The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is investing $7.1 million in a five-year programme to promote sustainable food systems and restore degraded agricultural landscapes in Niger and Kebbi states.
The Project Manager of the Global Environment Facility-funded Food Systems Integrated Programme (FSIP) in Nigeria, Nifesimi Ogunkua, disclosed this at the programme’s state inception workshop in Minna on Wednesday.
She said the initiative would transform agricultural production through sustainable practices in crop farming, livestock production and aquaculture.
Ogunkua explained that Niger and Kebbi were selected because of environmental degradation linked to agricultural activities, particularly rice farming, livestock development and fisheries.
She identified unsustainable farming practices, declining soil fertility, land degradation, climate change and limited access to finance among smallholder farmers as challenges the programme would address.
More than $2 million has been earmarked for smallholder farmers in the two states through grants and revolving grants to encourage the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.
The programme targets improved and integrated management of about 37,000 hectares of agricultural land, restoration of 13,000 hectares of land cover and mitigation of approximately 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
It is also expected to benefit 100,000 smallholder farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises, with women accounting for at least 50 per cent of beneficiaries.
Ogunkua said implementation in Niger would cover nine local government areas and 11 landscapes, with government agencies, farmer organisations, private sector operators, women and youth groups involved.
She urged stakeholders to take ownership of the initiative, stressing that collaboration would be essential to sustaining its impact beyond the five-year implementation period.
The Niger State Commissioner for Agriculture, Isah Sidi-Rijau, said the programme aligned with the agricultural transformation agenda of Governor Umaru Bago’s administration.
He noted that the state’s vast arable land, water resources and favourable agricultural conditions offered significant opportunities, but sustainable practices were needed to tackle climate change and environmental degradation.
Sidi-Rijau assured FAO and the Global Environment Facility of the state government’s commitment to providing the institutional support required for the programme.
The Permanent Secretary of the Niger State Ministry of Agriculture, Matthew Ahmed, said nine local government areas would participate in the initiative to improve agrifood systems and strengthen food security.
The participating areas are Borgu, Mashegu, Mokwa, Agaie, Agwara, Edati, Katcha, Lapai and Magama.
Ahmed added that farmers would access non-interest revolving funds through their cooperative accounts to support trading activities for one year, after which the funds would be transferred to other farmer organisations.
Also speaking, the Executive Director of Niger Foods and Logistics, Patience Koku, said the programme aligned with the state’s efforts to develop interconnected agricultural value chains covering crop production, livestock, aquaculture, irrigation, mechanisation and processing.
She said strengthening resilience against prolonged drought, unpredictable rainfall, climate change and declining soil fertility was essential to sustainable agricultural development.
The Commissioner for Livestock, Abdullahi Mammangi, represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Jonathan Wasa, said climate change had intensified competition between farmers and herders over land, water and grazing resources.
He commended FAO for bringing relevant sectors together, noting that livestock production also contributed to environmental degradation through greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation and unsustainable land use.
The Director of Planning and Strategies at the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Sheriff Jibrin, pledged the association’s support in mobilising farmers and ensuring the programme’s implementation.
