The changing climate is adversely affecting the productivity and livelihoods of Nigerian smallholder rural farmers. Agricultural productivity in Nigeria has recently experienced declines. Smallholder rural farmers dominate the farming system in Nigeria, accounting for about 80 to 90 present of producers. However, productivity is hampered by insufficient capacity to acquire necessary farm inputs such enhanced or improved crop varieties, fertilizers, irrigation and other production inputs. Also, agricultural productivity declines have been linked to climatic and weather variability or change, hence facing problems with food productivity arising from dependence on rain-fed farming worsened by low inputs. Farmers should therefore adopt climate resilient adaptation measures to cope with, or reduce climate vulnerability. This makes the country highly susceptible to even a slight change in weather patterns, making the people severely vulnerable to climate change. If your NGOs want to address the issue of food insecurity, it is important that climate smart farming techniques are promoted and adopted. This sample project would help you in making a plan to execute food security and climate smart agriculture, resilient to climate change and also ensure food security and cope with, or reduce climate vulnerability.
Executive Summary
Climate change poses serious threat to people worldwide, and impacts their livelihood to varying degrees. Studies reveal that the most vulnerable people belong to developing countries and more precisely rural communities and small farmers. The changing climate is adversely affecting the productivity and livelihoods of Nigerian smallholder rural farmers. Agricultural productivity in Nigeria has recently experienced declines. Smallholder rural farmers dominate the farming system in Nigeria, accounting for about 80 to 90 present of producers. However, productivity is hampered by insufficient capacity to acquire necessary farm inputs such enhanced or improved crop varieties, fertilizers, irrigation and other production inputs. Also, agricultural productivity declines have been linked to climatic and weather variability or change, hence facing problems with food productivity arising from dependence on rain-fed farming worsened by low inputs. Farmers should therefore adopt climate resilient adaptation measures to cope with, or reduce climate vulnerability. This makes the country highly susceptible to even a slight change in weather patterns, making the people severely vulnerable to climate change.
To address the issue of food insecurity, it is important that climate smart farming techniques are promoted and adopted. This would help in making agriculture, resilient to climate change and also ensure food security and cope with, or reduce climate vulnerability. Climate smart agriculture is still in its nascent stage and the proposed project will open new gateways for the development of viable and sustainable agronomic practices in the developing countries like Nigeria.
Through this project Implementing NGO aims to initiate a multi stakeholder dialogue to develop a community based adaptation strategy for the communities of small farmers in Nigeria. The project is in line with the existing issues being faced by the local populace of the area and would focus efforts towards the following:
- Increasing awareness on linkages between climate change and food security.
- Improving food security through adoption of climate smart agriculture practices.
- Enhance adaptation and preparedness of the vulnerable communities of the area.
Problem Statement
Climate Change poses severe threat to the underprivileged and the rural masses, by reducing their access to food, energy and water. Communities, relying on natural resources are the worst hit and often fall victims even to a slight change in weather. The huge attention being given to Climate Change issues is evident from the fact that several international and national agreements have been signed to reduce greenhouse gas emission. Several multilateral and bilateral agencies are also routing funds for Climate Change mitigation and adaptation.
Along with international mitigation and adaptation strategies to cope with climate change, there is also a need to preserve traditional practices. Farmers worldwide are facing tremendous pressure to meet the demand of the growing population and food consumption. Climate change further adds to this existing pressure. Studies reveal that Climate Change will reduce food productivity by affecting all four dimensions of food security viz. food availability, access to food, stability of food supplies, and food utilization.
There is a need to adapt to changing climatic conditions to reduce the vulnerability of rural communities to climate change. This would be possible by introduction of fundamental changes in agricultural practices. Integration of traditional knowledge with innovations in agriculture also has a huge scope to enhance the adaptive capacity of the rural communities. International organizations and research institutes worldwide have developed an approach that tackles both the issues of climate change and food insecurity.
Climate-smart agriculture is an approach to guide actions to transform and reorient agricultural systems to effectively and sustainably support development and food security under a changing climate (FAO). Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) promotes production systems that sustainably increases productivity, resilience (adaptation), reduces/removes GHGs (mitigation), and enhances achievement of national food security and development goals. Rural communities in Africa are one of the most vulnerable to climate change impacts. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall patterns and the increased frequency of natural disasters create challenges for the agrarian society of many African Countries.
The Nigerian economy is mainly agriculture-based. Agriculture accounts on average about 30% to 40%of the nominal GDP, and employs about 65% to 75% of the labor force, while providing various ecosystem services. Agriculture and rural development are vital to the Nigerian economy; like in most developing countries, Nigerian agricultural systems depend mainly on rainfall. The future, including current, projected variations in the climate during different seasons makes Nigeria’s food production extremely vulnerable. Agricultural production consists mainly of cereals and tubers; in 2013, both cereals and tubers production contributed approximately 70% of total output in the agricultural sector. The production of cassava (a tuber crop) is a very important crop, due to ease of adjustment in its planting decision and high drought-tolerance. On the other hand, rice (a cereal crop) is planted in all eco-zones of Nigeria. Together, these crops have significant impacts on food security in Nigeria. Climate change will therefore greatly impact the existing farming practices and thus the livelihoods of those dependent on it especially small farmers.
Most the people are dependent on farming and allied sector as the country offers limited alternatives income options. This makes the country highly susceptible to even a slight change in weather patterns, making the people severely vulnerable to climate change.
