Prompcom+ Initiative to Empower Women Farmers in Jigawa
From Mika’il Tsoho, Dutse
Prompcom+, a non-governmental organization, has announced plans to support four million farmers across Nigeria, including women farmers in Jigawa State. The organization aims to enhance agricultural productivity, income, and climate resilience while reducing emissions and protecting natural ecosystems.
Dr. Adiya Ode, Prompcom+ Country Representative, disclosed this plan during a meeting with civil society organizations and media representatives at the Three Star Hotel in Dutse, Jigawa State. She explained that the eight-year program, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), will focus on climate and agriculture in Nigeria.
“The program aims to support up to four million people, with 50% of them being women, to adopt and scale sustainable agricultural practices that increase productivity, income, and climate resilience while reducing emissions and protecting natural ecosystems,” Dr. Ode stated.
She emphasized that the Prompcom+ program aligns with the UK Government’s commitment to deepening investment in Nigeria’s agricultural sector, enabling vulnerable communities to build resilience and adapt to the effects of climate change.
“The program will achieve this by working through strategic market actors to increase the productivity of smallholder farmers, improve nutrition and food security, enhance climate resilience, pursue lower emissions, and protect and restore nature, while also tackling some of Nigeria’s underlying drivers of conflict and insecurity,” Dr. Ode explained.
The country representative highlighted that the program’s initial focus will be on Kano, Jigawa, and Kaduna states in the North West, and Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states in the North East. These areas face critical issues surrounding animal health vaccination, bio-fortified and climate-smart crop varieties, innovative and digital financial services, ICT-based tools for extension, and climate-smart agricultural technologies and innovations.
The program will also extend to key states in Southern Nigeria, addressing issues such as deforestation and fostering sustainable land-use management. It will support communities in managing forest reserves and strengthening landscape governance.
Dr. Ode emphasized that the program seeks to connect smallholders with innovations and technologies that reduce drudgery in crop production. She mentioned supporting scale-up and investment in the last-mile delivery of animal health vaccines, commercialization of bio-fortified crops, and increased access to climate-smart crop varieties.
The Prompcom+ program builds upon the UK Government’s investment in agriculture through the Propcom Mai-karfi program, which concluded in March 2022. The previous program supported over 1.25 million people with improved incomes through key market reforms and policies that benefited poor women and men in Northern Nigeria.
The Prompcom+ program, announced last August by the UK’s Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, forms part of the UK International Climate Finance program. It aims to promote climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture and forestry that benefit people, climate, and nature.
