Drought

105 words to inspire you to think of a thriving agriculture that has business incentives for small farmers using organic fertilizer, where soil fertility is a high priority and is protected in the interest of future generations, where researchers are connecting to farmers providing them with climate proof seeds… Where agriculture serves people, nature and wealth creation. Read More - Imagine Agriculture

Nigeria’s 160 million people are projected to increase to 255 million by the year 2030. With desertification in the north, erosion and sea level rise along the Atlantic coast and more floods, will Nigeria be able to feed itself? With almost half of the country’s arable land not cultivated, there is a real possibility to increase food production. But how should Nigeria’s future agriculture look like? Green Deal Nigeria author Prof Chinedum Nwajiuba argues that sustainable agriculture is possible if small farmers are not left behind.

Kunle Adeyemi, a Nigerian architect based in Amsterdam, was equally fascinated by the way of living of the Makoko community. He argues that Makoko and other water communities embody a unique synthesis of socio-political relations, economic networks, architecture and spatial presence that collectively push at the frontiers of urbanism. The “Floating School” which he developed and built in collaboration with the community opened an international debate on visionary forms of architecture to adapt to the challenges of flood and population growth

The scientific language is clear: over the past 105 years, the amount of rainfall per year dropped by 81 mm. The trend of declining rainfall worsened after 1970 and continues to this date. Between 1941 and 2000, average temperatures increased by an alarming 1.4-1.9 degrees Celsius. But what does it mean to young Nigerians when the rains don’t come any longer? Hear Yusuf Darama from Yobe State describe his generation’s lack of perspective. Watch Video 

‘’My village is missing ...God save us’’. This was a blackberry personal message put up by my blackberry contact Khalid with a display photo of what used to be his village. All I saw was water covered buildings, with only some roofs spared... Yusuf Haliru describes how agricultural insurance can help farmers protect their business.

In the northern Nigerian state of Jigawa, the demand for firewood for baking bread has resulted in unsustainable felling of trees. This has further accentuated the problem of desert encroachment. Watch this video and contact us on info@ng.boell.org if you have a solution.

Mallam Musa Ali, a farmer from Chifatake community in northern Kaduna State , is deeply concerned about how shifting weather patterns are impacting on the community members’ ability to feed themselves.

Nigeria’s food security situation is characterised by the threat of hunger and poverty, which confronts the 69 percent of the population that lives on less than Naira 100 (US$ 0.7) per day.Smallholder farmers account for 80 percent of all farm holdings, but crop yields are far below potentials. This is due to inadequate access to and low uptake of high quality seeds and inefficient production systems, leading to regular shortfalls in production.

Climate change is a major threat to the  sustainable development in Nigeria. Responding to Climate change from both mitigation and adaptation angles require strategic approaches from policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks and capacities. In this scoping study, we examined the extent to which adaptive capacities of Nigeria have been utilized to influence sectoral policies that have influence in enhancing the national climate change adaptation response. Download Study (PDF, 44 pages, 453Kb)

Climate change is one of the most urgent issues of our time with widespread implications for the earth’s ecosystems and human development across sectors. Although gender equality and women’s empowerment are acknowledged pre-requisites for sustainable development, climate change policies neglect these important issues. The Heinrich Böll Foundation commissioned this study to assess the impact of climate change on local communities from a gender perspective as well as make recommendation on how to combat the local consequences (adaptation measures) using the relevant local institutions/agents which also needed to be identified. Download publication (PDF, 71 pages, 2.9 MB)