A new collaboration between NEC Corporation and ClimateAi is offering a data-driven approach to one of agriculture’s most pressing challenges: quantifying the economic viability of climate adaptation measures. The partnership, unveiled ahead of the **TICAD Business Expo & Conference** in Yokohama this month, combines AI-powered climate modeling with agritech expertise to help farmers, investors, and policymakers assess where limited resources for adaptation will yield the highest returns.
At the heart of the initiative is a conceptual model that evaluates the cost-effectiveness of three key adaptation strategies—irrigation infrastructure, climate-resilient crop varieties, and adjusted planting schedules—for cocoa and rice cultivation in Africa. The continent, a global leader in cocoa production and a critical rice-growing region, faces mounting threats from shifting rainfall patterns, rising temperatures, and extreme weather events. Yet despite the urgency, adoption of adaptation measures has lagged, partly because stakeholders struggle to predict their financial payoff.
The model addresses this gap by integrating ClimateAi’s long-term climate projections—which account for temperature, water stress, and phenological shifts—with NEC’s agritech analytics. For example, in rice farming, the tool can simulate how irrigation investments might offset yield losses in drought-prone areas, or whether switching to heat-tolerant varieties would justify the upfront costs of new seeds. For cocoa, where West African nations supply roughly 70% of the global market, the model identifies optimal planting windows to avoid heat stress during critical growth phases.
Crucially, the system doesn’t just project yields; it translates agronomic outcomes into economic terms, providing a clearer picture of return on investment. This could prove pivotal in unlocking financing from development banks, private agribusinesses, and impact investors—all of whom have been hesitant to commit funds without measurable risk-reward metrics. The International Finance Corporation estimates that climate adaptation in agriculture will require **$300 billion annually by 2030**, with much of that need concentrated in low-income regions like sub-Saharan Africa. Tools that de-risk investments by quantifying adaptation benefits could help bridge that funding gap.
The implications extend beyond finance. For smallholder farmers, who produce the majority of Africa’s cocoa and rice, the model’s insights could inform decisions like whether to join cooperative irrigation projects or adopt new seed varieties. Meanwhile, seed companies and equipment manufacturers may use the data to tailor products to specific microclimates, while food processors and traders could anticipate supply chain disruptions decades in advance.
NEC and ClimateAi plan to showcase interactive demonstrations of the model at TICAD 9, seeking feedback from African policymakers, agricultural firms, and financial institutions. The next phase involves piloting the tool with partners in the irrigation and seed sectors, with an eye toward scaling it across other crops and regions. If successful, the approach could redefine how climate adaptation is funded—not as a speculative expense, but as a strategically sound investment.
The collaboration reflects a broader shift in climate strategy, where mitigation (reducing emissions) and adaptation (building resilience) are increasingly treated as two sides of the same coin. For agriculture, where the impacts of climate change are already eroding productivity, the ability to assign a dollar value to resilience could be a game-changer. As one industry observer noted, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure—and you can’t fund what you can’t justify.” This model aims to do both.