UK Supports 4 million Nigerians With £57.89M on Climate Resilience Agriculture
The UK government’s Propcom+ programme aims to bolster climate-resilient agriculture in Nigeria with a £55 million contract and a £2.89 million grant to support more than 4 million Nigerians.
The initiative specifically targets 50% women who are disproportionately affected by climate change. The program seeks to encourage the adoption and scaling of sustainable agricultural practices that enhance productivity and climate resilience while reducing emissions and preserving natural ecosystems.
UK’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, officially launched the programme, which addresses environmental, social, and economic challenges in the country’s food and land-use system.
Senior Communications and Public Diplomacy Officer, Atinuke Akande-Alegbe, highlighted the UK’s commitment to make Nigeria’s agriculture sector more resilient to climate change during a visit to Nigeria.
The Propcom+ programme, implemented by The Palladium Group, is part of the larger £95 million UK International Climate Finance initiative, focusing on supporting climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture and forestry.
It builds on the success of the Propcom Mai-karfi programme, which positively impacted over 1.25 million individuals by introducing key market reforms and policies benefiting poor women and men in Northern Nigeria.
Besides funding support, the UK government’s involvement aims to unlock $210 million of financing from the African Development Bank for participating Nigerian states under the Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme.
Related Posts
Richard Montgomery, British High Commissioner to Nigeria, emphasized the UK’s dedication to pro-poor climate-resilient growth in Nigeria through the Propcom+ programme.
The initiative will work with strategic market actors to boost smallholder farmers’ productivity, enhance nutrition and food security, improve climate resilience, reduce emissions, and protect and restore nature.
Additionally, it aims to address some of the underlying drivers of conflict and insecurity in Nigeria.
Initially focused on Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Edo, and Cross River states, the programme will deliver climate-smart agricultural interventions to help the poor and climate-vulnerable. It will also address deforestation issues in some Southern Nigerian states to foster sustainable land-use management.
Propcom+ will operate as a market facilitator, identifying constraints in market systems and implementing interventions through three interlinked pillars.
These include scaling up climate-smart interventions, building and piloting new business models for improved productivity and climate resilience, and supporting a strengthened enabling environment for sustainable food and land-use systems through enabling policies.
Overall, the Propcom+ programme strengthens the UK Government’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to invest in the agricultural sector and help vulnerable communities build resilience and adapt to the effects of climate change.
