By George George Idowu
A rural and agricultural market development programme, Propcom+, has pledged to support more than 4 million people, half of whom will be women on reducing emissions and protecting natural ecosystems through a £95 million eight-year UK International Climate Finance programme.
This initiative is sponsored from a £95 million eight-year UK International Climate Finance programme that aims to upscale sustainable agricultural practices to increase productivity and climate resilience and promote climate-smart agriculture
Propcom+’s Team Lead, Dr. Adiya Ode announced this commitment during a media conference in Abuja on Saturday.
She added that the programme also aims to address deforestation and promote sustainable land-use management in some southern Nigerian states.
Accordong to her, the focal states for the programme include Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Edo, and Cross River, where climate-smart agricultural interventions will be implemented.
She emphasized the importance of sustainable agricultural practices in enhancing rural incomes and livelihoods, highlighting the need to build resilience among the rural poor to ensure robust food production in Nigeria.
She said: “The role of the media can not be overemphasized. For the media to effectively highlight critical agricultural development issues and report on progress, they need access to the right data and support to improve their content.”
According to her, Propcom+ is designed to support economic growth in regions of Nigeria affected by conflict and climate change.
Dr. Ode said the key objective is to revolutionize agriculture, ensuring people can adapt their livelihood strategies to climate change.
“Propcom+ will act as a market facilitator to identify constraints in market systems and implement interventions through three broad and interlinked pillars: scaling proven climate-smart interventions, piloting and scaling new business models, and supporting a strengthened enabling environment for sustainable food and land-use systems,” she explained.
Theresa Tella, Propcom+’s Communication Manager, underscored the importance of media engagement, stating, “We need to shine a light on what Propcom+ is doing, as well as the efforts of media representatives. It’s about making our actions visible and appreciated by the masses.”
Tella outlined Propcom+’s communication objectives, which include establishing the programme as a leader in climate-smart agriculture and encouraging farmers to adopt best practices and technologies.
She added that collaborating with policymakers is essential to creating an enabling environment for sustainable agriculture.
Tella noted: “The programme uses diverse channels, from traditional media to digital platforms, to ensure farmers receive the necessary information, emphasizing the importance of face-to-face engagement and mass communication.”
Participants at the meeting highlighted the need for grants to media houses to ensure effective collaboration.
They stressed the importance of maintaining relationships established at the roundtable and suggested exploring various partnership models to keep the media engaged.