamics, and local value chain constraints. Through co-design meetings, joint demonstrations, and feedback loops, accelerators refined their products—such as digital advisories, smart seeds, and IPM solutions—to ensure they meet local preferences and conditions. AICCRA GHANA REPORT 9 | P a g e 2. Strengthened last-mile delivery While accelerators bring technological solutions, the hubs provided the local infrastructure and extension networks, community hubs, CSFs, radio platforms, and field demonstrations—that enabled these innovations to reach farmers effectively. This joint approach resolved last-mile bottlenecks such as limited literacy, weak extension presence, and inadequate awareness of digital platforms. 3. Ensuring access to validated CSA technologies The agri-SMEs in the Accelerator Programme relied on the District CSA Hubs to distribute validated CSA technologies. Through input dealers in the working groups and strengthened farmer-based organizations, the hubs ensured that farmers had timely access to climate-smart seeds, bio-pesticides, quality inputs, and market linkages. 4. Gender and social inclusion Both the hubs and the accelerator consortia applied gender-responsive approaches. The hubs identified and mobilized women farmers, youth groups, and vulnerable households, while accelerators tailored solutions to these groups through targeted advisory services, financing models, and inclusive community engagements. This synergy improved equitable access and strengthened community resilience. 5. Scalable pathways for CIS-CSA bundles The hubs’ demonstration parks and CSF networks created strong visibility and social proof for the technologies promoted by accelerators. Farmers observed the performance of innovations under actual field conditions, which increased confidence and drove adoption. Meanwhile, accelerators ensured that these same technologies were readily available and supported with timely digital advisories. Overall Impact on AICCRA’s Scaling Outcomes The partnership between the District CSA Hubs and the Scaling Accelerator Consortia has created a multi-level, public–private ecosystem that accelerates the delivery and adoption of CIS-CSA innovations (Figure 8). This ecosystem enables rapid diffusion of innovations across multiple communities and districts, stronger institutional coordination and ownership at the local government level, greater commercial viability of CSA technologies through private-sector involvement, and socially inclusive and gender-responsive scaling pathways. These together enabled farmers to access and use climate smart solutions which improved their resilience and AICCRA GHANA REPORT 10 | P a g e productivity. Ultimately, the integration of district-led coordination and private-sector innovation has allowed AICCRA to achieve scaling with depth and sustainability, ensuring that climate-smart solutions reach the farmers who need them most while building long-term institutional capacities within Ghana’s agricultural system. Figure 8: The four bundled solutions and consortia partners. REFERENCES Antwi-Agyei P, Andrew JD, Doku-Marfo J, Robert CA (2021) Understanding climate services for enhancing resilient agricultural systems in Anglophone West Africa: The case of Ghana. Clim Serv 22:100218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2021.100218 Kyere, O. R. 2024. Technical Report: Co-designing and implementing end-to-end solutions for farmers complex needs – a science – business approach to scaling climate-smart solutions. Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA). Obeng Adomaa F, Mahama O, Dalaa M and Tepa-Yotto G. (2024).Technical Report: Enhancing farmers access to climate information service and climate smart agriculture innovations in Ghana through a multi-channel scaling approach. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2021.100218 AICCRA GHANA REPORT 11 | P a g e Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA). Quarshie, P. T., Abdulai, S., & Fraser, E. D. (2023). (Re) assessing Climate-Smart Agriculture practices for sustainable food systems outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa: The case of Bono East Region, Ghana. Geography and Sustainability, 4(2), 112-126. Yeboah, S. Adomako, J., Amankwa-Yeboah, P., Awarikabey, E.N., Frimpong-Annin, K., Haleegoah, J., & Adablah, R. (2024). Building Resilience of Farming Landscape Through Climate-smart Agriculture Hub. Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA), AICCRA Technical Report. Yeboah, S., Eyram, A. N., Oteng-Darko, P. and Ribeiro, P. F. (2019) Determinants of Nutritious Drought Tolerant Maize Adoption and Mineral Fertilizer Application under Smallholder Farm Conditions in Ghana. Journal of Agricultural Science 11 (8): 121-130 About the Authors Stephen Yeboah 1Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Crops Research Institute (CRI), Kumasi-Ghana 2Department of Plant Resources Development, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Environmental Management, CSIR College of Science and Technology, Ghana Mustapha Alasan Dalaa, Faustina Obeng Adomaa, Obed Kwaku Mahama 3International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA-Ghana), Accra, Ghana Ghislain Tepa Yotto 4Biorisk Management Facility (BIMAF), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA- Benin), 08 BP 0932 Tri Postal, Cotonou, Benin 5Ecole de Gestion et de Production Végétale et Semencière (EGPVS), Université Nationale d’Agriculture (UNA), BP 43 Kétou, Bénin