The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) funded projects’ staff and other stakeholders have described the Social, Environmental and Climate Assessment Procedures (SECAP) National Workshop as timely and impactful as they renewed commitment to strengthening compliance to SECAP in IFAD-funded projects across Nigeria.
IFAD in partnership with SUSTAIN International organized a training workshop for staff and stakeholders to support effective implementation of SECAP for IFAD-funded projects.
The training workshop which wrapped-up on Thursday in Port Harcourt, was held in two cohorts; 1st cohort training from 25-28 November, 2024 and 2nd cohort from 2nd -5th December, 2024 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State hosted by IFAD- Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises Project (LIFE-ND).
Speaking on behalf of the participants, Ms. Bemigho Wategire, National Environment and Climate Change Officer for LIFE-ND, expressed profound appreciation for the training, adding that it was practical and insightful.
“This workshop underscored key concepts and reminded us of our vulnerabilities to climate change. We are committed to extending these lessons to beneficiaries and service providers,” she pointed out.
On his part, Mr. Joseph Monday, Environment and Climate Change Officer for IFAD-VCDP in Nasarawa state, said “I now understand how to integrate SECAP procedures into our programs, and this will enable me to train farmers effectively.”
Monday, who spoke on challenges faced, acknowledged that budget constraints had hindered the implementation of SECAP activities, but during the capacity building workshop, stakeholders were assured of adequate funding for SECAP integration moving forward.
Earlier in her opening remark, IFAD Country Director, Mrs. Dede Ekoue highlighted the global relevance of SECAP in IFAD projects.
“This training workshop is critical for aligning IFAD’s agricultural projects with climate resilience and socio-economic goals. Through digital tools like AI-enabled farmer chats and innovations such as solar boreholes and biogas digesters, we are transforming smallholder farming across Nigeria,” She said.
Also, Deputy Director, IER, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr Babatunde Adebayo, said the training has raised awareness within IFAD Project Management Units and the Ministries of Agriculture and Finance on the importance of SECAP and strengthened capacities for compliance.
Meanwhile, the event brought together 60 participants, including Project Coordinators, Environment and Climate Change Officers, Irrigation/Civil Engineers and Gender Officers from IFAD projects of LIFE- ND, Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) and Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) at the federal and state level, as well staff from Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security Projects Coordinating Unit (PCU), CPAT and Federal Ministry of Finance.