PROPCOM+ TO EMPOWER FOUR MILLION FARMERS IN NIGERIA 08-12-24
By Sadiq Aminu The Propcom+ project which is being funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), is to empower four million Nigerians by the year 2030.
Political Director and Country Representative of the project, Dr. Adiya Ode, stated this at an engagement workshop with stakeholders in the implementation of the project that include farmers, women groups and government officials held in Kano State.
She noted that the eight-year project focuses on supporting small holder farmers through agribusiness and climate-smart agriculture
Dr. Ode explained that the programme, which was launched in 2023 under the sponsorship of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will be funded with of 217 million pounds through UKAID grants and private sponsorships.
She said project was aimed at transforming the lives of rural farmers by enhancing their agricultural productivity and resilience to economic conditions.
Dr Adiya pointed out that, Propcom+ works with market actors by increasing access to bio-fortified seeds, veterinary vaccination and strengthening of agribusinesses.
“We are implementing this project for eight years, now we are in our second year and the program will close in 2030.
“By the time the programme closes, we hope to have impacted the lives and improved the incomes of four million Nigerians.
“That’s an ambitious target but we know that working with our partners, we can achieve the target.
“We also have a financial target of £122 million in private financing besides the £95 which will be provided through direct funding.
Also speaking, the Kano State Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr Danjuma Muhammad said Propcom+’s focus on small scale farmers, women and climate-smart agriculture conforms with the development objective of the state government in the agric sector.
He said the state government will synergize with Propcom+ to emsure policy convergence and also partners with similar programs by the federal government of Nigeria in that regard.
Dr. Danjuma further explained that, the focus of Propcom+ especially on small scale farmers, women and climate-smart agriculture really conforms with the development objective of the Kano state government in the agric sector.
“We have been working very hard in that direction, therefore getting support from partners like the FCDO through Propcom to combine efforts with other partners like the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank and IFAD is a very welcome to development in Kano state.
“It has a lot of similarities with the Agricultural Development Agenda of governor Abba Kabir Yusuf as far as focus on women in agriculture, focusing on small holder farmers and expanding the frontiers of cultivable land are concerned .
“We also recognize the fact that climate change is real and it is an existential threat, it has really been difficult for our rural farmers to cope with, therefore we have been working very hard with other partners.
“Now, having Propcom on board has equally helped as a lot in shaping the policies and implementation direction of our own state-based agricultural policy agenda.
He said, fifty percent of the beneficiaries will be women which is in line with their own policy, noting that, they have women-specific empowerment and development programs in the state.
“It is important to enhance their capacity to earn income and another key element of that is entrepreneurship in agricultural pursuit.
“Their target on women tallies with that of Kano State government and we want to synergize and ensure policy convergence between Propcom and what we have in the state, besides leveraging on similar programs by the Federal Government of Nigeria”, Dr. Muhammad said.
On his part, the Jigawa State Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Muttaqa Namadi, said the objectives of Propcom are in line with the objectives of Jigawa State government in the agric sector.
He said, the project’s objectives align with the vision of Governor Umar Namadi, in transforming agriculture to improve the lives of farmers in Jigawa State.
Muttaqa Namadi added that, they also have many success stories in the area of scaling access to seeds and vaccines as well as agro-forestry and climate resilience practices.