Food Security

Nigerian agriculture relies heavily on synthetic or nitrogen fertiliser, and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture is trying to facilitate the growth of an internationally viable fertiliser industry in Nigeria. However, not many farmers know about organic fertiliser and how it can protect soil fertility over a long period of time. The Green Deal Nigeria team interviewed two organic farmers who seem to be ahead of their time:

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.

Governments at local and state level need to map agricultural potentials of their areas and offer farmers advice based on research from national and international agencies. Irrigation powered by renewable energy can reduce unemployment, hunger and poverty in the most remote areas. Capital budgets at state level should be spent on irrigation systems based on renewable energies. Desertification can be contained with Re-Greening techniques. Government, farming and civil society representatives should visit Niger to learn from their experience of re-greening even barren land.

Nigeria has been hit by unprecedented flooding in October 2012. With large sways of land under water, the question of food security is being discussed afresh. Under increasing climate stress and with more extreme weathers, flooding is likely to increase over the coming years. Listen to Adamu Umar as he is paddling on the Lokoja-Abuja express road. 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.

Not many Nigerian farmers are on twitter, but those who have started networking to get up-to date information on climate change adaptation, are turning in bigger harvests. Unfortunately, despite the fact that 60% of the population are into farming,the majority of Nigerian peasant farmers do not have adequate knowledge. Only 5% have access to improved seeds. But the farmers from Owelli court community of Enugu state have been working with the NGO Tubali on networking and their state government has made information available to them Watch Video

Merge into one Tubali article, intro see instructions by Christine

What happens if Nigeria continues with business-as-usual, allowing resource scarcities and uneven distribution of income from natural resources to foster conflict and strife? A troubling picture emerges where extreme drought and excessive rains force millions of people to migrate, looking for food, shelter and employment. Green Deal Nigeria author Huzi Mshelia looks at the conflict implications of climate change.   Read More - Conflict, Green Deal Nigeria study

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)

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.

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.