By Juliet Jacob Ochenje
The United Kingdom (UK) Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, has launched a £55m Propcom+ contract and £2.89m grant, as part of a UK International Climate Finance programme which aims to support the transformation of Nigeria’s rural economy and will help scale sustainable agricultural practices across Nigeria.
A statement issued by the UK Office on Tuesday stated that the programme is targeted at over 4 million Nigerians.
The £55 million contract and £2.89m grant are part of the £95m Propcom+ eight-year UK International Climate Finance programme aimed at supporting climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture and forestry that benefits people, climate, and nature.
The statement added that 50% of the beneficiaries will be women, to adopt and scale sustainable agricultural practices that increase productivity and climate resilience while reducing emissions and protecting natural ecosystems.
Propcom+ builds on the UK Government’s investment in agriculture through the Propcom Mai-karfi programme which ended in March 2022 after supporting over 1.25 million persons with improved incomes through key market reforms and policies that benefitted poor women and men in Northern Nigeria.
He also highlighted how UK Support will be helping to unlock $210 million of financing from the African Development Bank (AFDB) for participating Nigerian states for the development of critical infrastructure and related activities under the Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme.
Speaking after the event, British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery said:“Tackling the effects of climate change and lowering emissions is a key priority for the UK government and we remain committed to building sustainable pro-poor climate-resilient growth in Nigeria through the new Propcom+ programme which will address environmental, social and economic challenges in the country’s food and land-use systems.
The new programme, which kicked off in May 2023 is implemented by The Palladium Group.
The programme has initial focal states in Kano, Jigawa, Kaduna, Edo, and Cross River where it will deliver climate-smart agricultural interventions to help the poor and climate vulnerable. It will also work in some Southern Nigerian states to address issues around deforestation, to foster sustainable land-use management.
