Calabar, 10 October 2023 – The new UKaid-funded climate change programme in Nigeria, Propcom+, is set to partner with the Cross River State Government and the private sector to support agroforestry initiatives aimed at improving climate resilience, and incomes of smallholder farmers in Cross River State through new agroforestry and sustainable land use management models.
The programme was announced last August by UK’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, as part of the UK International Climate Finance programme aimed at supporting climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture and forestry that benefits people, climate, and nature.
The Propcom+ programme reinforces the UK Government’s commitment to working with the Government of Nigeria to increase the depth of investment in the agricultural sector, this time, helping the vulnerable to build resilience and adapt to the effects of climate change.
Speaking during a meeting with Propcom+’s Country Representative in Calabar, the Governor of Cross River State, His Excellency, Prince Bassey Otu stated that Cross River State is very proud of the State’s biodiversity endowment on biodiversity and he is happy to partner with the private sector to improve its forestry management while also helping smallholder farmers to earn their livelihoods.
“Climate change is a serious issue that requires concerted efforts from us. We want to place back Cross River State on the world’s map when it comes to tourism and eco-tourism and protecting our rich forest reserves is central to this.
Thus, we are very keen on revitalising our forestry sector so that we can contribute to reducing the impact of climate change, open up our tourism potentials as a State and also empower communities to improve their lives.”
Speaking earlier, the Country Representative of Propcom+, Dr. Adiya Ode said that Propcom+ aims to support more than 4 million people in Nigeria, 50% of whom will be women, to adopt and scale sustainable agricultural practices that increase productivity and climate resilience while reducing emissions and protecting natural ecosystems.
She stated that the programme has initial focal states in Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, in the North West, but will also be working in the North East and key states in the South of Nigeria where it will address issues around deforestation, foster sustainable land-use management through landscape-level interventions that support communities to manage forest reserves and strengthen landscape governance.
The country representative highlighted that the programme is willing and ready to support reform-ready States such as Cross River to sign up to global policies on sustainable land use and deforestation-free commodities, particularly encouraging more Nigerian states to join the African Sustainable Commodities Initiative (ASCI).
“Cross River State has long been recognised as one of the world’s top biodiversity hotspots. We see a great opportunity to work with stakeholders in the state, particularly the Government of Cross River State and private sector organisations to harness this huge potential in a way that benefits smallholder farmers. We want to link forest protection to economic incentives for farmers, thus Propcom+ will initially focus on forestry initiatives that protect natural resources while improving the livelihoods of smallholders.
By working together, intensive reforestation and land restoration efforts can happen, with climate-smart agricultural practices generating new and alternative livelihoods for farmers. Nigeria’s farmers will also increasingly adopt sustainable and resilience-enhancing crops, business models and land-use practices shielding them from the most damaging effects of climate change”.
Ode further stated that poor regulations and policies have made it difficult to keep Nigeria’s forests standing or to provide financial incentives for local communities to manage what remains. Thus, Propcom+ is interested in supporting agribusinesses in incumbent industries to pilot new models, especially with cocoa and oil palm smallholders to de-risk their supply chains and help them meet their net-zero commitments. This will lower emissions and protect natural ecosystems, she said.
Citing an example from a Wilmar subsidiary, BOPP, in Ghana, which has successfully piloted a hybrid nucleus-outgrower model by transforming unproductive land into plantations and leasing it to youth palm oil entrepreneurs, she noted that Propcom+ will support community landscape management plans (for example in Akamkpa and Boki, Cross River State) using established approaches that have seen traction in other places.
The eight-year Propcom+ programme, which kicked off in May 2023 is implemented by The Palladium Group and is currently in its inception phase till January 2024.
For more information about the Propcom+ programme in Nigeria, contact Adiya Ode at adiya.ode@thepalladiumgroup.com.
