Researchers from the Urban Remote Sensing Research Group at Ruhr University Bochum recently returned to northern Ghana to present the final results of the COINS project (Co-developing innovations for sustainable land management in West African smallholder farming systems) to smallholders, local communities and policy makers in the districts of Savelugu, Mion and Tolon, as well as in Tamale.

The dissemination activities were tailored to the different audiences. Farmers participated in interactive sessions using participatory approaches, while policymakers and extension staff engaged in a workshop featuring presentations and discussions on the implications of the research for agricultural policy and practice.

The findings highlighted the benefits of integrated climate-smart technologies for strengthening farmers' resilience to drought, the importance of behavioural measurement in policy design, and the potential of insurance products to promote the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices. The results from Ruhr University presented here included, amongst other things, the hackathons held in April and guidance on the use of geotools in the form of simple smartphone apps for farmers, which enable them to determine the exact size of their fields, thereby helping them to procure seeds and fertilisers more efficiently.

The dissemination workshop was organized in collaboration with West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (CSIR-SARI), with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) serving as the lead institution of the COINS consortium and with funding from the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR). The workshop underscored the project's commitment to sharing research outcomes not only to the academic world through scientific publications, but to place the communities and stakeholders who contribute to its success in the focus.