Nigeria has already witnessed increased air temperatures in the recent past (1971–2000). During this time, in Nigeria, minimum temperatures showed a faster increase of +0.8 ℃, which is more than the maximum temperatures which rose by +0.5 ℃. This situation is further exacerbated in the context of global warming, which is forecast to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2052 under two different scenarios—A2 and B1. A2 and B1 are scenarios for future climate projections downscaled from the Global Circulation Models and used by scientists from the Climate Systems Analysis Group at the University of Cape Town South Africa to predict the future impacts of climate change on Nigeria’s economy under two scenarios. The first scenario, A2, assumes that the world will consider more regional economic development in the future while the second scenario, B1, assumes that there would be dominance of environmental factors and global considerations in the future.
Project Description
The project will provide scientific solutions to accelerate the adaptive capacities of the rural peoples and farmers. The project will provide a set of agronomic practices to suit the agro-ecology of the area and ensure food security and better productivity. The proposed project will be implemented over a period of two years. Project will be implemented in rural area of Nigeria. The area is characterized by hot, humid tropical climate conditions. 80% of the population practices agriculture, and the farmers mainly rely on small scale cash crop farming. Most farmers have small plots of lands and use traditional farming practices. The project will benefit the farming communities of Nigera through the awareness campaign and will directly benefit the 500 farmers who will be trained on aspects of climate smart agriculture.
Goal: The overall goal of the proposed project is to increase food security though adoption of climate smart agriculture practices.
Objectives
- To sensitize the rural farming community in Nigeria about the linkages between food security and climate change.
- To promote adoption of climate smart farming practices suitable for the agro- ecological region of project area through capacity building and training of 500 farmers.
- Establish a resource centre to serve as information hub and library for the farmers to get latest information on climate change.
Project Activities
- Mapping and Situation Analysis: The purpose of this activity is to understand the current situation in the project area hamlet. This would include mapping of socioeconomic, political, and environmental aspects of the area
- Development of awareness tools to suit the local communities: Audio- Visual material will be developed to sensitize the local communities on climate change risks and threats. Leaflets, booklets, flashcards will be developed in vernacular to create greater impact. Documentaries made by international agencies on climate change will also be translated.
- Awareness campaign: Awareness generation is a key activity towards achieving project success. Farmers will adopt climate smart agriculture practices only after they understand the implications of climate change on food security. Following sub activities will be undertaken to sensitize the communities.
- Community Meetings: Project team will initiate community meetings to discuss about the project and also share information on climate change risks and food security threats.
- Distribution of leaflets and pamphlets: Communication material developed in vernacular language will be distributed. Use of easy language will help in developing a better understanding of the issues.
- Documentary screening: A documentary will be screened in a community hall, to showcase the threats of climate change.
- Mobile Information Centre: For dissemination of information a mobile van will be used. This will serve as an information centre and people who could not attend the awareness camp will also benefit from it.
- Promotion of area specific agricultural activities: area specific technologies that are aligned to agro-ecological principles will be promoted in the villages. Adoption of such technologies will help in improving the biological, social and economic systems resilient to climate change.
Trainings will be imparted on following aspects of climate smart agriculture:
- Crop and nutrition management
- Conservation Agriculture
- Livestock management
- Agro forestry
- Aquaculture
- Diversified energy systems
- Soil and water management
- Risk insurance
- Weather forecasting
- Technological interventions.
Training sessions will also be given on some traditional agricultural practices like – mulching, intercropping and manure production. All the training sessions will be given in vernacular so as to facilitate easy learning and understanding amongst the farmers.
Establishment of Resource Centre and Weather Forecasting Centre The resource centre will serve as an information hub for farming related activities. Apart from educational material, quality seeds, cropping material, organic manure, pesticides, insecticides etc. will be made available to the farmers at lower prices.
Project Results
- Increased awareness among the community on linkages between climate change and food security.
- Enhanced learning of various aspects of climate smart agriculture.
- 500 farmers adopt the climate resilient practices and supplement their income.
- Resource centre established in the village becomes an information hub for neighbouring villages and farmers gain knowledge about various new technologies and agriculture practices.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Project will undertake monitoring and evaluation, at all levels as per the Monitoring & Evaluation plan. Monitoring will be carried out right from the project inception, so as to ensure that processes and results are documented regularly. This would in turn allow steering decisions and modifying the project processes to meet the deliverables in a timely manner. Data gathered during monitoring will help in evaluating the project progress at the end. Quarterly activity reports will be submitted to the donor agency which would help in project evaluation.
Risk and Assumptions
- Lack of involvement from the stakeholders.
- Poor participation of farmers in training workshops and demonstration.
- Land is unavailable for establishing the resource center.
Sustainability
The project will ensure financial, institutional and environmental sustainability. To ensure long term impact and sustainability following strategies are in place.
Training and capacity building of the farmers will help in meeting the project objectives. The trained farmers will help in transferring the knowledge to their peers.
As the material will be in vernacular it will be easy to understand and share the knowledge.
Establishment of the resource centre in the area will help in the long run. After the project completion, trained farmers will take charge of it and our NGO will support them with updating information.
Project Management
Project will be implemented by a team of five project staff members and will comprise of the following:
- Project Manager -1
- Project Coordinator -2
- Team Members -3
